Author Archives: AH

Parish war exhibition


Exhibition in St Sampson’s church, to show how the two world wars, and all the other wars of the last century, affected the families of the people who have lived in South Hill Parish, during that time, or live here now.
This is not just about families who were living here during the wars, although obviously they have some interesting stories to tell, but also those parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts etc. of the families who live here today, and who may have been living hundreds of miles away.
We have some fascinating stuff, including details of a South Hill man who was awarded the Victoria Cross, but there must be much more we could include. Pictures, letters, diaries, photographs of medals, and newspaper clippings are ideal, but we would also like the stories of what happened on the ‘home front’.
Land girls, prisoners working on farms, home guard (Did we have our own Captain Mannering ?), ambulance drivers, evacuees, merchant navy, or anything about how our families were affected.  Does anyone still have a gas mask, or a ration book ?
Please let me know if you have anything.  We can help with printing and copying if it is too valuable to loan.
Geoff Clemerson, Anvil Cottage, 01579 362623 gcclemerson@gmail.com

Continue reading →

SHARE Oct update


David Skelton has stepped down as Chairman but stays as a Director, Geoff Hardman has taken over as Chairman, Graham Beven Finance Director. Astrid Fischer Company Secretary and Sue Skelton Treasurer make up the Directors, with Mary Hardman membership secretary and Ali Humphreys PR making up the Management team that meet every month.

A year ago SHARE launched “Power The Night With Sunlight” led by Ali and Astrid and supported by the hall committee with Nick Easton as chairman, to gain votes for a M&S Energy grant to install a system to store the energy produced by the PV panels put on the hall roof 3 years ago, in short a battery . Thank you to the 1000’s that voted,(and got their friends to vote) BUT despite the huge support, we came second and lost out. BUT this summer, M&S Energy asked if we were still pursuing our project, and could we complete by the end of September 2018. We did and had a scare on the deadline when the installer’s wife went in to early labour!

The battery has been installed and tested and the data produced so far is really interesting and encouraging to see where further savings may be made. Within the budget SHARE are also installing new low energy light fittings throughout the hall.

Looking at other projects, the firewood sales continue to be a success and we’re searching for ways to be more sustainable; encourage coppicing and we’d still love to have a Parish Woodland. Continue reading →

Ex-Callington school students


Dear Ex-Callington students,

We have a number of events coming up, one of which is very soon and one slightly further away in time. We are also keen for any of you who would like to to come in to talk to our students about what you do either in assemblies or with classes; departments are always very keen to tell our current students about what you are up to.

Recently we have had scientists, artists, train drivers and ship yard apprenticeships who used to attend the college coming in and telling us all about their lives and careers since leaving Callington. We are also, of course, basking in the reflected glory of alumnus Joff Oddie’s sucess with winning the Mercury Music Prize with his band Wolf Alice.

On Thursday 1st November we are holding an event for our current Year 11 students who are just about to consider their post-sixteen options. If you were able to attend and talk to our students that would be great. The idea is that small groups (6-10) of Year 11s will carousel around different employers/alumni and further education providers to find out what the future could hold for them. The event is due to run from 8.50am until 11.20. If you can’t make it in person but would like to be involved then there are some options:

1: Perhaps someone in the organisation/company that you work for could come along

2: Perhaps you could make a 30 second video about yourself/your work that we could show.

3: Perhaps your organisation has a promotional video that we could show on the day.

Looking further into the future we another calendered event on 14/02/2018 that I am calling ‘I Love My Job’ which will be aimed at the younger children at the college; again, you, your colleagues or your virtual presence would be great.

Thanks for taking the time to read this; you are an essential part of our college community and we are hugely proud of what you have achieved,

Let me know if you can help or if we can help you in any way,

Best wishes

Jonathon Plunkett

Alumni Officer Callington Community College callington@networks.futurefirst.org.uk

Kit Hill U3A Oct. meeting


Kit Hill and Its Habitats with Chrissie Le Marchant
This month we stayed very much at home with a talk about Callington’s dominant feature Kit
Hill which at a height of 334m (1.096ft), stands proudly above the town. It can be seen from all
directions and I always look for it when returning to Callington to know a cup of tea is not far away.
Chrissie is very well qualified to talk about Kit Hill having until recently managed the Country Park.
She is qualified as a geologist and worked for many years in prospecting, gold mining and civil
engineering, including working on the Saltash Tunnel. She now works and volunteers as a Blue
Badge leader, walks leader and ranger and she has a real passion for the area of natural beauty.
She spoke with enthusiasm and knowledge, illustrating her talk with plenty of photos and diagrams.

Continue reading →

WW1 Exhibition at Sterts.


Linkinhorne History Group, exhibition to mark the centenary of the end of WW1 – and its effect on the Parish of Linkinhorne – is now up in the Gallery at Sterts. This exhibition includes illustration, information, artefacts and one of the newly restored Linkinhorne Rolls of Honour for WW1.  This exhibition is free and will remain at Sterts until the latter end of November.  The Gallery is open during Box Office hours.

 We will also be mounting another, quite separate, small exhibition to augment the centenary celebrations at Rilla Mill Village Hall where there will be a Victory Tea and Dance on Saturday November 10th – where the second of the restored Rolls of Honour will be officially handed back to Rilla Mill.

 Also, as part of our joint collaboration with Sterts, the Sterts Youth Theatre Group will enact a ‘walking play’, at sets around various locations on the Sterts campus, based on the research we have provided them with about the ‘100 men of Linkinhorne’ and the stories of their service in WW1. This will begin at 7.00pm on November 4th.

 And please don’t forget our talk on November 21st at the Cross Link Room, Upton Cross, where our guest speaker will be Major Hugo White who will further enlighten us with a talk entitled “The Role of the DCLI in WW1”.

 Peter Sharpe & Mike Todd.

LINKINHORNE History Group  EMAIL :  secretarylhg@btinternet.com

Church Matters Nov 2018


This is my 65th year, getting on a bit, but I was still born 9 years after the end of the Second World War. Whilst our nation has been involved in many conflicts during my lifetime, none of them have had a major impact on life in this country – although some terror attacks did come quite close while we were living in London. My mother told me a little of her recollections of the blitz – of one occasion when a stick of bombs was falling, each one getting closer, knowing that the next one would get her – but fortunately there wasn’t another one! My father never spoke about the war, other than to say that he was in a ‘reserved occupation’ and didn’t have to serve in the forces. It was only at his funeral that my brother and I learnt that he had been employed during the war years as an auditor hunting for ‘economic saboteurs’ – an account I shall now never be told in full.

Many, over the years, have been reticent to recount their war experiences, though fortunately a few have left us their stories in print, and there are many images which allow us a fuller picture. Today, of course, we see all too much of what is happening in conflicts around the world virtually as it happens. Such reporting shows us first hand what we have always really known – that war is a terrible thing in which there are no real winners, and where the only certainty is that there will be terrible suffering. This suffering is inflicted by all sides whether deliberately or by accident – wars create casualties – and wars are created by humanity. Continue reading →

Stroke Befriending Service


Stroke Befriending Service

Have you had a stroke and would like to speak to someone who understands? Volunteer Cornwall’s Stroke Befriending Service could be just the thing you’re looking for.

One of our friendly Stroke Befriending volunteers can meet with you on a regular basis and offer support and encouragement. We have found this can really help to build confidence and make people feel less isolated and more connected to their community.

This is a completely free service and volunteers can visit people at home, in hospital or in a care home. Stroke Befriending is also available via telephone, email and video call.

Or if you have had a stroke and would like to help someone else in their recovery journey, why not get in touch and find out more about becoming a Stroke Befriending volunteer?

Contact Volunteer Cornwall to make a referral or find out more:

Email – Laura Smith, Stroke Befriending Co-ordinator, lauras@volunteercornwall.org.uk

Call – 01872 266997

Visit – https://www.volunteercornwall.org.uk/how-we-help/health-social-care/stroke-befriending-service

Recycling for charity


Recycle these valuable resources and support charities.

UPDATED PAGE HERE > http://south-hill.co.uk/charity-recycling

Please collect these items and drop at a collection point near you, at the Parish Hall in Golberdon, St Sampson’s church porch at South Hill, Green Meadows (on the South Hill Road from Golberdon crossroads) , Trevigro by the bench,  inside Callington Tesco by the recycling, inside the Tamar AONB centre at Drakewalls.

  • Baby food pouches & lids (any brand i.e. Ella’s kitchen) and Ella’s Kitchen snack wrappers
  • Plastic trigger tops and pumps from spray bottles
  • Plastic tops from washing up liquid bottles
  • Plastic air freshener packaging, cartridges and used air fresheners such as plug in refills (any brand – NO GLASS or aerosols)
  • Biscuit and crackers wrappers including individual wrappers like penguin and cake slices. Must be biscuit not confectionery
  • Used stamps (leave at least 1cm backing paper around stamp) both UK and Foreign
  • Mobile phones, cameras, gadgets and more.
  • NOW! Toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes and packaging
  • PLUS Walkers crisps are recycling any brand of crisp packets, starting in December,  details to follow… hold onto these for now, don’t drop off yet. Thank you

Contact Ali  SHARE@south-hill.co.uk 

SHARE = South Hill Association for Renewable Energy

Callington U3A


U3A News – At their September meeting Callington U3A were taken on a magical trip to the Galapagos Islands by Ian Casper, a retired teacher from Tavistock, who achieved a lifetime ambition visiting the archipelago. Through pictures he spoke of the differing landscapes, volcanic rock, forestation, plains, shorelines, emerald coves and mangrove lagoons. Ian showed examples of the endemic animals like the inquisitive sea lions who welcome visitors, the gentle endangered Marine Iguana the only lizard that swim and feed from the sea. Roaming the shoreline are the prehistoric looking Land Iguanas, the popular giant tortoise, remember Lonesome George, and the delightfully named crab Sally Lightfoot. He went on to explain the many species of birds, the red and blue footed boobies, the Great Frigate and flightless Cormorant that have developed skills to swim instead of fly. There are 14 species of finch. One Finch breed lives alongside the tortoise eradicating annoying insects from them. The tortoise support this toilette by raising their legs to help the procedure! Amazing flora and fauna grow on the equatorial islands.  Ferns and trees, a cactus that grows on lava and mangrove seeds that floated to the islands and grew into large vegetation lagoons. This brief tour of the Galapagos was extremely interesting thanks to Ian Casper. Maybe one day some of us can make the dream come true.

Next months U3A meeting is Monday Oct 1st 10:45am start at the TOWN HALL, Callington

and will be an illustrated talk about Kit Hill Country Park, it’s history, geology and more.

Kit hill is the highest point in the Tamar Valley and has 400 acres of heathland and is part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage site.

 

Church Matters


Church Matters

There are times when I’m intrigued by the lives of well-known personalities. So often they can be seen to be achieving so much in their lives, and yet at times there emerges the frailties that they can suffer in their more private moments. There can be no doubting the influence and success that they have, but we don’t often catch a glimpse of the inner person that may be quietly plagued with doubt and fear.

I recently came across a Guardian newspaper interview with Lisa Brennan-Jobs. I suspect that name will not be instantly recognisable, but Lisa is the daughter of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, the company that is now the largest in the world by market value (over 1 trillion dollars). He was in many senses a brilliant man – a visionary of how technology could be designed and produced to not only look and feel good, but effectively support new and effective ways of doing things. One well-known example was the launch of the iPhone back in 2007, a totally new approach to the mobile phone which changed the market completely. Since that time most mobile phone manufacturers try to out-do the latest iPhone with each release of a new product. Continue reading →