Beautiful displays by Holy Rood Ch urch Fl owe r Arra ngers

June 202 5

Th e Lydde n Vale N e ws

3

L ydden V ale News T eam Edito r Am anda M cKenna lyddenvalle y@gm ail.com T reasurer V incent M cKenn a Adv ertis ing M anag er Al an Si mmons All Enqu iries and A dverts to: lyd denvale adverts@gm ail.com Reports/ Art icles/Interview s lyddenvalle y@gm ail.com Dis tribution Dav e W h it e 0739 1 7088 51 Distributor s Pauline Adam s Bridget Bak er J ohn Bak er Nick i Bark er Gar y Cairns Dam ian Brothers Jane Coll ins Jerem y Collins Jenny J est y Elodie Frank lin David Morris J ohn M arj oram Jenny Donnell y Janet Sea l y Hele n Sim pson Jane W est Susan Mor ing Spare copies available from The Old Ch apel Sto res

The Bit at the Beginning … . How is it June already? Ou r thoughts turn to the m an y opport un ities to enjoy an Af ternoon Cream T ea for the next 3 m onths ( at least! ) – if not at the m any V illa ge F etes, then Holy Rood Churc h are holding a fundra ising Af ternoon tea on 21 st June with the add ed ent icem ent of a glass of f izz. I can feel my waist band expanding as I write t his – thank goodness f or wide-leg dra wstring tro users! However , one of the few ‘perk s ’ of being Coeliac is that, if ther e are no gluten f ree of f erings, I c an feel sm ug if not m assivel y disappointed. Hopefull y , as last m onth was Coeliac A ware ness Month, th ere will be m ore gluten free cak es on of f er this sum m er as well as savour y tre ats – not just Brown ies! T his sounds lik e I ’m starting to rant, but as t his is a seri ous condit ion, (not a lif est yle choice) there ’s not hing worse than goin g out f or th e da y a nd all there is to e at are a pack et of crisps. It is slo wl y getting b etter , b ut a comm on com plaint of Coeliacs is that t he y have to tak e food on a da y out – just in case! Luck ily , t he tale nted cook s and bak ers in Buck land Ne wt on have m ade great ef f orts to include gluten f ree, dair y f ree and nut f ree options so there is alwa ys a tast y m orsel at t he V illage Caf é and, of course, the Buck land N e wton V illage F ete. It is alwa ys k ey to have ingred ients lists, which we m ak e sure we do at the F ete, so as to avo id an y nast y surprises. As we all becom e m ore aware of the m any dif ferent dietar y r equirem ents, it really doesn ’t have to be com plic ated and m ak es for eating out a m uch m ore enjo ya ble exp erie nce f or us all. Aman da __________________ ___ _ _______ ___ _____ ___ ___ _ _______ ___

T he Buck land Newton Comm unity W ebsite www .bucklandnewton.com Y our local website f or up -to -date ne ws, e ve nts, clu bs, grou p s, directori es f or busin ess es and services - and inform ation about the village and its surrou ndings (and th e online vers ion of the L VN! )

------------------------------ The opinio ns i mplied o r ex pre sse d in th is new sletter ar e no t nece ssarily th ose o f the news team nor the pub lisher . Alth ough e ver y effort i s made t o en sure a ccura cy neither the new s team no r the pub li she r a ccep t lia b ili ty for error s o r o mis sion s. N either the new s tea m no r the pub li sher a ccept s re s pon sibi lity for an y o f the serv ice s o r e ven t s ad ver tised here in. N o re s pon sibility can b e a ccep ted for unsolicited manuscripts o r ima ger y . The edito r r e ser v es the r igh t t o mo d ify contribution s. Prin ted b y Saru m Gr aph ics

Adverti sing to: Em ail: lyddenvaleadverts @gm ail.com Advert ising fees (wef 1 Apr il 202 4)

SIZE 1 M onth 3 M onths 12 M onths

⅛ Page * £18. 50 £34.00 £76. 00 £95. 00 ¼ Page * £34. 00 £67. 50 £1 15 .00 £145 .00 ½ P age £67. 50 £131 .00 £165.00 £206 .00 Full Pa ge £82.00 £197 .00 £331.00 £415.00

Publication Deadlin e: T he deadline for subm issions is on the 18th of ever y m onth T ext, Photographs, Community M essages, Enquiries, etc. to Amand a at: Email: lyddenvalle y@gmail.com Meetings/ intervie ws: arra nged via em ail

* ⅛ Page Landsc ape pl ea se. ¼ P age Portra it - unle ss full width of page, in w hich ca se Lan ds cape . Th ank Y ou ! T he L VN is a gre at p lace to advertise covering a br oad and divers e area, whether you have a colour or m ono advert! Kindl y m ention the L ydden V ale Ne ws when responding to advertisem ents. This Month’s Front Cov er Credit: Mandy Jarvis

5

Frida y 27th June - 10.30 am BUCKL AND NEWT ON VILLAGE CAFÉ The cafe for June is on Friday 27th. From 10.30 to noon Everyone welcome - locals and vis itors . A good chance to catch up w ith your friends and neighbours over a cuppa an d cake. Cof fee/T ea and Cake for £1.50 See y ou t her e L y n Co x 345739 Liz a H ill 345230 *************************************** ************* ***** ********* ************* *

Saturda y 21 st June - 2.3 0 pm HO L Y RO O D CHUR CH M IDSUMM ERS DA Y TRADIT IONAL ENGLISH AFT ERNOON TEA (See page 6 for details) ***************************************************************************************************************************** *******************

Saturda y 14 th June 10. 30 – 12. 30 COFFEE MORNING – PULHAM VILLAGE HALL (See page 6 for details)

***************************************************************************************************************************** ****************

Saturda y 26 th Jul y 12 pm G AGGLEFEST (See page 6 for details) ***************************************************************************************************************************** ***************

Buckland New ton Village Plant Sale – update The Annual Village Plant Sale w as held in the Village Hall and Parish Room on Saturday 10 M ay and once again w as ver y successful, raising £1,162 for Weldmar H ospice. T here w as the usual rush at the beginning w ith people hopin g to be one of the lucky ones to get one of the most amazing tomato plants along w ith a fantastic variety of annual and per ennial plants. Even if you have no intention of buying anything, it is impossible not to be tempted by the mor e unusual or int eresting specimens. Thanks go to everyone w ho gr ew and donated plants and to those w ho organised, helped or supported on the day . *********************** *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********

Frida y 1 1 th Jul y BUCKL AND NEWT ON C OF E PRIM AR Y SCHOOL SUMMER SPECT ACUL AR ***************************************************************************************************************************** ***************

7

PATRICK NEEDHA M NCH & ND in Arboricu lture T ree  Surgery , W oodland Ma nagem ent Hedg e T rim ming Chipp ing Se rvic e N.P .T .C. Qualif ie d (cha ins aw & spr aying use) Full y Insured T EL : 07899 92454 5 or 012 58 817 382

Buckland Ne wton Community Car Scheme Want to visit tow n, the hairdressers or just meet a friend fo r co ffee? Perhaps y ou hav e a med i cal appoi ntment? Our v olunteer d riv ers o ffer a door-to-door serv ice fo r residents of the Buc kland New ton pari sh. A return jou rney to Do rchester or Sherbo rne co sts approximately £11.00. For more in for ma tion, pl ease rin g 07733 849264 or e mail bncarsc heme@ gmail.com .

Bar tletts Ca r pets Carpet and viny l fitting specialists supply and fit or fit only . Home selection serv ice available. We of fer a whipping service , m ake your of f cuts into mats. Of fice - 01963 365724 Mob - 07968 84562 3

Knit & Natter - Thursday 12 th & 26 th June - the fortnightly crafting group. Free to attend. Bring a projec t and perhap s so me ca ke! 2 til 4pm. A xe Throwing & A rchery ! - w e have tea med up w ith Dorset M ediev al Archery t o o ffer ax e throwing i n the Gaggle gardens most Saturdays 4pm t o 7pm. B e taught the art o f axe throwing and then see i f y ou can w in a priz e by set ting the hi gh est sco re o f the day ! N o need t o boo k, jus t pop along and have a g o for just £6 . Boo kable arche ry sess ions i n the Ga ggle ga rde ns ac ross the w eek are now also available through www.dorsetmedievalarchery .co.uk Pizza Saturday s! - our popular wood-fired pizzas are back! Cooking i n the garden in ou r w ood-fired ov en w ith our ow n dou gh. M ost Satu rday s acro s s the sum mer. Boo kin g r ecommen de d. Eat a t the pu b or takeaway . Open Mic Night - Wednesday 4 th June – pop down from 8pm to 10pm to enjoy local musicians. Or be brav e and join in w ith a son g or tw o. Willow Weaving - W ednesday 18 th June - a day course learning how t o make w ill ow baskets (be ginner o r mo re advanced). Lunch , tea & ca ke include d! Ticke ts av ailable vi a www.ticketsource.co.uk/gaggle o r by contactin g the pub. Gagglefest – Saturday 26 th July – our annual family friendly music festival. T wo stages, seven bands, three bars, kids’ zone, pizzas, BB Q, axe throwing craft stalls and more! Tickets on sale over the bar and vi a www .ticketsource.co.uk/gaggle Village Fete - M onday 25 th Au gus t – the annu al v ill age fe te hos ted i n the Ga ggle garde ns. S talls, cakes, games, live music, dog show and more! The fete raises money for v ill age groups & causes. And w e need your help t o ru n stalls and help on the day. Ge t i n tou ch o r have a chat w ith Simon or S arah abou t how y ou can get in v olv ed . ********************************************************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

9

Matt Russel l’s epic 50 -mile Charity Ultra Challenge Congra tulations to M att for hi s ma gni ficen t e ffo rt on a sunny and v ery hot M ay day to ta ke on thi s e pi c chal l enge. Although he didn’t compl ete his tar ge t distance he w asn’t alone as ov er 5 00 people w ithdrew ov er the various distances of be tw een 10k and 100 k due to inju ries and the blisteri ng sun and he still mana ged to raise a fanta stic £1910 w hich w ill be goin g to the follow ing charities in me mory of Ethan M ullins, M el vy n R ussell and Dean D ri nn a n: The T eenage Cancer T rust T eddy 20 The Ben Saunder s Fo un dati on The Brain Chari ty M i nd As M att said himsel f – ‘I am so proud of the distance co mpleted and all th e training p rep and w ill learn and take things aw ay fro m this ex perience for ne xt time . This jou rney w asn’t about me ; it w as abou t the three aw esome people who w ere taken aw ay from us far too early. They will never be forgotten. I w ould also like to than k ev ery one fo r their suppo rt and dona tions.’

*********************** *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********

1 1

BUCKLA ND NEWTON COMMUNITY LA ND TRUST - FINA NCE A DMINISTRA TOR REQUIRED The volunteer Tru stees, responsible for the day to day running of the village a ffordable hou sing scheme at Lydden Meadow are looking for a voluntary Finance Administrator to join the team. The position inv olv es some basic kno wledge in ac countin g a mounting to around 2 h ours of ti me a mon th, princi pally paying ad hoc bills and keeping the D ropbox ex penses entries up to date , plus filing the Annual Re turn with our pro fessi onal aud i tors. An alternative option is for a paid position as Clerk to the Trust w ith remuneration to be agreed on an hourly basis. This w ould involve being responsibl e fo r the financial side (as above), plus dealing w ith paperw ork (fairly minimal), ta kin g minutes at the a pprox imately 4 Board M eetings held each year, a nd liaising between the Trustees and residents of Lydden Meadow when necessary . Anyone interested please contac t nickiba rker.u k@gmail.com or lysander@compute raide.co .u k

Bucklan d Ne wton Env ironmen t Gro up Update on Proje ct S wift The February edition of The Lydden Vale News included an article about the Buckland New ton Env ironment Group (BN EG) interes t in helping swifts, a bird tha t is cu rren tly ex periencing di fficultie s largely caused by the de creasing av ailability of su itable nest sites . As desc ribed in tha t a rticle, sw ifts prefe r to retu rn to p rev iously used nest sites or, if this is no lon ger possibl e, to join an already esta blished colony. In reco gnition of this behaviour, and to hel p us to install nest boxes in appropriate loca tions, we asked reade rs w ho w ere aw are of any cu rren t ne st si tes or places w here sw ifts have been seen to advise the BNEG so tha t we can optimise the chances of ou r e ffo rts bearin g fruit. The return of the sw ifts has started a little earlier this year and we understand that the re have already b een sigh tin gs in Alton Pa ncras and Cerne Abbas. How ever, we would still very much welcome notifications of further sightings whilst the birds are here. How ever, we acknow ledge that no t ev eryone aspires to be an ornitholo gist and that sw ifts in fligh t can easily be co n fused w ith sw allow s and house mar tins so , to h elp spot the bird that y ou are looking at, I ha v e at tache d an ima ge th at w ill ho pe ful ly he lp. Should you be lucky eno ugh to see any sw ifts the n please, please let us know at bnenvgr@ gmail.com and, by doin g so , y ou w ill be helping us to help thi s w onderful bird. David Adams

1 3

L YDDEN VA LE GA RDENING CLUB Although gardene rs and fa rme rs hav e be en cry ing ou t for rai n throughout M ay, the 3 5 members and friends trave lli ng t o Exbury Gardens w ere glad i t stay ed dry and w arm fo r the coach outi n g. The ga rdens cov erin g an area o f 200 ac res , borderin g th e Beaulieu River, are w ell know n fo r plan tings o f R hododendron s and A z al ea s ha v i ng b ee n crea ted i n 19 19 by Li on el D e Rothschild who had a passion for both. The colours were just stunning. Wi th all tha t sp ace and i n spite o f a full car park, plus coach l oads o f v i si tors , i t w as ea sy t o get l os t an d no t see another soul, let alone from our party, during the visit. A mini gau ge stea m railw ay w as a pleasan t w ay t o trav el and view the ga rdens on the north side o f t he esta te . Our next su mmer visit on Weds 11th June i s t o the equ all y famous ‘N O DIG’ gardens o f CHAR LES DO WD IN G, a t HOMEAC RES , i n the v ill age o f Alhampton, N r Castle Cary . M any of y ou may hav e attended his talk last M arch. W e are boo ked t o a rriv e at 6.15p m for a 6.30 pm tou r w ith Charles. Numbe rs are r estric ted and priori ty w i ll be gi v en t o membe rs. Par king i s limi ted a t H omeacres , bu t there i s space a t the nearby A l hampton P ub . Fo od i s no t no r mal l y se rv ed on a Wednesday , but the chef i s prepared t o cook should there be sufficient intere st. I f y ou ha v en’ t al rea dy pu t y ou r na me do w n, pl ea se contact Jan B u rnet t o n 01 30 0 34 86 27 or by emai l grey stonebn@y ahoo.co.uk b y the 4th June. Jan Burne tt

1 5

1 7

In the Buck land N ewton Book Corner… Our boo k group boo k for M ay w as ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ by TJ Klune. I hadn’t heard of it, and w hen I found out it w as fantasy fiction , I con fess I w asn’t too ex cited to re ad it, not bein g a huge fan of the genre. Y et again, this proves the benefit of a book group! I have enjoy ed th is sto ry despite my mis gi v ings……. In a w orld w here ma gical and non- magical bein gs liv e in a tenuous sort of harmony, Linus Baker w orks for the Department in Charge of Magical Y outh (DICOMY). He is a case worker, visiting various orphana ges w here these ma gical chi l dren and y oung peopl e li v e and his job is to inv estigate w hether or not they a re runni ng smoothly and to ma ke re commend ations for th eir continued operation. He gene ral ly liv es a fairly dull and predi ctable li fe in an unnamed ci ty w here it co nstantly rains so w hen Linus is assi gned to an orphana ge he’s ne v er heard of on the beau ti ful , sunl it M arsy as Island, he know s he’s in for so methin g e ntirely unex pected but jus t the ex tent of w hat ex ists there is bey ond ev en hi s ima gination…. Arthur Parnas sus is the charmin g headmas ter w ho has six ex tremely unusual ma gic al children in his ca re. Li nus is co mpl etely unprepared fo r w hat aw aits him the re, and he’s ev en mo re unprepared to be co mple tely charmed by w hat and w ho else he finds on M arsyas Island. He learns new lessons himself from sprites, a wyvern, a gnome and a six-year-old with a very, very , very dark si de . I would say the book is simply written. Whilst it is not classified as Y oung Adult Fiction, the style, plot, characte rs and vocabulary w ould fit. It w as, fo r me, a quic k and easy read w ith not many surp rises as the cha racters and plot a ll turned out p re tty mu ch as I ex pected. In the descriptions of D ICOM Y and the re gistra tion and t rea t men t of ma gical be ing s, the r e are ob v iou s paral l el s with rea l w orld si tua tion s, an d in the theme s of p rejudic e and mistreatment I feel Klune w ants the reade r to know how serious this i s. At the sa me time , I feel he w anted to w rite a fun, fantastical boo k that does n’t cause any trau ma in the reader. The result is a feeling that he didn’t quite achieve both of these goals satisfactorily , but the story is en joy able and as I said, it all goes pre tty much ex actly as you w ould ex pect. ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ is a simple, sometimes funny, sometimes w himsical story tha t is sw eet and goes dow n easy, li ke chocolate cake. And sometimes chocolate cake is just w hat you w ant. Karen Whi te r *********************** *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ********* *** *** *** ******* *** ******* Bucklan d Ne wton Villag e Fete 20 25 – A ppeal for h e lp After many y ears, John Si mpson has deci ded th at he w oul d l i ke t o tr y so methin g new a t the Fe te thi s year, so w on’t be organi zing the v ery popular Bo ok Stall. There fore , w e n eed one o r mo re en thusi astic book lover/s t o take this on. I t raises a signi ficant amount o f money for the community, so i t w ould be a shame not t o have this attraction anymore. W e can’t deny , this i s a big task as it involves sourcing and storin g the bo o ks, running the stall on the day an d then disposing o f t he b ooks a fterw ards. I f y ou feel y ou are up for this challenge then pleas e get i n touch w ith one o f t he Fete Com mittee : Si mon Colquhoun, Amanda McKenna, Kate Parish, Andy Aitkenhead, Mandy Jarvis or Lucy and Rob Nolan. O r spea k to Simon w hen y ou pop in the Ga ggle. We would like to thank John for his amazing efforts and I’m sure whoever takes over , he will be happy to offe r any suppo rt or a dv ice.

1 9

ALEX FR OST and NAT HAN CURTIS MA STER THA T CHERS

Ac ros s 1. Abstain! Plan re work ed is swee t (7,5) 9. Sort of topical illus ion of sight (7) 10 . Announce en d of in nin g s (7) 1 1 . A tag can be all wrong ( 5) 12 . Speedb oat is a sa d flier (8) 14 . Singer m ade big snob cry (4,6) 15 . W ould-be A ustralian cu ddl es param our (4) 17 . T ook a horse first - roan or da pp led eq uin e (4) 19 . H ouse builder hen f ollo ws real f riend (10) 21 . Logo, the y designe d for divine stu d y ( 8) 23 . L oves an ana gram to c rack (5) 25 . Deliver y finished by m em ber (7) 26 . Part of soap (7) 27 . Branch opera tio ns (4, 7 )

Dow n 1. City hairst yle look s lik e a cak e (4,3) 2. Jeweller y m ade by good pal and a house build er (8) 3. A Par isian going back with t wo stude nts is vo id (4) 4. Pig to burden wit h fina nce (10) 5. Crue l m ess of ric hes (5) 6. Earl Gre y’s era – about 4? (3,4) 7. Local ro bot in a divers e club t oget her (13) 8. Based C hief cut f our wa ys ( 13) 13 . R isk and a tri vial purs u i t (5,5) 16 . Ever yone relish seasoning (8) 18 . R iver bu g is m ost inte n s e (7) 20 . Jaundiced - shout ‘ouch ’ with Y ank ee (7) 22 . T ak e it f or tim e of f (5) 24 . L ook – one ’s eq ua l to a Lord (4)

2 1

Buckland Newton Village H all

Superb light and airy venue f or Hire Kitchen, Covered Patio, Stage, Bar Area, Disabled Facilities and Wi -Fi W eddings from £220 Children’s Parties, Local Events and regular hire from £12 an hour Call I an Scott (Booking Secretary ) for m ore info rm ation 01300 3 45455 or bnvillagehall@gm ail.com - please use ‘Hall Booking’ in subject title

Richard Bonnie 2 nd A pril 1950 – 29 th March 2025 † I am su re tha t many of y ou w ill hav e alrea dy heard tha t Richard Bon ni e lo st hi s v al iant battle a gai n st cancer on 29 th March, a few days short of his 75 th birthday . Richard and his w ife Sue w ere married for nearly 50 y ears and w ere lon g-time residen ts in Buc kland New ton, living at Ridge Hill Court. They had moved here from the Chew Valley in Somerset w hen Richard sta rted w orking for Westland En gineerin g, in charge of Pe rsonnel. Prior to tha t, Richard had w orked his w ay up from an apprentice at Rolls R oy ce, through pe rsonnel mana gemen t po sitions at engineering and aerospace companies and at ABP , the UK’s leading ports group. During their y ears in Buc kland New ton, both Richard and Sue w ere al w ays inv olv ed in v illage life a nd activities. Richard w as fo r a numbe r of years both Treasu rer and Sec retary of the Parochial Church Counci l and could o ften be seen das hi ng about on his bi cy cl e betw een home and the chu rch. He w as one of those people you w ould turn to if y ou w anted a job done (and done w ell); alw ay s willing, alw ay s helpful. Organisation w as his forte, from running M exican Train evenings in the Village Hall, w histle in hand, to ge ttin g inv olv ed in ‘Ride and Stride’ to raise money for Holy Rood Church. M oving to West Hill, Otte ry St. M ary in Devon ten years ago , saw both Richard and Sue a gain fully inv olved in village li fe, an d also keepin g in touch with many friends fro m B uckland New ton, w ith a s trin g of v isitors to their new home. Richard w as alw ays fit a nd never see med to suffer fro m any thin g, so it w as an unex pected chan ge of fortune when he was diagnosed with a kidney problem and underw ent surgery. All seemed to hav e gone w ell, but a follow-up sca n some w eeks later led to the dev astatin g new s in Septe mber last y ear th at Richard had inoperable c ancer and w as giv en only a few months to liv e. He made the decision no t to undergo chemotherapy, but w ith Sue, to make the most of the time le ft to him. Th rou ghout Richard w as uncomplaining and chee r ful . His funeral and memorial service, planned by Richard in meticulous detail, too k place on 24 th April in Ottery St. M ary and w as attende d by many friends and col lea gues, includ ing ne arl y tw en ty fro m Buckland New ton. This s upport w as greatly appre ci ated by Sue. Our thou gh ts are w ith Sue, Richard’s sister Liz and her fa mily and Sue’s fa mily. Sue in pa rticular w ishes to than k ev eryone fo r the ir pray ers, thou ghts and support fo r bo th Richa rd and her ov er the pas t di fficult months . Jere my Collins