Village Voice by Rosie Warrilow 25th November

The village now has a second defibrillator thanks to the generosity of a local family. The equipment was donated in memory of John Yeabsley’s partner Shirley who passed away recently. Shirley was a locals local who supported the W.I in the village for many years and is still very much missed in our community. John’s generosity is very much appreciated and he was supported by Shirleys daughter Paula for the installation of the equipment at the village hall. The defibrillator has a number of new features and is stored on the wall of the village hall. Smaller pads for use with children are available and the sturdy cabinet has an easy access feature, so vital in an emergency. Well done and thank you so much to John and the family of Shirley for this wonderful and lifesaving gift.                            

The organisers of the recent gift fair in the village hall would like to thank those who attended and all those who had stalls for this event, to everyone who baked cakes and to those who helped to support the raffle by donating prizes – A big thank you! At the end of the event, a magnificent £218.75 was raised for the Kingsbridge Foodbank. More good news for the foodbank has emerged with local supermarket Morrissons supporting the organisation under their Community Kingsbridge banner. All you have to do is add some extra cash to your order when shopping in the store, well done to them for this initiative. The foodbank is expecting a surge in demand as Christmas draws nearer, please donate generously, the festive season can be a very stressful and trying time for some.                                                     

Oh dear! Some suspicious activity to report on the river again, this time concerning potentially illegal fishing. Boats have been seen landing catches on the slipway, most unusual with the fish then being loaded into waiting vehicles, then sailing out down the river again. It has raised concerns as boats very rarely land catches here as they are usually landed in much larger places. With the long dark evenings now and further high tides, local coastal and river areas are being asked to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. Please report these boats and any netting activity to the Devon Sea Fisheries on 01803 854648 and out of hours the Marine Management on 07376026629.                                                           

Some festive events are already taking shape in our community, a  Children’s Christmas Workshop will take place in the village hall on Saturday, December 4th. All little ones aged up to 11 will be welcomed by Caroline and her helpers, please see Caroline for more details or look for the posters in the village. There will be various Carol services around the Modbury Benefice and St Andrews church family carols will take place on Sunday 19th of December at 4pm.  There will be a Holy Communion service on Christmas Morning at 11am but no Christmas Eve service this year. St Andrews will have a Sunday Worship service this Sunday starting at the usual time of 11am.                                                     

The Village Hall Committee will hold a coffee morning to raise funds for our hall on Saturday November 27th starting at 10am-12pm. Come along and enjoy cakes, coffee, and good company, and some lovely stalls to explore, enjoy this ideal opportunity to catch up with friends whilst supporting our hall.