Cheriton Bishop

“It takes a village to raise a child” is an expression you’ll frequently hear in Africa and if you think about it, it’s true.  Everyone has a part to play in educating, inspiring, supporting and encouraging our young people and today we can play our part in supporting one of our youngsters.  James Bowden from Crockernwell is a gifted rugby player and is currently the top scorer for the North Tawton Colts, XV team.

His lifelong dream is to play Rugby professionally and he has been given the chance of a lifetime.  He has been awarded a Sports Scholarship to read Business Administration at a very prestigious American university where he will have access to some of the best facilities and training in the world.  He is one of only 500 athletes selected from over 30,000 applicants Worldwide!  However, studying in the USA does not come cheap, he needs to raise between £5,000 and £8,000 to assist with his first year’s top up fees.

James’s mum and dad, Di and David Bowden, are organising a Race Night at the Village Hall on 16th February.  Entrance is a very reasonable £5 and there will be a bar, a buffet and a raffle too.

It’s not often we are asked to dig deep for one of our own so on this occasion I urge you to support this very worthwhile Parish Event.  It’ll be a great fun night as well as supporting a good cause.  Please contact Di on 07900 366401 for tickets and donations.

There’s also an opportunity for you to get involved with a very unique survey which involves sitting down with a cup of tea for an hour and looking out the window,  see page 9 for details.

If you too have been galvanised into action by Marie Kondo’s decluttering programme on Netflix, you will be grateful to learn that Longdown are holding a giant jumble sale in February and are looking for ‘donations’.  See page  20 for contact details.

And if you like dreaming about the Summer to come and the changes you can make to your garden, the Gardening Club have invited a garden designer to give a talk at their next meeting.  New members are always welcome!