Budleigh Past and Present

'Have you decided which way you will vote in the EU Referendum on 23 June?' asks Cllr Alan Dent on behalf of Budleigh in Business.  'If not why not come along to our “Open Meeting’ at 3:00pm on Saturday 7 May in the Budleigh Public Hall. We’ll have two local MPs one in favour of ‘Remaining’ - Neil Parish (Tiverton and Honiton) and the other in favour of leaving - Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbott). We can listen to their views and ask them any question we like to help us make up our minds. This is a strictly non political exercise designed to give us some answers to many of the questions that simply don’t appear in the press or on TV. Entry is free and there will be teas and coffees as well as a cash bar to help digest the information! Any money we make from this and a raffle will go towards the cost of hiring the Public Hall and the PA system. It should be an informative and fun event.  We look forward to welcoming you.'

This area is reasonably well provided with museums, which is only right for such an interesting and historic part of Devon. They all have their special appeal.  Some are luckier than others in that they are financially well endowed; others will tell you that they operate on a shoestring budget. But what are they for? That’s the question that Friend of Fairlynch and museum enthusiast Mike Wilson will be trying to answer in a talk he’s giving to the Woodbury Local History Society on Thursday 5 May 2016 at 7.30 pm in Woodbury Village Hall. Mike and his wife Margaret have been involved in preparing exhibitions at both Topsham and Fairlynch Museums, and spend a fair bit of time in retirement visiting places all over the world, including museums of course.  Always happy to ruffle a few feathers, Mike enjoys speaking his mind on a wide range of issues. It promises to be a thought-provoking evening.  Admission charge: £4 for non-members. 

At last, some pics of the jolly occasion when Fairlynch Museum's centenary exhibition in honour of former Budleigh resident and much-loved entertainer Reg Varney was opened by his daughter, Jeanne Marley.  The preview was attended by Friends of Fairlynch and invited guests, including the Mayor of Budleigh Salterton Councillor Courtney Richards and people from the world of entertainment who had appeared with Reg in 'On the Buses'.  

Click on the image to make it bigger. The science behind the verse will be explained in a forthcoming post!