Church Ale Maypolers

The 'Peppermint' meeting held at Sticklepath Village Hall at the beginning of the month (of May) was most interesting. The scenario was that the two parishes of South Tawton and Sticklepath were cut off by a major snow fall and subsequent freeze. Not just any old freeze, but something which meant that outside help was not available and which made communication around the parishes almost impossible.

We were presented with increasingly severe circumstances to consider, some involving serious injury and others moral dilemmas, such as whether or not search and rescue parties could be sent out to help those in really desperate conditions.

Peppermint? Well, I think the organising committee is something like Parish Emergency Plan Management Team (PEPMT) - or something like that – which is really bit too much of a mouthful.

I hope that a report from the organisers will be published in due course. It should be interesting reading.

Otherwise…. although everything really gets going at this time of year I have felt rather out of it this month so the only relevant records I have are of the Church Ale day on Saturday (just click on the picture for more) and the Cider Tasting day on Sunday (again just click on the picture to see more).

There was plenty going on at the Church Ale day, as the pictures show, with quite a crowd of families and people there; a good atmosphere.

Cider affects brawling!

I thought the Mummers' Play was particularly interesting; it was almost as though it had been written for the occasion; and, I might say (with all due modesty) I did think the Camera Man was rather brilliant and could have easily handled a much larger part as he was deliberately and cruelly given a mere four lines. It is not for me to say that of course, but as no one else has, I thought I had better.

The cider, pressed in October last year (the pictures are still somewhere on this web site) was fine. I tasted from three barrels and each had a distinctive flavour, particularly the one that matured in what must have been a brandy barrel in an earlier life. The weather was warm and sunny, and what with the picnic and cider brawling, the swimming and cricket – which I could still hear going on several hours after I had shaken hands with everyone and left - it was apparent that a pretty good time was had by all. Only another several hundred gallons to go!

Mike and Caroline deserve a medal for putting up with the invasion - but they can’t say they weren’t warned.

Robin Tilley - 1st June 2007

Editors note: Sorry for the late issue again - I'll try to get the July update out on time. Rob.