Budleigh Past and Present

Left: Some real wildlife arrives in the garden I touched on a personal note in my last bulletin when I apologised for unusually erratic postings due to “health reasons.” Many thanks for the goodwill messages from friendly readers wishing me luck as I disappear from the blogosphere for a time while the doctors deal with my little cancer problem. I feel a bit of a fraud actually. I’ve never felt so well as I go into hospital for my op early tomorrow morning. But I ought to be thankful for that. Yes, it’s a boring old prostate problem which the clever doctors diagnosed years ago and which they now say should be dealt with. Friends who’ve had the same op say “It’s nothing!” but I have my doubts about that. OK, so it’s supposed to be the nearest thing to a cure, but the vision that I have of all those tubes sticking out of me is more grotesque than any horror movie scene I can think of. So I’ve had to turn down an invitation to a Halloween party on the 30th . I reckon I’d frighten away even...

[Both Budleigh Salterton and Brewster boast sunny climates which are welcomed not just by sunbathers. Here in Devon, our local Lily Farm recently produced the earliest-ripening grapes of any UK vineyard, while across the Atlantic a Brewster-based company is promoting ‘green’ thinking with its development of solar power to help solve the world’s energy crisis. This map shows that South West USA is the optimal location for reliance on the sun for electricity, but Cape Cod – even though it’s right up in the North East – ranks with Florida in being blessed with 88% of the solar capacity of central Arizona! “Cape Cod is a prime location for a Solar Energy System,” says Luke Hinkle, proprietor of My Generation Energy. Picture credit: http://www.mygenerationenergy.com/services.htm ] Fretting about the electric bill is but a faint memory for Rich Wolf of Brewster. The retired electrician gazes heavenward for his source of energy. As of last Tuesday all of his electricity is courtesy of the s...

“This picture really says it all!” says Chris Parrish of Budleigh Salterton’s St Peter’s Music. “‘Travelling by Tuba’ is a unique pair of players who perform a stunning innovative programme on lots of instruments. As one of the busiest groups in the UK they undertook over 200 performances last year. This success was not only due to their virtuosic performance but also the ability as irrepressible entertainers to communicate with their audience. This is great fun as well as proper music.” ‘Travelling by Tuba’ starts at 7.30 pm. There is wheelchair access into the church. This is the last concert of the 2009 season of St Peter’s Music. Tickets: £10 (half price for full time students), may be purchased from the Lawn Bakery or Lesley’s in Budleigh Salterton; the Tourist Information Centre, by the Swimming Pool in Sidmouth; Eagle House, 44 The Strand in Exmouth. Or phone Chris Parrish on 01395 442275.

Beekeeping is alive and buzzing in Cape Cod, and especially in Barnstable County, where Brewster is situated. The Barnstable County Beekeepers Association (BCBA) is a 35-year-old group of more than 200 honeybee enthusiasts from Cape Cod and the surrounding area. Today, Saturday 10 October, from 1.00 to 3.00 pm the fourth annual Honeybee Jamboree is being held at Brewster’s Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. The cost is $3 for members and $2 for nonmembers (with museum admission). This special event is co-sponsored by Barnstable County Beekeepers Association. Members will present demonstrations and sell their bee-related products, such as honey, candles, ointments and lotions. Members of the museum bee group will explain the honey extraction process and provide information on beekeeping and honeybee hive activities, and current concerns. A share of the profits of the event will go to the museum. Picture credits: http://www.barnstablebeekeepers.org/ and http://www.publicdomainpictures....

Hot on the heels of selecting and hanging work for the Summer Exhibition at London's Royal Academy of Art, acclaimed artist Eileen Cooper RA, joins the team at Budleigh Salterton's Brook Gallery to launch her solo exhibition 'Crosscurrent'. Often referred to as one of the British figurative artists, Eileen Cooper will host a private view at the gallery on 15 October from 5.00 pm to 8.00 pm. 'Crosscurrent' runs from16 October to12 November. Says Brook Gallery owner Angela Yarwood: “Eileen's work has an immediate appeal –her distinctive 'no nonsense' approach shows through in her work and, combined with her bold images from the outset of her career to the present day, they are a pleasure to exhibit. Eileen has lectured at the Royal College of Art and is currently teaching at London's Royal Academy schools. Her work has endless vitality and we are delighted to be able to show the full spectrum of media, including painting, to demonstrate the true di...

The Brook Gallery in Budleigh Salterton launched its current exhibition 'Of a Feather: An Avian Alphabet' by celebrated artist Colin See-Paynton at a private view on 18 September. His 'joyous designs' have been praised by renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Guests were welcomed with wine and canapés by Colin and owner of the Brook, Angela Yarwood. Seen here from left to right are Priscilla Hull, co-founder of Budleigh’s Fairlynch Museum, Angela Yarwood and Colin See-Paynton. The private view coincided with the launch of the first Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, with many of those involved in the Festival joining in the celebrations, including its President, Sue Lawley, and guest author Virginia Ironside. Pictured above are Literary Festival Chairman Susan Ward, author Hugh Williams, Sue Lawley and James Griffin of Everys Solicitors, lead sponsors of the 2009 Festival. Christopher Briscoe (Literary Festival Treasurer) and Jane Briscoe, with Festival committ...

I’d intended to write something about the excellent three-day first-ever Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, but somehow it’s already slipped weeks into the past. And I’m well aware that my postings have been rather spasmodic of late and feel that some sort of explanation is needed for my regular readers. Especially as this post I’m writing now is the sixth in my block of six-bulletin summaries that I’d been emailing to them. And more especially as it could be the last! But I hope not. Today, as I discovered by chance in this morning’s newspaper, has been specially designated by the Government as Older Person’s Day, so what I’m going to write sounds appropriate. This is all getting rather personal and rambling, isn’t it? But maybe I’m just turning into a boring old blogger after all. I’m going to start again. Let’s go back to the Literary Festival. By now, everyone in Budleigh Salterton knows that it was a great success. The fine weather helped of course. But a lot of work had been p...