Editorial

Ted Whitehead

Time marches on. I can’t believe that I’m writing these few words for the second Christmas edition since I took over. We aim to cover as much news as possible in our area and if you have anything you would like to share, please let me have it.

During the summer the Parish Council gave out Millennium mugs bearing the Burrator Beacon logo to all 12-and-under schoolchildren in the parish, plus six to the Twinning Association for their French counterparts, and also one to each of the people who give their time delivering the Beacon. We still have a few left which are available from me at £2 each.

I would like to thank all the volunteers for their co-operation in making this effort on behalf of the community, with special thanks to my editorial team for their hard work.

My best wishes for good health and happiness to everyone.

Articles for the Spring edition required by the end of February 2001.

From the Chairman

Michael Parle

The government’s rural white paper gives some hope for better treatment for rural areas.  More money is promised for rural health centres, improvements in rural transport, help for post offices to diversify into one-stop shops, a Community Service Fund to support local enterprise, to name but a few.

Rural police forces are to get increased funding.  Tavistock is to get extra officers to cover rural areas.  Given the concerns expressed by many, this can only be good news.  I look forward to seeing the benefit of a local reduction in crime.

Aspects of planning are included in the rural white paper.  Planning issues are clearly of greatest interest to the electors of Burrator.  Many express opinions against new housing.   However a housing survey undertaken by West Devon Borough Council shows clear evidence for the need for affordable housing.  The rural white paper also recognizes the need for affordable housing, but does not give new money to back availability.  But what about Burrator?   Do we want, or need, affordable housing, and if so, where?

We are now approaching the end of the second millennium.   Time to celebrate the real end of the millennium at the end of the 2000th year, i. e. 31st December 2000!  OK, so you had a good party last year, but don’t let that stop you joining others in the real millennium celebrations.  I wish you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year and New Millennium.

Clerk’s Notes

Mike Spry

During the past three months there has been a lot of concern expressed with road safety issues, with speed through Walkhampton (and its adjacent lanes) and Burrator Road, Dousland causing particular worries. The Dousland problem has existed for many years, but the increase in traffic volume is exacerbating the problem – more cars are going faster - few vehicles appear to keep to the 30mph limit, and if you drive at that speed you can pretty well guarantee being caught by a following car! Quite how this problem is going to be resolved is difficult to fathom as there is already a speed limit in place and traffic-calming schemes at a lower speed level have to be “self-policing” and would be financially prohibitive because of the distance involved.

Walkhampton will soon have a 30mph limit introduced and that will hopefully have an effect, particularly on the approach speed from Dousland.

There has been a lot of concern expressed with traffic accessing the Old Trathen’s Yard, with large vehicles reversing across the carriageway and parking on the side of the road itself. The Council is very actively in contact with Dartmoor National Park, DCC Highways & D&C Police in an effort to get something positive done to improve the situation before there is a serious accident.

Whilst talking roads, I am pleased to be able to confirm that at last positive steps have been taken to have the Back Lane (Walkhampton) Byeway added to the Definitive List. All the necessary ground-work was completed and recorded at Exeter in 1992 but never “actioned” by the Authorities at County Hall. This is now being remedied and, although the system means it will take three months or so, this historic road will be included on a list it from which it should never have been omitted.

As you will probably have noticed, the 4 Parish boundary signs have now been installed as has the Village Green sign in Walkhampton – a pity that some mindless paint-sprayer did their stupid and thoughtless work within forty-eight hours of it going up! We have also had to install “Warning” signs inside the bus shelter to discourage the roof-climbers. It should not really be necessary but is indicative of the times, I suppose.

There have been quite a number of Planning Applications in the past few weeks including proposals to build a total of 8 new properties in Meavy and Walkhampton. There are also Planning Appeals about to be dealt with in respect of Burrator Lodge and Meavy (a fresh Application having been made for the same site). Results on all of these will be through early next year.

I would like again to take the opportunity of wishing everyone within the Parish the happiest Christmas and New Year ever!!

Boundary Stones

Michael Parle

The four millennium boundary stones are now in place, with the Burrator plaque attached.  They have aroused much comment, both favourable and unfavourable.  Some say the sign is too small, others too large.  Some think they are too prominent (particularly on Knowle Down), others think the dark green on white background is just right.  But the good thing is that they are being noticed!

The boundary stone shown is on the B3212 just outside Princetown.

The purpose of the boundary stones is to inform visitors of Burrator parish and to indicate the geographical extent of the parish.  The plaques included the address of the parish council web site.  Too modern for some maybe, but an important method of communication in the 21st century.  We are not the first council in England to display its web address on a road sign, but we are the first in Devon (and possibly the first in the South West).

Walkhampton’s Trailblazer

Ted Whitehead

Jeanette Glanville recently announced her retirement after 10 years with the Fire and Rescue Service. She was a pioneer, being accepted as the first woman fire-fighter. Jeanette writes:-

“Having been brought up in Walkhampton, attending the local village school, I thought I would contribute to the community by offering my services to the local Fire Brigade. It was an uphill struggle at the beginning but I passed with flying colours. The years went on, attending small and some major incidents but after 10 years I thought it was time to hang up my helmet and give a younger person a chance of the limelight. It had been increasingly hard to combine fighting fires with an enjoyable and challenging job with my brother’s haulage firm.”

The Parish Council expresses its thanks to Jeanette for all her hard work in the local community, and wishes her every success for the future.

GREEN BURIALS

Ted Whitehead

A public meeting was called recently to discuss plans to set up a community woodland burial site at Walkhampton. Extra seating had to be brought in to cater for the number of people who packed the village hall.

The proposal was to turn the field known as Stone Park into a green burial site where people could choose the sort of internment they wanted,with or without a minister present,in a box or bag of their choice.  A tree would be planted as a living memorial.  The field would eventually become a nature reserve and wood where people could go and sit.

It was thought that there would be 1 to 3 burials a month to start with but this would probably increase considerably with burials from outside the area.

Local residents felt that they had no problem with the concept of green burials but were very concerned that all these extra funerals could eventually bring processions of cars through the narrowest part of the village several times a week with perhaps anything between 50 and 300 mourners for each funeral.

It was considered insensitive to pick a site just below the local church burial ground which is very much part of the local community for an obvious business venture. And even more so, to expect to use the church car park with access through the church graveyard.

Miss Seldon the owner of the field wisely conceded that without the cooperation of the villagers the whole idea was a non-starter.  It would appear that our voices of protest have been heard!

HAVE YOU GOT STARS IN YOUR EYES?

Michael D’Oyly

If so we need you for our proposed VILLAGE CONCERT due to take place in the New Year.

If YOU are a Singer, Dancer, Musician, Conjurer, Storyteller or are just prepared to “have a go” please contact Derek Lavers on 853622.

Proceeds of the evening will go towards Walkhampton Memorial Hall funds.

The income of the Hall seldom exceeds its expenditure and therefore funds are always required for upkeep and repairs.

We would very much like to provide better facilities for all ages within the village but to do this we do need money.

YOU can help us raise funds, so don’t be shy, come and show those hidden talents!

Parish Paths

Ted Whitehead

All too often people set off to walk a footpath without knowing what to expect. At a recent meeting some Councillors agreed to each walk a designated path and then do a “user friendly” write up on their experiences.

A Parish leaflet could then be compiled describing a potted history of the walk with a rough idea of how long a stroll/walk would take and any interesting things to look out for on the walk.

More details will be published in the Spring issue.

Obituaries

Hubert Maddock

Very regrettably, the death was recorded in October of Hubert Maddock.

Except for war service he spent the whole of his life in Lake Lane, Dousland. He was born and brought up at “Oakhurst” and attended Meavy School as a pupil.

He joined the army shortly after the outbreak of World War Two and served throughout the North African Campaign. After demob. he built a bungalow in Lake Lane, calling it “Yes Tiz”, and it was here that he and his wife Cissie spent their married lives together with their son Tony.

Having left the Army, he went to work in the transport division of E.C.C. Ltd. and eventually took early retirement. He was then able to concentrate on his chicken-rearing enterprise at “Yes Tiz”.

Throughout his life Hubert was always cheerful and full of humour and he will be sadly missed by Cissie, Tony and June (daughter-in-law) and grandson Andrew, to whom deepest sympathy is extended.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Margaret Rose Lamerton

The family would like to thank everyone who made a donation in Margaret’s memory for the Accident and Emergency department at Derriford Hospital.

Because of your generosity, the hospital is now able to put £864.82 towards a Syringe Pump that they are desperate for. A plaque in Margaret’s memory will be placed on the equipment.

Margaret would have been the first person to praise the A.&E.staff that night, not only for what they tried to do for her but also for us, her family.

Thank you once again not only for your donations but also for the cards and letters and phone calls that have brought us great comfort at a very sad time.

John Lamerton and Family

LEUKAEMIA RESEARCH FUND

Vivienne Wright

On behalf of the Fund we would like to thank all the brave people who ventured out to the Moorland Links Hotel on Wed. 15^th November to attend our Christmas Fayre and Coffee Morning also all the stall-holders and helpers without whom we would never have collected the magnificent sum of over £500.

We hope you all have a very happy and healthy Christmas and a prosperous 2001.

POWER CUTS

There have been some changes with the electricity service with distribution now being handled by Western Power Distribution. It is to them that all reports of breaks in service should be reported.  There is a FREE phone number for this purpose: 0800-3659000. All calls to this number are routed to their fault control for this area, which is in Plymouth.

If there is any doubt as to whether W.P.D. are aware of a particular problem or break in service it is best to remain on the line until the end of the recorded message, after which there should be a ‘telephone agent’ – a real live person – to deal with the enquiry.

WALKHAMPTON WASPS F.C.

After the very good write up the club had in the last edition, I am sorry to have to report that this football team is sadly no longer in existence.

WALKHAM VALLEY SCOUTS AND CUBS

This club has stopped meeting in the Memorial Hall. Its new venue is the village school.

BACKALONG

Ted Whitehead

Do you remember the May Fair back in the 80’s?

A group of people got together above the old Post Office in Walkhampton and decided to revive the village fair. We agreed to call the event the May Fair, with a May Queen and 2 attendants, and we organised various fundraising events. A disco was held in the village hall with nurses from St. Lukes Hospice judging the lineup of girls. Vicky Pennington was chosen as the May Queen and the 2 attendants were Donna Thomas and Ruth Francis.

On the big day they came in procession on Nelson Bowden’s pony & trap,all looking resplendent in the dresses and capes which were made by Vivien Scawn, and preceeded by a group of majorettes and a Scots pipe band.A memorable afternoon of field events and side-shows was rounded off with an evening disco enjoyed by many.

But something marred the day for a few – opportunist thieves had realized we were all busy at the fair. Having failed to find any open windows in my house - just barking dogs -they succeeded in getting into my neighbours’ house via a small kitchen window and the tenant lost her grandmother’s jewellery among other things.

Local firms donated many prizes and a tremendous amount of time and effort went into its organisation but sadly the May Fair folded after 3 years through lack of support at the committee stage.

I still have the May Fair Cup and the tiara if anybody wanted to revive it!

NOJO Awards - Nominations sought

The Not Old Just Older Awards recognise, acknowledge and reward those who have made a real difference to the lives of older people. The Awards are organised annually by Help The Aged in association with Stannah Stairlifts. So if you know of a company, organisation, group or individual who have done just this, then why not nominate them for an Award – the closing date for all nominations is Monday 8^th January 2001 and nomination forms can be obtained by phoning Catherine Howley on 020 7253 2926 or email events@helptheaged.org.uk

John Prescott's rural white paper at a glance

At the end of November, the government published its white paper giving details of how they intend to help rural areas.  Here is a summary of the proposals.

The five key themes of the rural white paper are:

• improving services;
• tackling poverty;
• the rural economy;
• protecting the countryside and wildlife;
• giving more choice to local people.

The main details of the rural white paper are:

• Rural Service Standard will be set on public services.
• £100m for one stop rural health centres.
• £192m to go on improvements to rural public transport.
• £270m to help post offices diversify into one-stop shops. A pilot scheme in Leicestershire would start next spring.
• £15m Community Service Fund to support local enterprise.
• Rural police forces to receive an extra £45m over the next two years.
• £15m special transport fund to support car clubs, taxi services, and community transport.
• Local communities to be allowed to reduce speed limits and invest more in traffic calming.
• Fifty per cent council tax rebate on second homes to end. Local authorities will be able to use the money raised on affordable housing.
• Planning law reform to enable farmers to diversify their businesses.
• All town and parish councils to be linked to the Internet.
• Town and parish council to receive £7m between them to help them become “quality” councils.
• A new Rural Advocate to argue the case for the countryside.
• Encourage councils to build on already used, brownfield, land, rather than on greenfield sites.

Beware – Moor Thieves Are Around

With so many makeover garden programmes on T.V., there has been a spate of people removing items from the countryside. Many beaches in Cornwall are having pebbles taken to be used as garden features. Dartmoor is now being attacked, with many granite stones being stolen from the open moor and people’s gardens.

Ian Brooker, the DNPA Ranger challenged a couple of people who were removing stone from the track leading down to Cullever Steps. They replied that there were no signs saying they could not take them The worst bit was that they hired a tipper lorry for the job! Two 8 feet tall granite posts have gone missing from the car park at the Post Inn at Whiddon Down.

QUIZ

Congratulations to Mrs Anne Garcia of Welltown, the winner of the Autumn Competition. The answer was Sheepstor.

A £10 Meal Voucher kindly donated by Chris and Zenna Kingdom of the Royal Oak Inn, Meavy has been sent to her.

Our thanks to all the other unsuccessful entrants – better luck next time.

The Winter Quiz Question is:

In which year did the last passenger train run from Yelverton to Princetown?

The prize for being drawn from the correct answers received is a £10 meal voucher kindly donated by Jeff Gale of the Burrator Inn.

Answers please to the Editor by the last day of February 2001. The Editor’s decision is final.

Too old for Christmas?

KeithScrivener

Christmas, they say, is a time for family, and in particular for the children. But you know you are getting too old for Christmas when:

It's too cold to go to the Nativity and Christingle services and you can't stay awake for the Midnight Mass.

You hate it when the kids jump onto your bed at 5am on Christmas Day .

You want to emigrate when the shops start playing jingle jangle carol music in November.

If you have to wrap one more parcel you will scream.

You can't believe the cost of all those postage stamps and Christmas cards.

The queue in the Post Office is even worse than pension day.

Your teeth can't cope with dry turkey, mince pies and chocolate any more.

Plum pudding gives you wind.

One sherry makes you fall asleep during the Queen's speech.

After years of hating Bing Crosby you suddenly find him preferable to Robbie Williams

The black and white films on the telly make more sense than the modern Nicam Stereo special effects driven colour blockbuster movies.

You look forward to Jimmy Young's Christmas radio special.

Party poppers are alarming for hearing aid wearers.

The relatives or neighbours turn up wearing Santa hats and flashing bow ties.

Sanatogen gives you more of a kick than mulled wine.

Pantomime is childish drivel where men dress as women and vice versa.

A Saga winter holiday cruise south of the Equator suddenly sounds a better option.

And a Merry Christmas to all our readers ………….

Christmas Crackers

A feature of Christmas which is not very ancient is the Christmas cracker. This present-day favourite is thought to have originated in France where, on special occasions, children were given bags of sugared almonds which burst with a bang when pulled in half. It is a Victorian who is credited with bringing the idea to England and elaborating on it to produce what we now know as a cracker. In about 1840 a London baker and confectioner called Thomas Smith visited Paris. He was very impressed by the French idea of selling bonbons (sweets) prettily wrapped in twists of coloured paper. Back at home he produced his own version, including a love message, later a motto or riddle as a sales novelty. When his sweets failed to sell he put a bang (in the form of chemically treated card) and never looked back.  By the end of the century his company was producing millions of crackers a year for both home and export sale. It is still in business.

Tom Smith also introduced tiny toys, games and puzzles into his crackers, or ‘cosaques’ as they were originally known, and made them just about every size. His biggest was 9 metres (30 feet) high.

Today crackers are such an integral part of our Christmas festivities that it is hard to believe they have not always been around. Even when the bang won’t go off and we grumble about the quality of the contents we wouldn’t be without our Christmas cracker!

Taken with permission from the Dickensian Times.

Christmas Services in the Yelverton Team Churches

West Devon Borough Council

Christmas & New Year Refuse Collections

From Monday 25th to Friday 29th December there will be no refuse collection throughout the borough.

Two weeks waste will be collected in the following week, a day later than normal collection day.

 All collection days will return to normal on Monday 8^th January 2001

 For recyclables contact 813656

DARTMOOR NEWS

For all the latest about Dartmoor get this bi-monthly magazine
Full of news, book reviews, nature notes, articles. Over 40 pages

On subscription for only £14.00 per year
Cheque payable to “Dartmoor News”

The Coach House, Tramlines, Okehampton Devonshire EX20 1EH

Two cute Dartmoor filly foals

Looking for a happy Christmas in a new loving and caring home.
One is piebald and one brown.

Alternatively have you a few acres of pasture land in the area to rent or sell?

Telephone 01822-854469

WITHILL FARM

near WALKHAMPTON

B&B and self-catering accommodation in our small secluded farm up the Walkham Valley.
Comfortable modern facilities in a timeless, picturesque setting.

Call Pam Kitchin on 01822-853992

MOORHEAD

Telephone: Day 853610 Emergency 854800

Mobile No: 07967 877489

DUSKHUNTER DOG GROOMING

Professional Caring Service with over 20 years experience

Clipping, handstripping, trimming, bathing etc. Terriers & Gundogs a speciality

For all details and appointments: Tel Linda Minett on 01822 855445

Home of the Duskhunter ‘West Highland White Terriers’

WRIGHT WINDOWS

Terry Wright Sharpitor Burrator Road Dousland Yelverton PL20 6NE Tel. 01822 852275 wrightwindows@freeuk.com

FOR ALL YOUR DOUBLE-GLAZING REQUIREMENTS WINDOWS, DOORS AND CONSERVATORIES IN UPVC EST: 1983

TERRY LEYTHORNE
DOUSLAND FUELS

For all coal and smokeless fuel requirements

Also Pressure Washing – Houses, patios, Drives etc

Telephone: 01822 853973

BURRATOR BEACON EDITOR Ted Whitehead, Moorland House, Golf Links Road, Yelverton PL20 6BN Tel.01822 853435

EDITORIAL TEAM Michael Parle, Elizabeth Hopson, Keith Scrivener

Published and issued quarterly, free of charge by Burrator Parish Council. Copy to be sent to the Editor by the end of month prior to publication. Next edition published in December.

Advertising

The charge for adverts is £10 per advert per single issue or £24 per advert four 4 issues. One full page advert costs £30. Adverts must be booked and paid for in advance. Cheques made payable to Burrator Parish Council and sent to the Editor (address above). We have 800 copies distributed free of charge to every household in the Burrator Grouped Parish. The Burrator Beacon also on the parish council website, so why not take the opportunity to publicise your business.

Please contact the Editor with any enquiries or adverts in writing. Please include any illustration preferably in the form of a clear line drawing.

Burrator Web Site

Apart from providing information from the council, the web site can be used by any business within the parish to advertise and attract new business. This service is provided free of charge to all council tax and business ratepayers within the parish.

We have many businesses that could benefit from the national and international coverage that World Wide Web provides. If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer get in touch with either the clerk Mike Spry or the council chairman Michael Parle.

The opinions expressed in the Burrator Beacon are not necessarily those held by Burrator Parish Council. Every effort is made to ensure that information in these pages is accurate. However, the Council cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. Including information does not imply recommendation.