Budleigh Past and Present

Above: Sunrise near Paine's Creek, Brewster. All photos by Byron Cain Some wonderful photos of the sunrise have appeared recently on the internet, perhaps because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. With the light summer's-on-the-way mornings I tend to get up earlier nowadays, but that's perhaps just because I'm getting older. So I'm able to admire the real thing rising out of the East while sitting at my computer during early morning blogging. But I haven't yet seen anything as fabulous as some of the pictures taken by photographers on the other side of the pond on America's East Coast. One example is at http://www.capecodtoday.com/blogs/index.php/2010/04/17/y-port-sunrise-brewster-sunset?blog=205 taken by Cape Cod resident Jonathan Mayo. I was also struck by these photos on Facebook taken by my correspondent Byron Cain in Budleigh Salterton's sister-town of Brewster on Cape Cod. Byron, who with his wife Donna runs the highly successful Brewster by th...

I see that Fairlynch Arts Centre and Museum in Budleigh Salterton is holding a Victorian Toy Workshop for children aged 7-11 on Saturday 24 April 2010. Noah's Ark, children's bricks, a rocking horse, cup and ball and other games long forgotten will be explained, along with a Teddy Bears' picnic. The Museum has a large collection of toys from the era when television had not been invented and before computers took over as one of children's main entertainments. Perhaps that's because of all the Budleigh grandparents who retired here bringing their children's toys with them. Which makes me wonder whether my son's mint-condition Millennium Falcon and assorted figures from Star Wars will one day find a home at Fairlynch Museum. Nearly every wealthy Victorian family had a wooden Noah's Ark, with pairs of animal figures, usually made in Germany where a cottage industry grew up specialising in their manufacture, with carving skills passed down within families fro...

Dog fouling and speeding vehicles through the village, including tractors, were the main concerns of East Budleigh residents last year according to Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Malcolm Maguire. Those issues have been or are being tackled by the Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) reports PCSO Maguire. After the long hard winter he feels it's time to repeat the 'Your Neighbourhood, Your Voice' survey as part of the East Budleigh Partners And Communities Together (PACT) scheme serving the village. "Now is the time to conduct a new survey to ascertain if the current areas of concern are still valid and to highlight any new ones," he says. East Budleigh residents can take part in the survey by either completing and posting the PACT postcards in the post-box found inside the village information point, at the village hall, or by speaking with PCSO Maguire at the next scheduled police surgery on 22 April 22, 10.00 am - 11.00 am, at the information point. Or they...

The humble compost heap. The answer to many of life's little problems? One of my correspondents has written about the following incident which happened recently. "Could it be of any use to illustrate life in geriatric Budleigh?" she wonders. "One of our choir members arrived for practice without his glasses. He'd searched the house from top to bottom and turned out every drawer and cupboard, to no avail. We all made various suggestions as to where he might look next. I said (facetiously) "Have you looked on the compost heap?" General laughter. Two weeks later we had a phone call; " Just to let you know I found my ****** glasses. Guess where? On the compost heap!" So whatever little difficulties that we might be experiencing with advancing years here in Budleigh Salterton, there's always a helpful person on hand with bright or even psychic inspiration to find a solution. My friend Annie confesses that she had a similar experience with her s...

Otterton Mill, just a few miles upstream from Budleigh Salterton, regularly hosts top-name performers from way beyond Devon's shores and the sell-out concert which opens the 2010 music season this Thursday 15 April is proof of the Mill's pulling power. "We're looking forward to a great evening this week with Mississippi-born Lisa Mills," say owners Simon and Caroline Spiller. "Lisa's soulful brand of southern blues has won her many fans, including Robert Plant who cites her as one of his favourite singers." "Along with Robert, Lisa has played and recorded with Jeff Beck, Jools Holland and Andy Fairweather Low. Her dynamic live performances have earned her a rare standing ovation and encore on Glastonbury's Acoustic stage, and her newly released 3rd CD is currently attracting rave reviews. "'Lisa Mills is the real deal; no studio tricks needed, no airbrushing required. By Invitation Only, is a wonderful listen - soothing, bluesy, roc...

The beautiful countryside around Budleigh Salterton often plays host to charity events, and the Rotary Club of Exmouth's Sponsored Walk and Ride has been a successful and enjoyable occasion for participants for almost a decade. This year's will take place on 9 May 2010, a sponsored 'family fun' charity event organised by the Rotary Club for walkers or cyclists wishing to raise funds for their favourite charity, club or good cause. All adult entrants are invited to pay a minimum donation of £5 per walker/cyclist over the age of 15 and are encouraged to raise sponsorship money. You can use this opportunity to raise money for your Charity or Club and the Rotary Club will be happy to provide you with sponsorship forms. The event is highly organised, with entrants being registered at the start at Bicton Arena. "You can take part in a five, eight or 10 mile walk or the 14 mile cycle route then set out walking or cycling, at your own pace," says Exmouth Rotary Club....

Route 6A in Brewster and the Brewster Store Picture credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/ I read in my news from Brewster, Budleigh Salterton's sister-community on Cape Cod, that they want to make it "look like a walking village" with what they call sidewalks and what we know in the UK as pavements or footpaths. The Main Street, otherwise known as Route 6A or, more appealingly to British readers as The Old King's Highway, could be re-surfaced. Now I've never been to Brewster, but I know enough about it to suspect that the town authorities would welcome the chance to make this attractive East Coast resort more tourist-friendly and safer for pedestrians. Budleigh people also would like to see improvements in its facilities for those who just happen to be on two feet rather than on four wheels, and every so often there's a breakthrough. The mums and dads on East Budleigh Road, for example, led a successful campaign to persuade Devon County Council to widen the narrow ...