There have been so many unusual bird records recently I decided that I needed to formulate a rationale to explain their presence. What I discovered amazed me. We hear so much these days about rewilding but I was unaware that there are dozens of such projects in Devon and some are linked to captive breeding programs (CBPs). There have, of course, been such projects for a long time in our zoos where great care is taken to ensure the birds do not accidently escape. This is not always the case elsewhere. Look at what happened recently at Escot …
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Paul’s Nature Notes June-July 2025
28 July 2025 By
Better late than never !
28 July 2025 By
The recent heatwave has seen us take to the field 7 times since the last report . We have sweated our way to four wins and three defeats and there have been days when the ground staff have been very pleased to be able to strip off ( not completely ) and have a dip in the cool waters of the mighty Tale – thankfully we weren’t attending a concert by the son of one Exeter’s finest caravan dealers from a year or two back ( hint – surname Martin) and so there is no recorded footage to embarrass either Ruggy or I .
Runs have flowed from the bats of …
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AI Minutes: The Future of Community Shop Meetings (and No, It’s Not a Robot Taking Over!)
28 July 2025 By
Guess what? We’ve taken a giant leap into the future at the community shop—using an AI app to record and produce our committee meeting minutes! No, we haven’t gone all "robot overlord" on you (we promise!), but we have found a super smart way to make sure every detail of our meetings
is captured. Particularly after long and stirling service from Roy who is retiring from the committee and as secretary.
Thanks to this nifty AI tool, the minutes are ready in a flash, so you don’t have to wait around to hear what’s been discussed. The AI app …
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Rectory notes – Islands
22 July 2025 By
On an island high above Newquay’s beach perches a house. You can rent it for your holiday – your own private domain for a week. We watched as a family dragged their cases and carried their food across the narrow bridge. (Sainsbury’s don’t deliver to the door, I imagine!). Practicalities aside, the romance of staying there probably appeals to many of us. We’re an island nation, islands are in our DNA. What is it about islands? The sense of independence? Of safety? Of peace? Of feeling special somehow? Something in our souls is drawn to islands, …
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Parish Council News
1 July 2025 By
Footpath on Hillside
EDDC have finally replaced the handrail at the bottom of the footpath down from Hillside, after more than a year of asking. I have now established which EDDC team are responsible for this footpath, so I can let them know if there are any more issues for them to look at.
Next Payhembury Parish Council meeting
The next Payhembury Parish Council meeting will be held on Wednesday 9th July 2025 at 7.30pm. The meeting will be a hybrid meeting with members of the public able to attend either in-person in the Parish Hall or via …
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Tale Millers CC
30 June 2025 By
As predicted last month, the return to home games and Ed’s cooking has seen a remarkable upturn in our fortunes!
After starting the summer with four consecutive defeats, in the past month we have blown away Exeter University, Blacksmiths and Artizans, Branscombe Ravens and Coaver Gerries (formerly The Geriatrics, but we aren’t allowed to call anyone ‘geriatric’ anymore) followed by a mid-match
abandonment with Talaton Inn and a narrow two run defeat to Bakers XI.
In the absence of Skipper Kittow (on holiday), Ben Peters took the reins and as …
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The 4th Annual Payhembury Village Show
29 June 2025 By
The show will take place Saturday 20th September 2025, Payhembury Village Hall at 2.30pm to 4pm.
The Payhembury village show was formed in November 2021 to remodel the Spring Bulb and Flower Show which was previously an annual village event, following a decline in entries. The committee are hopeful that the remodelled show which includes produce, flower arranging, cookery, crafts and children’s classes will attract more entries and continue to grow each year.
How to Enter:
1. Decide which class or classes you wish to enter.
2. Complete an …
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Payhembury Provisions
29 June 2025 By
I just love it when, while out and about visiting new areas of the county/country, I stumble across a beautiful village with... a COMMUNITY SHOP!!!!
Call me sad, but I just have to go in – it's as if there is a magnet drawing me in. I need to have a good old nosey around, see what products they sell, chat to volunteers about how they work, share ideas and experiences of wholesalers (always a great laugh) and just appreciate the work that has goes into running a ‘Community Shop’.
It is just so interesting - yes it really is! On a recent trip …
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Rectory Notes July – Travel Time
28 June 2025 By
Race Across the World is household viewing for us. The BBC series flings us to fascinating faraway places we’ll never reach.
We gradually get to know the travelling pairs as they open up their lives – a mother and son, old friends, estranged siblings hoping to reconnect. Plus there’s the edge of competition, the pairs sprinting backpack-burdened to each checkpoint. (The sprinting is a contractual obligation for the cameras, I
imagine!)
July – travel time. The evocative smell of sun cream and salt. Of car fumes in the motorway jam. Of freedom …
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Paul’s Nature Notes: May-June 2025
26 June 2025 By
I really should have known better. Having submitted the parish flora and fauna data to the Devon Biodiversity Centre was never going to be the end of it. A handful of wildflowers have since appeared: white clover, scentless mayweed, least lettuceand creeping St John’s wort and the parish bird list continues to grow now standing at 158 species. I may need to send an update!
A major report in 2023 highlighted that native UK plants were in catastrophic decline with the UK now one of the most nature depleted countries in the world where one in …
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