Budleigh Past and Present

  Members of the Exmouth & District U3A History Group combined a visit to Fairlynch on Thursday 5 June with a walking tour of Budleigh. Led by Museum Secretary Michael Downes and Chairman Roger Sherriff, the group enjoyed their exploration of the town in brilliant sunshine before a coffee break, followed by a trip round the Museum.  

  Research on Budleigh Salterton's 19th century sponge expert by Fairlynch volunteer Michael Downes has helped curators prepare an exhibition at London's Natural History Museum.  Above: The feature on Henry Carter FRS in the Natural History Museum's display 'Untold Human Stories from the NHM Porifera Collection.'  Budleigh Salterton’s only native-born Fellow of the Royal Society Henry Carter was the main subject of the 2013 Fairlynch exhibition ‘Sea, Salt and Sponges.’     The exhibition was accompanied by a booklet ‘The Scientist in The Cottage’, written by Fairlynch Museum Secretary Michael Downes. It was praised by the NHM’s Emma Sherlock, Curator in the Invertebrate Section of the Zoology Department at the Museum, and is the first-ever published biography of the Budleigh-born surgeon, geologist and spongologist.  Emma explained that the booklet had helped in a project that she and her NHM colleagues were wor

Yes, Fairlynch Museum garden is one of the 16 Budleigh gardens open for Hospicecare this weekend, Saturday and Sunday 28-29 June. Don't worry about the rain. All the gardens are desperate for it. Raindrops on roses make brilliant photos. 

Happy museum visitors Kerry Mayers and son Charlie give the thumbs-up to Fairlynch Whether writing online or in the visitors’ book, people continue to lavish praise on Budleigh Salterton’s museum as the season enters its third month.    The building, the volunteer staff and the exhibitions have all played their part in making a call at Fairlynch one of the enjoyable highlights of a visit to the town. “This is a lovely place for local history - beautiful building and packed with interest,” wrote Beatrice H. from Exeter on Tripadvisor. “The volunteers were welcoming - admittedly I am a history graduate but my 16-year-old daughter found plenty to interest her too. Nice little shop - we will be back!   thank you.” Alison Hilton and her family were also attracted by the building. “So pleased we popped in on Sunday - who could resist such a beautiful house?!” she wrote on our Facebook page. “We didn't have much time but the displays were really interesting and we wer

  Fairlynch’s newly refurbished Priscilla Carter Room at last has an acknowledgement of the role that the eminent scientist Max Perutz played in the Museum’s origins. The story of Perutz and Fairlynch’s radioactive pebbles is now on display in the area’s geology section.  

The Grand Book Sale at Fairlynch Museum on 28 June 2014 will be a great opportunity to find books recommended by Friends of Fairlynch and others at bargain prices. The range is huge - fiction, crime fiction, travel, biographies, art...   There will be something for everyone. And of course you can enjoy the garden. Or simply visit the Museum.

Above:   Beautiful domed blooms of the climbing rose ‘James Galway’ Sixteen gardens in Budleigh Salterton will be open on 28 and 29 June 2014, helping raise money for Hospiscare.  The gardens will all be open from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm each day. At only £5.00 per adult for entry into all 16 gardens that should be a beautiful experience! The gardens include that of Cramalt Lodge on Cricketfield Lane, home to Fairlynch Museum President Joy Gawne. It boasts a rose garden and a medlar tree among its charms. A photographic record of the evolution of Cramalt Lodge garden will be on display, along with an exhibition of bygones of yesteryear such as old toasting-forks and waffle irons.   For details of the Open Gardens event click on http://www.hospiscare.co.uk/Events/Event_calendar

  It’s a tiny gland no bigger than a pea, but for its size it’s one of the most important areas in the body.  The chemical messengers or hormones that it controls play a vital role in our health, affecting functions as varied as growth, mood and reproduction. Pituitary disorders are rare but serious.  When Richard Greetham, a director of Bradleys Estate Agents was diagnosed with a pituitary tumour his colleagues at the firm’s Budleigh office were naturally shocked and upset.  His good friend Robin Burne, pictured above, is a familiar face to many involved in our local property scene. Robin is determined to do his bit and help Richard and his family in any way he can. “Many people have not heard of this devastating condition, let alone the impact it can have,” says Robin. “To show my support for Richard I ran in Plymouth's Half Marathon on 27 April with other colleagues.  In June I am going to accompany Richard on Days 1 and 2 of his 'Tour De Bradleys' , when he is cyclin