DECEMBER 2018 – JANUARY 2019

“Christmas comes but once a year”, as the saying goes, and so it is for your annual bumper, two for the price of one, double issue report. It gives me a few more days in which to remind you that the Group’s next meeting is our December Meeting & Christmas Social Evening on Friday 7th December, at 7.30 pm in the Village Hall, as usual.

This year, for various reasons, we have decided to change our usual format and have a Guest Speaker instead of entertainment, enjoyable though that has been for some years. Our Speaker will be Chris Robillard, a local author whose recently issued book is called “Captain & Mrs. Jones” – a true story of love, romance and espionage in war-torn France! The story has only come to light because the son of Captain & Mrs. Jones now lives here in Marldon, and has only recently been able to tell the full story to our Speaker, for reasons which will be explained by the author. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Mr. Jones Jnr, who is now in his ‘80’s and has not been well recently, will be able to attend our Meeting on the night. I am sure that some of you will recognise him from seeing him around the Village.

As usual at our Christmas Evenings, there will be mulled wine, coffee, and mince pies , plus a raffle, with many prizes. The Meeting will be open to all … Members and non-members, admission will be only £2, and in another change you will be able to pay at the door on the night. Alternatively, you can buy tickets in advance from either our Secretary Derek (529859) or our Chairman Tony (521419). We look forward to seeing you there.

I am pleased to say that our programme of Guest Speakers for 2019 has already been arranged by our Secretary, Derek. I have commented before about how increasingly difficult it is becoming to book good Speakers (with good subjects) so far ahead (we like to plan our Programme for at least a year in advance), and the Group is very grateful to Derek for organising our programme, which invariably receives favourable and complimentary comments after each Quarterly Meeting.
Our programme for the next twelve months is therefore as follows:-

FRIDAY 8th MARCH 2019
Our first Speaker in the New Year will be Robert Hesketh with “Smuggling in Devon – the truth behind the fiction” – an enlightening look at a very popular subject for which the West Country is renowned.

FRIDAY 14th JUNE 2019
“William, Prince of Orange, and his 1688 Glorious Revolution in South Devon”
How often have you looked at the statue overlooking Brixham Harbour, and thought “who’s that and what did he do?“ Follow the incredible and historic journey of William, Prince of Orange as he travelled from Holland to Brixham to start his Glorious Revolution, find out who he met, what he did, and where he stayed in Brixham, Paignton and Newton Abbot.
Phil Badcott is a Devonian. and the coordinator of the Local History Section of the Torquay Museum Society, and is a new Speaker for our Group.

FRIDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2019 (ALSO OUR A.G.M).
“Nature in the Garden” – an illustrated talk by Paul Rendell, who has spoken to us in the past and is always very informative and interesting on his subjects. Paul is an expert on, and Guide for Dartmoor, and his talk will appeal to gardeners and lovers of nature alike, of which there are many in Marldon!

FRIDAY 6th DECEMBER 2019
“A Great and Desperate Venture”. Another Speaker who is new to our Group is Ciaran Stoker, a Project Officer at Exeter University, where his role is “Telling the hidden tales of Devon’s past from the archives of the Devon Heritage Centre”. This talk tells the little known and seemingly unusual story of Belgian refugees in Devon during the first World War, and is probably the most unusual story to feature in our many years of Subjects chosen by our Guest Speakers.

The Group and our Committee hope that you will agree that the above programme of Guest Speakers and their talks will live up to the high standards which we have attained in the past, and we hope you will be able to come along and be informed and entertained. All are welcome to attend our Quarterly Meetings, admission is free to Members and only £2 to non-members. Coffee and biscuits are included. If you wish to become a Member of the Group our annual Subscription is only £5 – just come along to one of our Meetings or speak to either Derek our Secretary or Tony our Chairman. Telephone numbers as above.

Finally, as this is the last issue of the Parish Magazine for 2018, on behalf of our Committee may I thank all of our Members (and non-members) for their support through attending our Meetings and/or donating so much material to our Archive, and wish them all, and all the readers of this Magazine, a very Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year. We look forward to your continued support, and to seeing you soon.

Tony Chidlow .. Chairman