Produced by The Brentor Community TrustMarch 2017 - Issue 449 - www.brentorvillage.org

BRENTOR NEWS

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Coffee Morning - Saturday 4th March 10.30 - 12.00

Meet up with friends and neighbours. Enjoy the homemade cakes, freshly brewed coffee and bacon rolls. Popular raffle adding funds for the upkeep of the village hall. Followed by.....

Jumble Sale1.00pm start - 20p entrance. Bring your 'good' quality jumble to the hall either Friday 3rd 5-6pm or during the coffee morning. (Please remember we have to distribute anything left at the end to local charity shops or the tip)

Coffee Morning on Saturday 1st April will be followed by a clean of the hall, volunteers needed.All Village Hall fund raising. Sheryl 870554

John Burrows Boiler ServicesOil Fired Boiler Technician

Commissioning, Servicing, and Breakdown repair ofAll types of Domestic Oil fired Appliances

AGA-Rayburn trained(OFTEC Registration Number C9888)

Contact John on:Home 01822 810494 Mobile 0778 2345395

john_campbellburrows@icloud.com

Competitive Rates

BRENTOR FRIENDS OF THE FIELDDraw Winners February 2017:Nos. 3: Anne Clark 4: Liz Hill 5: Kate and Robert Kelly Each number drawn at the monthly Coffee Morning wins £10 prize. All income, after deduction of prizes, goes towards the improvement of the Village Playing Field.

If you would like to support your playing field you can join the Friends of the Field (FOF) in the ‘monthly flutter’ and perchance see your name on the winner’s list.

For ‘FOF’ details please contact one of the following members of the Village Hall and Playing Field committee.

Sue Stephens 860374 (stephens214@btinternet.com)Anne Clark 810035 (anne.clark13@btinternet.com)Kate Kelly 810287 (catherinekelly495@btinternet.com)

BrentorGardenClub

“Crete Flora: Orchids and Spring Flowers” - a talk by Tim EllisThursday 16h March at 7.30 pm Brentor Village Hall

Tim Ellis is a very knowledgeable and well-travelled plantsman and has worked in horticulture for the past 34 years. He will be giving the Garden Club a fascinating talk on the flora of Crete.

Crete was isolated from the mainland 5 million years ago. This, combined with the dramatic terrain of the island, has resulted in a wealth of plant species. The flora of Crete is one of the most interesting and significant in Europe and there are over 1,700 different plant species. More than 170 of these are endemic and found only on Crete and the nearby island of Karpathos and nowhere else on earth. Although the flora is considered to be one of the best studied in the Mediterranean, the catalogue of plant species changes steadily due to the ongoing exploration of the impenetrable mountain areas and gorges.

Spring is the best time to see a massive array of beautiful flora in Crete when the mountains, plains, olive groves, fields and sea shores are covered with flowers. Chamomile, poppies, anemones, iris, field gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus) and many species of wild orchids and other wild flowers grow all over this fabulous Greek island whilst fragrant wild herbs such as Thyme, Sage and Rosemary add a wonderful aroma to the hillsides.

Visitors very welcome, £2.00 on the door.Heather Webster

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Robert Cumming is a Member of the Society of Will Writers www.willwriters.com

Contact Robert Cumming 01822 860281 / 07958 669541 swwillsandprobate@btinternet.com

SOUTH WEST WILLS & PROBATE• Will writing tailored to your needs• Home visits• Will storage• Lasting Power of Attorney• Living Wills

Odd Jobs? General Maintenance? House Repairs?Masonry? Painting & Decorating? Landscaping?

Renovations? Building Work? Ground-works?“MIKE’S YOUR MAN!”

Mike Burns - Rose Cottage, Mary Tavy, PL19 9PR01822 810 795 - 07747 440 572

Your Local Handyman - Call for a Free Quote.nitaandmike@hotmail.com

Friendly professional service Guaranteed

Coffee Morningfor Brain Tumour Research.

Friday March 31st - 10am till 1pm.

Broadmead Cottage Darke Lane

This is a coffee morning for Brain Tumour Research’s ‘Wear A Hat Day’ on 31st March (hats optional!).

Brain tumours are the chief cause of cancer deaths in children and the under 40`s. Sadly research is seriously underfunded and only receives 1.37% of our national spend on cancer.Coffee and cake for £3.00. Cake stall and raffle (contributions will be gratefully received). Do come and support us. All proceeds to Brain Tumour Research. Liz Bashford, 810187 e.bashford@btinternet.com

Working Party at the Playing FieldNext working party: Saturday 11th March from 9.30am.

Please come armed with loppers, rakes, strimmers and wear strong gloves and boots. Refreshments will be provided.The work morning on Saturday 11th February went ahead as planned and despite the snow flurries we managed to do a reasonable amount of work. We aim to make, when possible, the 2nd Saturday in the month an outside work day. Please join us.

Sue Stephens 860374 and Kate Kelly 810287

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BRENTOR COMMONSA still, warm day in February is always a pleasant surprise and it is good to see the wildlife is starting to herald the coming spring. There is a hint of freshness in the grass especially along the damp path edges. The sun was shining on distant Gibbet Hill and St. Michaels church is once again standing proud with the scaffolding and shroud gone.

We all like to see the snowdrops in our gardens and the few daffodils that have been planted around the base of the signpost on the common let us know that spring is on its way. The catkins of birch, hazel and willow are starting to put on a good show and most of the other shrubs and trees are developing their buds. It will be enjoyable to watch as they burst into leaf over the next few weeks. The willows in Liddaton pond are especially bright. Our newly created access paths are being well used and it is now easy to get down to the water’s edge to see the masses of frogspawn. How many generations of frogs have been breeding here?

Bird life is still rather scarce and only the usual suspects, chaffinch, robin, hedge sparrow etc. are singing regularly. I did however hear the high pitched zee zee zee of a goldcrest as it worked its way along the hedgerow in

front of me as I walked. It seemed to be quite unconcerned about my presence and allowed me to approach quite closely.

Barry Albrighton 860445

A Villages In Action Event

- Kit Holmes and Al Greenwood -An Evening of Blues Music.

Sunday 12th March. 8pm at The Village Hall.

Enjoy an uplifting evening of gorgeous guitar, poignant lyrics and feisty fiddle playing. Kit’s trademark sultry vocals and virtuoso guitar playing have wowed audiences across the UK. Described as ‘Macy Gray meets Nick Drake’ by The Observer, Kit’s third album, Driving into the Blue, was met with high critical acclaim.

Expect an enthralling and energetic live performance of blues-driven roots with a soul sensibility.

This concert will probably be the last Villages in Action event in Brentor.

Ring Dom on 01822 810425Adults £8 Children £6. Bring your own drinks & nibbles.

Handel’s Messiah

Mount Kelly Choral Society present one of the great classics of the repertoire for their Easter concert at St Eustachius’ Church in Tavistock on Saturday, March 25th. at 7.30pm.

The Society has gone from strength to strength in recent years under the direction of their new musical director Julian Jensen who is also the Foundation Director of Music for Mount Kelly.

Messiah features a whole host of memorable music for both choir and soloists including of course the famous Hallelujah chorus and there will be professional orchestral accompaniment to complete the performance. Soloists include local soprano and Mount Kelly singing teacher Bianca Phillips, the outstanding young tenor William Wallace and former member and musical director of the Swingle Singers Mark Williams. Entry is by programme and costs just £10 for adults, but is free of charge for under 18s. Programmes are available at Book Stop as well as Ward & Chowen Estate Agents, both in Tavistock.

NOT Trump, Trump, Trump – but TRUMPER!

As the world faces endless news of America's 45th president, a Plymouth theatre company is “trumpeting” not Trump – but TRUMPER!

FREDDIE TRUMPER is the leading character in the ABBA-Tim Rice musical “Chess”, the latest offering from the award-winning musical theatre company PGS, which is set to take the stage at the Devonport Playhouse in March.

It's a story of love and politics colliding against the background of the international chess tournament circuit during the Cold War – newly topical as the USA and Russia strive for a new relationship under presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Brentor resident Peter Clement plays the KGB agent Alexander Molokov.

“Chess” opens at the Devonport Playhouse at 7.30pm Wednesday 29th March and runs for the rest of the week, with a 2.30pm matinee on Saturday.

Box Office 01752 600166 or www.plymouthgilbertandsullivan.com

Further information can be obtained from Ross Ayling on rossayling@hotmail.com

Rehearsalsare under way......

.. at Marvin Grange ....

(photos Barry Stott)

Diary Dates - all events at the village hall unless otherwise indicated.

Tuesdays 7.00pm Yoga Jane Osborne 832897

MarchSat 4th 10.30am Coffee Morning Sheryl Burroughs 870554 " " 1.30pm Jumble Sale " "Mon 6th 7.30am Parish Council Meeting: Caroline Oxenham 481415Sat 11th 9.30pm Working party in the playing field Kate Kelly 810287 Thu 16th 7.30pm Garden Club, talk by Tim Ellis: "Crete Flora: Orchids and Spring Flowers" Heather Webster 810004Sun 12th 8.00pm VIA - "An Evening of Blues Music" Dom Carnell 810425Thu - Sat 23rd - 25th "The Ghosts of Marvin Grange" - Brentorians Helen de Carles 810412Sat 25th 7.30pm Handel's Messiah - Kelly College Book StopWed 29th .... 7.30pm “Chess” - Devonport Playhouse Box Office 01752 600166Fri 31st 10.30am Coffee Morning - Broadmeade Cottage Liz Bashford 810187Fri 24th - Final copy date for April Brentor News! Jane Phelpstead 810635

AprilSat 1st 10.30am Coffee Morning Sheryl Burroughs 870554Thu 20th 7.30pm Garden Club: talk by Rupert Baker: "Behind the Scenes at Chelsea" Heather Webster 810004

Hall bookings: Helen de Carles 810412 All Brentor Village Hall bookings are shown on the website calendar: www.brentorvillage.org/calendar

Please check availability before making a booking request.

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FINAL COPY DATE - for the April edition:Friday 24th March - to Jane Phelpstead: croakytoad@ukgateway.net

Brentor News key facts Distribution: The Brentor News is also published on the village website www.brentorvillage.org. If you are outside the parish and would like The Brentor News emailed to you, send your request to ajw@brentor.net. A small donation to the Brentor Community Trust would be appreciated. Donations & Advertising: All donations, advertising copy and payment of £5 per advert insertion should be sent to Mike Whitfield 810209 in advance of publication, cheques payable to 'Brentor Community Trust'. Permissions: Contributors of editorial copy or adverts thereby give permission for the publication of the author's name and phone number and/or email address in the website edition of the paper unless specifically requested otherwise. Comments on the website edition should be sent to Colin Dawes colinvdawes@btinternet.com Editorial team: Joe Kuipers 810590 joekuipers@tiscali.co.uk Jane Phelpstead 810635 croakytoad@ukgateway.net Mike Whitfield 810209 mikewhit@btinternet.com John Wheeler 810083 ajw@brentor.net

www.brentorvillage.org.uk - Your village website

Brentor Village website is run by the Brentor Community Trust to compliment the Brentor News. It aims to provide in-depth information about our village and its organisations and to offer up-to-date information on topical village issues and events.

Contributions to the website, including articles and photographs, are always welcome and should be emailed to the editor, Colin Dawes, at colinvdawes@btinternet.com