Author Archives: AH

“Owning a car of the future!”


As a result of an unfortunate incident involving a tractor, I had to look for a replacement van! I am very aware, as a regular cyclist, how damaging the effects of motor vehicle emissions are on the environment and on our health. In the UK alone, more than 50,000 premature deaths a year can be attributed to vehicle emissions. I also know how big a hole in my pocket filling up my diesel van was making each month.

I knew that an electric vehicle could be the answer, but I still needed a van. Following a bit of research, I discovered the Nissan eNV200. But was it practical and was it affordable? Well it was certainly affordable, with a 100 miles costing about £3 of electricity, compared to about £15 in my old diesel van. Coupled with my solar panels, zero road fund licence rate and very low servicing costs, I was certainly going to be quids in.

But was it practical? It was significantly smaller than my previous van but with van hire from £30 a day the crucial consideration was range. Nissan optimistically quote a range of 106 miles on a full charge, but real world conditions make it more like 75 miles.  It takes a different approach, but you soon adapt, taking every opportunity to charge. Unlike petrol stations, electricity is everywhere! The ‘rapid’ chargers as found in the Co-op car park are only required for long journeys or ’emergency’ top ups, 99% of the time you can charge at home or at work. Continue reading →

The Battle of The Somme


2nd/ 3rd July Rilla Mill Village Hall 10-4pm To mark the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme An Exhibition inspired by the stories of 100 men from Linkinhorne Parish who served in the Great War.

The Battle of the Somme was fought at such terrible cost that it has come to symbolise the tragic futility of the First World War. Its first day of conflict remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army and it was felt deeply at home.

By the first day more than 19,240 British soldiers had been killed and nearly twice that number wounded.

Many of the soldiers who had signed up were everyday young men from close-knit communities across the UK who subsequently suffered horrible losses. They were good friends, neighbours and colleagues who signed up together on the promise they would serve alongside each other. It sounded easy. These patriotic volunteers were sold on the romance of war, “Your Country Needs You”, and became known as the ‘Pals’ battalions.

The 100th anniversary provides an opportunity to commemorate the Service and sacrifice of those who lost their lives in the battle, to reflect upon the human cost of conflict and to have hope for a more peaceful world.   http://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/callington

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/media/4130/somme100newspaper.pdf Continue reading →

Bodmin Moor International Dark Sky Park


Our unique dark rural setting on the fringe of Bodmin Moor has an opportunity to make an historic mark, which will enhance our lifestyle, protect our community and last for generations to come.

Cornwall Council and Caradon Observatory have proposed a bid to have Bodmin Moor recognised as a Gold standard International Dark Sky Park, arguably comparable to World Heritage Site status. The Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Unit and the Campaign to Protect Rural England support the proposal and with public backing, the council will submit the decision this summer.

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for planning, said: “I’m thrilled with this initiative. It mixes the ageless fascination and romance of the stars with real science and learning, and it has tangible opportunities for tourism too.

“Recent observatory data shows that the quality of the night sky over Bodmin Moor is amongst the best in the world. Achieving recognition of this through an International Dark Sky Park designation would help protect the night sky from light pollution and bring other benefits, including providing a focus for awareness and learning about the stars and solar systems, a further draw for visitors to the area and a starrier sky for local residents.”

International Dark Sky Parks must be a protected landscape, and Bodmin Moor is already known as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Continue reading →

Queen’s Birthday Celebrations


 

2pm on the note the Golberdon gal’s choir & new Golberdon Philharmonic orchestra struck up with God Save The Queen and more rousing renditions to get the Queen’s Birthday celebrations well under way at the South Hill Parish Hall in Golberdon. Continue reading →

Art Exhibitions at The Pannier Market


DATES FOR YOUR DIARY AT YOUR LOCAL FLORIST.

Here at Jane’s Floral Designs, Art Gallery & Gifts, I am inviting Artists in and around the Tamar Valley to display their artwork at this venue in the Pannier Market, Callington. This year the exhibitions will be themed, run for a month at a time and each one will have a preview evening where light refreshments will be available.

The dates and themes for the first three months are:-

March – “SEASCAPES” (7th March – 2nd April) Preview evening Tues 8th March, 6pm – 8pm.

April – “SPRING TIME” (4th April- 30th April) Preview evening Tues 5th April, 6pm – 8pm

May – “MINING IN THE WESTCOUNTRY (3rd May – 28th May) Preview evening Tues 3rd May, 6pm – 8pm

Remember, there is no charge to browse the Art and with FREE parking now in Callington’s New Road car park there are lots of reasons to visit your town. Continue reading →

Darrens Cars Taxi Service


Darren also provides a ring and ride service subsidised by Cornwall council that serves Rilla Mill-South Hill- Maders  and then into Callington on a pre-booked daily service ( Monday to Friday)

It needs to be pre-booked at the latest 5 PM the day before travel . 920 from Rilla Mill
Return from Callington 1230
Senior citizen bus pass holders travel for freeDARRENSCARSAD

Callington Young Farmers Club


YF Club Update
This year we tried something different with Harvest Festival and joined up with
the towns Harvest celebration on Sunday 27th September in St Mary’s Church,
Callington. Members and Kev showed the town’s congregation our presentation of the fruits and Cat done a reading. The church were very supportive of us as a
club and appreciated our presence and bringing more to their service. Thank you to all the parents and advisory that came to support us.
Club also were out in the community at the annual Honey Fair on 7th October were Letty, Sam and Martin were promoting club and geeing  up some new members.
Clubs Annual General Meeting was held on Thursday 9th October at Dupath Barn where a room full of members, advisory and guests came along to hear a roundup of the club year and see the cheque presentation. £2400 was
split between Children’s Hospice SW and Cornwall Air Ambulance which was raised through a host of events held throughout the year including a wine and wisdom, dung sale, clay shoot and dog show. Well done to all the outgoing officers and best of luck to the new officers elected.
Continue reading →

Church Matters


Shock! Horror! Ed Sheeran has decided to quit all social media!
Ah, that’s nice, I hear you say – or perhaps more accurately, who is Ed Sheeran and so what if he’s quit social media. Some of course will know who Ed Sheeran is – a very successful music/pop star who was born in West Yorkshire in 1991. His beginnings in the music industry were done the hard way – he actually used social media to independently promote his songs – but then in 2011 his first album, “+”, achieved multi-platinum sales (over 600,000 by UK “platinum”
measurements). Since then he has won many music industry awards and has gone on to launch his second album “X”.
It was in December at the end of his world tour to promote the second album that his announcement to quit social media until next autumn was made. The announcement probably sent shock-waves through his 16 million Twitter followers and 5.5 million Instagram subscribers – people who are used to hearing Ed’s thoughts and what he’s doing on a regular basis.

Continue reading →