April mag

FROM THE REVD STEVE PAYNE

Dear Friends,

‘No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends’

(John15v13)

It is likely that you had never heard of a gentleman called Solomon Northup until recently. He is the main character of the Oscar winning film entitled ‘12 years a Slave’. I haven’t seen the film but I have just read the book. It makes fascinating but also chilling reading.

It is the true story of a free black man, Solomon Northup, who lived in the Northern States of America in the late 19th Century. At that time slavery was still permitted in the southern states. Solomon, on a business trip, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south. In the story that he goes on to tell of those years, he provides an insight into the practice of slavery, eventually he returns to his wife and family. Solomon comes across as a man of great integrity and intelligence who is able even in the worst of circumstance to see the good in all. He soon becomes valued not only by his masters but also his fellow slaves.

His salvation comes when one individual whom he meets refuses to accept slavery as the norm and agrees, at great risk to himself, to contact the governing authorities in Solomon’s home state to enlist their support in securing his release.

It is most likely that you have heard of the person of Jesus Christ, a man of the greatest integrity, whose words and actions were perfectly matched. A man who declared that he was God amongst us and that his mission was to bring us back into a relationship with the God who is our creator, the God who wants to free us from all that enslaves us and denies us life. This mission could only be achieved by Jesus giving up his life upon a cross.

We are soon to remember that death on Good Friday and marvel at the love God has for each one of us. On Easter Sunday we celebrate his resurrection that declares that the price has been paid, the conditions fulfilled, in order that we might find our true selves as children of God.

For many Good Friday can just be another working day and Easter just an opportunity for a holiday and the obligatory Easter egg.

At the heart of the Christian message lies the Easter Story, a story about freedom and life in all its fullness. Solomon at the point in his story when he describes his return to his wife and family invites the reader to pause and imagine the emotion of that moment.

Why not join us at our Services this Easter to pause, reflect and think more deeply about the story of Jesus Christ, a man of the greatest integrity.

A Happy Easter to all

Steve EASTER SERVICES

Palm Sunday – April 13th

8.00am Eucharist at St John’s Hooe

9.15am Eucharist at Holy Family Staddiscombe

9.15am Eucharist at Church of the Good Shepherd

10.00am ‘Worship @ 10’ St Mary’s Parish Hall

10.45am Sung Eucharist at St Mary’s

10.45am Eucharist at St John’s

3.00pm ‘Egg-cited about Easter’ – Good Shepherd Hall

4.00pm Easter Messy Church – Staddiscombe Social Club

Maundy Thursday – April 17th 7.30pm Eucharist at St Mary’s

7.30pm Eucharist St John’s

7.30pm Eucharist at Church of the Good Shepherd Good Friday – April 18th 9.30am Meditation on the Cross – Church of the Good Shepherd Good Friday Witness Walk to St Mary’s

(Meet at Church of the Good Shepherd at 11.15am)

12 noon Lent Lunch in St Mary’s Parish Hall 2.00pm Meditation on the Cross – St Johns, Hooe

2.00pm Meditation on the Cross – St Mary’s, Plymstock

To all members of the 8am Eucharist congregations

at St Mary’s & St John’s

8am Services for April & May

Sun 6

th April Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St John’s

Sun 13th April NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St John’s

Sun 20th April Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St John’s

Sun 27th April

NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St John’s

Sun 4th May Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St John’s

Sun 11th May NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St John’s

Sun 18th May Service at St Mary’s NO Service at St John’s

Sun 25th May NO Service at St Mary’s Service at St John’s

CHRISTIANS TOGETHER IN GREATER PLYMSTOCK

LENT LUNCHES

(commence at 12 noon) Good Friday 18th April St Mary & All Saints

There will be a Witness Walk to St Mary’s on Good Friday

leaving Church of the Good Shepherd, Oreston, at 11.15am.

You are welcome to join at any part of the route.

CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

This year Christian Aid Week takes place on 11th

– 17th

May 2014.

The familiar red envelopes will be placed in the Church for donations. We usually have a Bring & Buy Sale and this year we hope to have some form of fund raising – ideas would be gratefully received. -Jean Medway

EASTER LILIES AT ST JOHN’S

St John’s flower arrangers will be decorating the Church for Easter and would like to have white lilies in the Church on this special day. If you would like to buy a lily in memory of a loved one, please contact:-

Lis Pemberton (Tel: 407057)

Wendy Rees (Tel: 482833)

or a Church Warden.

The suggested cost is £2 a flower.

Please let us know the person’s name, if you wish it to be included in a list of name’s that will be put on the altar at Easter. -Lis Pemberton

WEDNESDAY HOUSE GROUP ANNUAL REPORT 2014 – led by Graham Dee

These house study groups were started in October of last year and are held on alternate Wednesdays at Mary Skilton’s house. The group averages between five and seven participants and we take this opportunity to discuss in depth as a group various themes or books of the bible. All members of this group have contributed hugely to the lively discussions with deep reflection on the meanings found in their own lives.

Since October we have completed three different areas and we are half way through a fourth.

“Encountering the Spirit” – 6 sessions where we discussed how the Holy Spirit works in our lives using key passages in the bible. We considered the true Spirit of God.

“Advent” - 4 sessions looking at the story of Mary, Jesus’ mother, relating her life and experiences of life to our own.

“The Miracles and Signs in St John’s Gospel” - 6 sessions considering the signs in this gospel that point to Jesus’ divine glory.

“Lent” - 5 sessions (‘on-going’) - a journey to discover the ways in which Jesus fulfils Old Testament prophesy and the sacrificial system.

Future plans include possibly considering:

Christian Beliefs - covering the Triune God, Human Nature, how God serves us and The Church- God’s holy people.

Philippians - Considering the fact that it is easy to rejoice when things go well but this letter was written by Paul from prison. We will consider what we can learn from him as he teaches us to live joyfully in the midst of troubles.

CAN YOU HELP . . . ?

To commemorate the 100th

anniversary of the start of the First World War a small group at St John’s is researching those connected with the church who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The memorial in the Memorial Chapel lists 21 names, two of which are buried in the churchyard. In addition, there are a further ten men, who were not from the local area but were based locally when they died and were buried in the churchyard. All 31 men were:

Those on the memorial:

William F.C. Abbott

George H. Axworthy

George W. F.

Battershill

William H. O. Brain

Thomas J. Brown

William C. Couling

C. Cowles

Frank Curnan

Arthur C. Doney

Samuel H. Dungey

Frank Elliott

John R. Gilpin

Francis H.W. Gilpin

George Pape

Edward S. Penter

William C. Rowse

George A. Squires

John J.H.C. Strudwick

Augustine Wells

Samuel S. Willing

W Wright

Those buried in the churchyard:

William A. Abel

Herbert Bailey

Dennis Clayton

Alfred O. Conyers

Arthur Cooper

Ernest G. Faulkner

Henry Gray

Thomas Little

William J. Nevin

W Young

We are very keen to hear from anybody who knows anything about these men; especially any relatives. In particular we are interested in anyone who knows anything about C. Cowles, as we have no information on him at this time.

We are also interested in anyone who has any information about the use of St John’s Church Hall as an auxiliary hospital.

If you can help in any way please email Tim Provost ([email protected]) or contact Mary Skilton (01752 407447 [email protected])

OUR VISIT TO EXETER

Sunday 23rd February was the day chosen to pray for the Plymstock & Hooe Mission Community. Therefore it was decided to join the congregation of the Cathedral for the Service of Evensong.

About fifty people attended the Service which was led by the men of the Cathedral choir and the ladies of St Peter’s School. We were encouraged to join in singing the hymns.

During the Service a young man who had walking difficulties, kept coming through the choir but no one took any notice of him. He kept walking his circuit around the cathedral. Also in the chapel was another young man who had a special wheelchair. He was used to the cathedral and enjoyed the Service. His eyes followed the other man and seemed to say “I wish I could do that”.

The Sermon was preached by the Revd Anna Norman-Walker, who several of us met when she came to visit us last autumn. Taking the reading of St John’s Vision of Heaven, she brought it into today’s world by a letter written by a Baptist minister about living in south London. He wished that people could leave their doors unlocked and children could play in the parks and streets without fear. There was no gang warfare and the need of some people to carry knives and guns. It would be possible to play or sit on the grass in the parks without fear of finding needles and drugs. People would be judged as people not by the colour of their skin or their religion. Again the disabled man’s eyes lit up.

We all enjoyed our visit to the Cathedral for different reasons, the Service, the singing and the beauty of the building whilst for others it is a place of solace.

On Saturday 10th May we, the people of Devon, are invited to join ‘Come and Sing’ Cathedral Evensong led by the Andrew Millington with choristers of Exeter Cathedral 1.45-5pm. It is hoped

that again we can get enough people to run a coach leaving at 10.30am and returning about 6.30pm. It will be a time to do what you wish or join the workshop. (Adults - £5, under 18 s- £1.)

If you are interested please contact your local churchwardens or ring Mary Skilton Tel: 407447 as soon as possible as it is necessary to book the coach and the place at the workshop.

THE TABLE TOP SALE on Saturday 15th February raised £327.26 for church funds.

THE COFFEE MORNING on Saturday 1

st March raised £181.80p, + what may be in the collecting

box, for St Luke’s Hospice, Turnchapel.

Please do try to come along to these events, a lot of hard work and time go into running them. The next Table Top Sale will be:- -David Roberts

TABLE TOP SALE

SATURDAY, 5th

APRIL 2014

10.00am to 12 noon

St Mary & All Saints Church Hall

Tea or Coffee ~ Raffle

In aid of Church funds

FUND RAISING - FUN RAISING?

St David’s Day. Were you at St Mary’s for the Barn Dance on Saturday 1st March? It doesn’t matter

whether you were stripping a willow, dozing a doe or simply sitting round having a good laugh. Everyone seemed to enjoy a very happy evening. It felt like a very good £6 worth.

Our caller, Martyn Cowling, liked to be called ‘Blue’. He had a great sense of humour. Forgiving to the very end, it did not matter whether you’d lost your partner, your balance or your sense of direction – he always managed to get you safely back to your seat so that you could recover for the next dance. And those sitting out seemed always to pick up on his sense of fun. Everyone went home with sides splitting.

Probably 65 people turned up. Pilgrim Pasties were very well-received and washed down with tea, coffee or cold drinks. We had a Raffle and in the end we were able to donate £150 to the Roof Fund and £150 to Christian Aid. What a lovely way to spend the evening.

Many thanks to Jill Downer and Heather Harvey for setting it up. We hope to repeat the exercise early next year but maybe at Staddiscombe – with opportunity for more people to attend? -Dozey Doe

THE RAINBOW PROJECT

Help for the Children of Romania

SPRING FAYRE

At Bee Pugsley’s Home, 7 Furzehatt Way, Plymstock, PL9 8LP. Tel: 401260.

Friday 11th April 2014 Also Saturday 12th April 2014

10.30am Coffee, 12noon – 2pm Light Lunches

Followed by a Cream Tea

For catering purposes please RSVP

Many bargains for sale at reasonable prices

They support a particular orphanage which Bee visited last year. There are 93 children from the age of 3 yrs. I met Bee when I was looking for a home for several knitted blankets. They send out a pallet full about twice a year. One went last week complete with Easter Eggs for the children. They also help people in the locality with packs for the elderly and Baby Starter Packs. Other things given to them are sold locally to raise money to cover costs and provide extra funding for the orphanage.

So hopefully this information in our Parish News might raise some interest and support. -Pauline Hardy

PARISH REGISTERS

We welcomed into God’s family through Baptism in January/February 2014 at St. Mary’s:

5th January POPPY NADIA JANE, daughter of Ryan Jane & Lucy Slemon. 12

th January LOGAN MARK PAUL WARD, son of Mark Ward & Shannon

Carpenter. LAYLA GRACE BARTLE, daughter of John & Clare Bartle. 9

th February EVELYN CATHERINE HORRELL, daughter of Paul & Michelle

Horrell. 23

rd February LEWIS STANLEY WEBBER-THORNE, son of Steff Thorne.

Worship @ 10

St Mary’s Parish Hall

2nd Sunday of each Month

This is the ideal Service for families to attend, which will last no longer than 40mins. It is planned with children in mind and for all those

who are young at heart!

In our Service in February we explored the meaning of God’s love as we had just celebrated Valentine’s Day

and in March we thought about the meaning of Lent.

The Service begins with doughnuts and drinks being served following which children and adults get involved with a simple craft activity,

which is connected to the theme of the Service.

Our next Service is on Sunday 13th April - Palm Sunday.

It would be great to see you there!

For more details contact the Revd Steve Payne (Tel: 213358).

Further ‘Worship @ 10’ Services are planned for: 9

th June, 14

th July and 8

th September

On the Sundays when there is ‘Worship @ 10’ in the Parish Hall there will be a 10.45am Sung Eucharist in Church.

PARISH A.G.M

The annual meeting for the Parish will be held on Wednesday, 30th

April 7.30pm in St Mary’s Parish Hall.

All are invited to hear about how we are working together across our churches to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is an opportunity to give thanks for what God has done amongst us and to hear about our plans and hopes for the parish.

ST MARY’S FORTHCOMING EVENTS

St Mary’s will be holding a 3-day Open Church centred on the Church and Parish Hall on the 8th

, 9th

and 10

th August 2014.

There is to be a World War 1 Exhibition in the Hall to celebrate the centenary of what was to have been the war to end all wars and emphasis will be placed on the men of Plymstock who made the ultimate sacrifice.

A Cream Tea will also be available in the Hall and, in line with the remembrance celebrations, there will be a unique opportunity to sample poppy seeded scones.

Meanwhile, the Church will be bedecked with flowers and interesting facets of our fine Medieval church highlighted.

The finer details of these events will be finalised in the fullness of time but please give a thought to making a note in your diary and invite friends and family to join you for what promises to be a very enjoyable day.

THE COFFEE POT, Madford Lane, Launceston

Can you remember Jo White? She moved from Plymstock to a lecturing job in Essex some eight years ago. Whilst at St Mary’s Jo often shared her energy and practical ability by helping to organise social events. She was a regular worshipper and was greatly missed when she left. But now she’s written to say that she is back in the south west.

Bravely – following redundancy from the college in east London – Jo has now opened her own tea-and-coffee shop in Launceston. She says she is introducing a new menu. “... up till now it has been mainly light snacks, all day breakfast, pasties and cakes. I am going to try a simple hot meal at lunchtime and see how that goes.”

At the moment she works Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday but “that can increase if other staff are missing. I am thoroughly enjoying myself and do not miss the college at all........ maybe I'll email the principal and thank her for making me redundant .!!”. There is also a Facebook page where you can check out the daily specials.

So that’s a positive piece of news. Maybe it would be good for a few of us to get over to Launceston, to see Jo again and to try some of her culinary delights. I’ll certainly give it a try. See you there?

-Richard Harvey

‘LOVE’

Now that St Valentine’s Day is over until February 2015 would it not be a good time to consider what it meant by that dangerous word ‘LOVE’ ? Dangerous, because it means different things to different people and can lead to disastrous misunderstandings.

Valentine–mode concentrates on the ‘EROS’ interpretation of LOVE, with much emphasis on physical attraction, good looks and high expectations of eternal happiness. Nothing wrong with that, it makes the world go around.

However, there is a different interpretation of this difficult word. It implies the ‘CARITAS’ meaning, of taking care of people when they are in need and being concerned for their welfare. It is the Christian

understanding of Christ’s command that we should love our neighbours – not just the ones next door – but the anyone in need. There is no requirement to like them (although it helps if one does) or to feel affectionate towards them. It is a tougher assignment than that. They might be quite unpleasant, disagreeable or downright objectionable. Then what? There is still a duty of care demanded if they need support. DUTY ‘Stern Daughter of the Word of God’ as Wordsworth described it, is a long way from the romance of EROS, but, none the less, essential if we are to have peace in the world.

Perhaps these two aspects of LOVE should be part of the syllabus for sex education in Secondary Schools. If it were, it might be of some help in reducing the number of unwanted teenage pregnancies, marriage and partnership breakdowns and violence between the sexes.

Teenage boys who are struggling to find out how females tick might be made more aware that EROS may lead to a boring duty of care. Teenage girls, who want to be loved and cherished by a special someone, would be more aware that CARITAS does not necessarily follow EROS. This then leads to a separate debate about RESPECT doesn’t it?

Oh dear, these troublesome abstract nouns! What do you think?

-Shula Molyneaux

AS IT WAS……

This month’s ‘AS IT WAS’ picture, submitted by Iris Simkiss, is of Hooe Lake in March 1989. Plenty of boats moored in the lake and in the background Bayley’s timber yard. Today the timber and buildings have been replaced by The Old Wharf housing estate and below the cliff face, further behind, a further 52 houses are being built. (Below a modern photo by Julia & George Dando).

‘YOUNG @ HEART’

At our meeting in March we had a very interesting talk about ‘Guide Dogs for the Blind’ by Phil and Jackie Barnet. They were accompanied by a charming German Shepherd puppy named ‘Bear’, aged 18 weeks.

The Guide Dog Association is centred in Reading and Leamington Spa. There is no financial help from the Government and the organisation relies on voluntary donations and helpers often to the large Stores and Parks to do a collection but they must not shake the tin!

The puppies stay with their mothers for twelve weeks. At the age of 12 to 14 months they are spayed or castrated. Dog trainers then take them for 12 to 16 months. The dogs must not be frightened of traffic or people as they are looking after blind persons.

Some dogs may be returned if not satisfactory and hopefully will be accepted as a pet. There is always a need for people to walk dogs, they are trained to be ‘working dogs’ not pets.

Phil and Jackie know someone who works in an office as a touch typist travelling to and fro by bus with the help of her Guide dog who stays with her all day.

Every hour in the UK a person goes blind. There are about 4,500 people in the country needing guide dogs, roughly 48 in the West Country. 380,000 folk are registered blind or partially sighted.

The dogs have to be matched to the person. A very energetic dog would not suit an elderly man or woman.

A whistle is blown three times to let the dog know it is feeding time.

Some people look after dogs for a temporary period if the owner has to go into hospital. If the owner dies the dog cannot be given to someone else as a ‘worker’ but can be taken in as a pet for someone.

Ruth thanked Phil and Jackie for coming to speak to us. They joined us for a welcome cup of tea and some enjoyable refreshments and Ruth thanked the volunteers who helped in the kitchen. After a Raffle everyone sang our special hymn before leaving for home. -Sylvia Cooke

Next Meeting ~

Tuesday, 1st April 2014 at 2.00pm in St John’s Hall.

New members are always welcomed.

Open to all.

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. ORESTON LENT LUNCH

For our Lent Lunch on 8th March we were pleased to receive £190.00. This was made up with many

donations as well as the giving on the day. It was good to have people from several different Churches and of course we were blessed with lovely weather. The collection will be passed to ‘Christians Together in Greater Plymstock’ for the charity Christian Aid.

-Hazel Osborn

VACANCY

The Church of the Good Shepherd has a vacancy for a ‘Plymouth City Deanery Synod Representative’ as Graham Lea is ex-officio. If anyone is interested please speak to Kevin Warley. Thank you.

CHURCH OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD .

Who said you were past your ‘sell-by-date’ at 80 plus?

The Almighty does not think so!

L to R – Barbara Millman, Margaret Hindmarsh, Cynthis Warren, Tony Ireland,

Connie Ireland, Hazel Osborn, Douglas Howing-Nicholls,

Rosemary Lea, Graham Lea

Di Stockwell Ruth Sendall

Lorna Bettison, Pat Doyle, Iris Hawkins

VERGING FOR THE ROYAL MARINES

In the Royal Marines Barracks at Stonehouse, Plymouth, there is the Church of St Christopher which forms part of the Chaplaincy to Brigade H.Q. 3 CDO, RM, and to the base staff in the barracks. The senior chaplain is also responsible to the CGRM for the oversight of all chaplains appointed to a Royal Marine unit, although spiritual control of the various denominations remains with the spiritual head of their denomination.

The chaplaincy in Stonehouse had an admin office and three offices for C of E, RC and Free Church chaplains, and because of the unique setup of the chaplaincy the Verger also ran the office and kept engagement diaries for all the chaplains as they all spent various amounts of time away attached to units of RM Commando. When in the early 90’s the Naval Chaplaincy Service was brought into line under the tri-service policies the post of Verger was upgraded in recognition of the unique requirements of the position to that of Chaplains Assistant to establish the different duties carried out when compared to other civilian vergers attached to churches of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.

St Christopher’s was opened in the Barracks because of a dispute with the local vicar at St George’s in Durnford Street, the local parish church (this church was bombed and destroyed in the blitz on Plymouth), so the Commandants lecture room was converted into a Chapel to start with and then consecrated into the Church of England in the 1930s with permission from the Archbishop of Canterbury under the Diocesan oversee of the Bishop of Exeter. Until the 1950s all the usual offices were carried out – Baptisms, Marriages, Confirmations and Burial Services.

There was before the War a strong Sunday school and a Mothers’ Union. After the War these fell away with the growth of married quarters throughout the local area with the Royal Marines and their families going to the local church within the area of their married quarters. Another reason for there being less Services was that the Marines were often deployed on war and peace keeping duties as well as training in winter warfare in Norway and desert training in the USA, with the USMC and other units.

There was still a need for provision of baptism, funeral and the occasional wedding, and for these I could call on the services of a retired Chaplain who was retained and paid for the Services taken. Also there were Commemoration Services for the remembrance of fallen comrades from ships lost and from Commando actions throughout the years. The main Remembrance Service was held in the Drill Shed on Remembrance Sunday when all those in barracks and their families came together to give thanks in memory of all who had given their lives in service of their country in both World Wars and conflicts since. We also dedicated after Remembrance Sunday 1991 a plaque to the memory of those Royal Marines and other Servicemen attached to them who gave their lives during the Falklands Conflict. There is also a Service held each year on the Hoe, after the main Remembrance Service, at the Royal Marine Memorial (this is situated on the grass slope which runs from below the Citadel walls between the main road and the old Marine Aquarium) and is in the form of an angel supporting a fallen Marine. There used to be four figures, two representing a

member of the Royal Marine Artillery and two representing a member of the Royal Marine Light Infantry but they started to become defaced by the weather so two, one each representation, were taken and placed – one outside of Brigade HQ and one outside Barracks HQ. During my time with the Royal Marines, I also had the privilege of twice acting as the Verger to the Chaplain of the Fleet in St Andrew’s at a tri-service Memorial Service, once for the anniversary of the anniversary of the Falklands War and once at a Thanksgiving Service for the ending of the First Gulf War. I was also asked to act again as Verger for the Chaplain of the Fleet at a Service of Thanksgiving at the closing of the Church of the Good Shepherd in the Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse, a very sad time as I had served in the Hospital on and off during my service in the Medical Branch.

The church in the Barracks will always be retained in one form or another as it is bound to change with the changing needs of the Service but no matter in what form it does remain its complements over the years will always be remembered by those serving, and those who gave their lives in the service of their country will always be remembered and held in high regard by those who have and will serve with the Corps.

Since starting to put this little piece together I have spoken to a member of St Mary’s who started his work in the church as a choirboy in the Barracks, singing also at St George’s and St Paul’s in Stonehouse. To this day he still provides valuable service to the Church. -Roland Corbey

PLYM VALLEY HERITAGE

Anida Rayfield, our speaker on Thursday 20th March, has been a National Trust volunteer for 5 years. Her talk gave an insight into the privileged way of life of the Parkers of Saltram.

Today we are used to doing everything for ourselves such as cleaning, cooking, gardening, etc. In the 1700’s & 1800’s this was different for the landed gentry as everything was done for them by their servants & staff. So just how did they fill their time?

The Parkers, who previously lived in Boringdon Hall, bought Saltram House in 1743. They had inherited their wealth and now proceeded to spend it in a big way! Their number one pastime was gambling, everything from horse racing to cards, billiards, cock fighting and even to the results of shooting matches in the grounds. The horse racing was very important and John Parker owned a number of very good horses which were kept at Newmarket & trained by Sir Charles Danvers. One of his horses, Saltram, won the Derby in 1783.

John Parker was an MP for Devon and this kept him and his wife in London for long periods. They enthusiastically took part in the social scene there, attending many balls and having their own functions at their London home, Kent House.

The ladies were prolific letter writers and much of the information about their life can be gleaned from reading the copious letters which still survive.

Other pastimes enjoyed were fishing, rowing and sea bathing. The men swam but the women were dipped!

All these pastimes were undertaken with much relish and there was clearly no time to undertake all the chores we take for granted these days!

Our next meeting will be Thursday 17th April at 7.30pm in St John’s Hall when Alan Bricknell will be talking about’ The Post War Industries of Plymouth’. Entrance fee – Non Members £3.00. Members free. All welcome. Subs are due at the end of April so please bring them to the meeting (still £5.00 p.a.) and a completed membership form (which will be enclosed in the Newsletter you will be receiving shortly).

RAY’S STILL RINGIN’ A BELL-RINGER who was taught the skill by his father during the Second World War is still ringing today.

Raymond Treeby, aged 80 years, from Plymstock, contacted the Herald after spotting a photo of his bell-ringing team from 1971 in the paper.

Raymond is the only member of the group still ringing at St Mary & All Saints in Plymstock every Sunday.

He said: “I started learning how to ring in 1945, at the end of the war when you weren’t allowed to ring bells. “My dad used to tie the clapper up so it wouldn’t make a noise.”

In fact, the first time Raymond heard his handiwork was in 1946.

He said: “After the war everybody was allowed so everyone started to ring one after the other in rounds.”

“I’m one of the originals of a family of ringers and I had a brother who did it that died. My son is the club captain now and I passed it down to my nephew.”

During the fifties and sixties, the group of bell-ringers travelled all over Devon, Cornwall and Somerset for competitions.

Raymond said: “We were going everywhere ringing in that group because that was our hobby, not going night clubbing and that.”

“There’s only two of us that live in Plymstock and I’m the only one that still rings.”

-Howard Hockedy

Hooe’s Place Community Café

Thursdays Open to all

Morning Coffee 10.30-11.30am

Freshly cooked lunches 11.45am-1.30pm

Local News Radord Quarry The Planning Committee in February refused planning permission to build 57 homes in Radford Quarry. The development would have significantly eroded the area's city-wide function for wildlife and in particular as a foraging area, a buffer to the quality habitats within the quarry itself and as a continuous link, corridor or stepping stone to the habitats of Hooe Lake. The character of the area would be adversely affected by the development. Development would aggravate existing traffic difficulties and be prejudicial to amenity, public safety and convenience. Protected trees on the site would be lost if planning permission were granted. There were 97 letters of objection including letters from ‘Bugslife, The RSPB, and Devon Wildlife Trust. There was one letter of observation and one letter of support.

Garden Waste Collection Collection of garden waste from designated areas of Plymouth will resume on the 31st March and end on the 30th October 2014.

Households are allowed to put out two reusable plastic bags each fortnight. Bags are collected on green bin days.

Plymstock Library Films The film to be shown in Plymstock Library on Monday 14th April at 2.00pm is Rush. The film has a 15 Certificate and runs for 122 minutes The films, Philomena and Gravity, to be shown in May and June are fully booked. For further information call 306606.

Village Green Applications Radford Dip An application has been made to Plymouth City Council to register amenity land to the south of Radford Dip, Plymstock as a village green. The application, PL/JAR/17205, is available for viewing at First Stop in the Civic Centre. Representations should be sent to Legal Services, Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Plymouth, PL1 2EW by the 25th April 2014. The application is available on the Council’s website at www.plymouth.gov.uk, business and property, legal notices

Billacombe Road The Planning Inspectorate will hold a public inquiry in the Council House of Plymouth City Council on Tuesday 6 May 2014 at 10.30am to determine the application for land next to Billacombe Road, Plymstock to become a village green. The Inspector will decide whether the land has been used for unrestricted leisure purposes over the last twenty five years

Mount Batten Ferry The landing stage at Mount Batten reopened last month after repairs to the pontoon. The ferry continued to run throughout the winter by using the Mount Batten Centre landing facility.

St Georges Day To celebrate St Georges Day there will be live bands, performances, fancy dress, food stalls, freebies galore, wine, ale and special guests in Plymouth City Centre Piazza on Saturday 19th April from 10.00 to 18.00.

New Street Names Street names recently allocated by Plymouth City Council in developments areas at Hooe Lake Quarry, Plymstock Quarry, Oreston and Elburton. New streets off Barton Road Hooe: Limeburners Road, Watercolour Way, Causeway View, Tram Walk, Outcrop Road and Reflections Road, New streets off Broxton Drive, Plymstock: Ashbrook Street, Kilmar Street, Linhay Lane, Murhill Lane, Perryfield Place, Sourton Square and Westleigh Way. New street off The Old Wharf, Oreston: Boston Close. New street off Reservoir Road Elburton: The Folly. It is current policy to allocate postal numbers to any new buildings in Plymouth, as house names alone are no longer acceptable or indeed favoured by Plymouth City Council or emergency services. Royal Mail is responsible for allocating postcodes.

A Fare Deal!

The way Plymouth City Bus website announced fares increases of 5p on single tickets over £2 and by 10p on return fares over £3 at the beginning of March. Day rider tickets will increase by 10p to £3.70 from the 20th April.

First Devon and Cornwall have confirmed that they have no plans to increase fares in the Plymouth and south Devon area.

Plymouth City Bus will make changes to a number of bus services on the 20th April in order to sustain reliability of services in the Plymouth and surrounding areas. Visit the Plymouth City Bus website for details.

Plymouth Live Music Nights On one Friday night each month from the 7th April until the 3rd October three bands will play live music at the Piazza in Plymouth City Centre starting at 7.00pm. Bar and food will be available. For details go online at www.visitplymouth.co.uk

Glass Recycling The Council has named Viridor Waste Management Ltd as preferred bidder for the contract to build and operate the replacement material recycling facility (MRF) at Chelson Meadow. Over the next few months the existing MRF will be decommissioned and Plymouth's collected recycling material transferred to another facility on a temporary basis while the new plant is being built. The exact date from which the public can put glass into their green bins has yet to be announced but this will be decided soon.

Cawsand Ferry The ferry from Plymouth Barbican to Cawsand will start running a full service from 1st April 2014. Details of ferry times and fares can be found on the website www.cawsandferry.co.uk or ring 253153.

Local Nature Reserve Plymouth City Council is to designate Radford Woods as a Local Nature Reserve. Designation will protect the 38.9 hectare site that separates the communities of Hooe, Plymstock and Goosewell from development. The area will include Buddle and Jennyscombe Woods, Brixtonhall and Basinghall Plantations. The area is currently owned by Plymouth City Council.

The deadline date for items for May 20124 Magazine is April 15th 2014 Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor Printed and Published by St John’s DCC, Hooe, Plymouth. UK. © Plymstock and Hooe PCC 2014.