As you will have seen from the announcement on page 3 of last month’s Magazine, there has been a change of Editorship of the Magazine, and our Group sends the new Editor, John Arscott, our very best wishes and good luck in his new venture. He can rely on our support. Also (from this month) there is to be a change in the deadline date for items to be included in the Magazine. There will no doubt be a suitable announcement by the new Editor elsewhere in this edition.
The new deadline date means that I cannot tell you about how our March Open Meeting went, but it does mean that I can give you all the details shortly before the event, which means you will have less of an excuse for not joining us on the night!
Our first Open Meeting of 2017 is on FRIDAY MARCH 10 at 7.30pm, and features an illustrated talk about Kents Cavern, one of Devon’s foremost attractions and now a major part of the English Riviera’s UNESCO Global Geopark. The talk will be given by Nick Powe, who is the 5th generation custodian of Kents Cavern, which I am sure you will have heard about, and may also have visited. His talk will cover 400 million years of history, including the “show cave” we see today. But you may not be so aware of the English Riviera Global Geopark, and what it actually is. So this is your opportunity to find out all about the Cavern and the Geopark in the comfort of our own Village Hall. We start at 7.30 pm and admission is free for Members and £2 for non-members. There are posters on all the Village Notice Boards and Members will by now have had a flyer delivered to their door. If you wish to join our Group, the subscription is only £5 per year and admits you to free admission to all our Open Meetings.
Members may recall that the Group has for some time been anxious to find a suitable, permanent and convenient home for our considerable and ever growing Archive. Now, thanks to the generosity of our Village Hall Council, this has been achieved, and a separate space has been created within the Village Hall which is both dry and secure. The Group feels this is the ideal location for such a valuable resource for the Parish, and is indebted and grateful to the Village Hall Council for its support and assistance.
Members may also recall that at recent Open Meetings our Committee’s concerns with regard to the size of our membership and the attendances at our Open Meetings have been expressed, although the Committee is aware of, and appreciates, the reasons for this situation, which has also affected other village groups and organisations, and has in some cases in recent years resulted in the closure of some groups. We would hope that there are many people living in the Parish who have an interest in local history in general and the history of Marldon village and Parish in particular, and we would like to think that they would not hesitate to contact us about any aspect or question they may have about the history of Marldon. May we recommend that you take a look at and browse through our website – marldonhistory.co.uk – which I’m sure you will find interesting and informative.
We look forward to seeing you on March 10th, or perhaps hearing from you. Contact details are on our website. Many thanks.
Marldon Local History Group 