Day of the Flood!

9.30am – I woke up this morning on the day I’m heading back to Tiverton. It’s a dry day today, a few puddles about. I pack some bits and head off on the train with three bags of stuff to Bournemouth station where I’m meeting Luke Baker from Cullompton who is coming home with me.

10.10am – The internet wouldn’t let me book tickets on the same train as Baker, but I got some for a different train going to the same place. I’m sure it won’t matter. Baker is carrying a heavy computer box back with him for some reason.

10.24am – The train to Weymouth arrives. We’ll be home at 2.15pm, but first we’ve got to make a few stops on the way so we’re heading to Dorchester South.

11.00am – We get to Dorchester South – I hoped to go to Upwey but the train didn’t go there – and now we need to get to Dorchester West. After a little debate on where it was Baker goes and asks for directions.

11.15am – After waiting for some bloke who was causing problems to move, we’re told that the station at Dorchester West is flooded and that we’d have to go all the way back past Bournemouth and get a train to Southampton Central. Ironically, this is the train I actually bought the tickets for. We are also told there is an alternate bus service at 1pm which is a little bit shit. I also send a text saying: “I can see the funny side in this. I don’t normally moan or get annoyed, I’m quite relaxed” which changed later that day.

11.36am – Here comes the train to London Waterloo, and it’s back to where we’ve just come from.

12.00pm – I open up my advent calendar in what I say could be the weirdest place I’ve ever opened a Christmas calendar. There is also people playing music on the ‘quiet zone’ which is just annoying, and I have a good grumble about that. I also have chocolate and lots of it, Baker says: “How on Earth do you eat so much chocolate before 12 o’clock?”

12:21pm – We’re back in Bournemouth: “I thought I’d left this place behind.” I tell my mum: “I’m going to be a little bit late home because of a puddle on the platform in Dorchester.”

1.10pm- We arrive at Southampton Central, Baker struggles with his suitcase as we have to go up and down some steps. We get a train to Cardiff Station but have a choice of getting off at either Westbury or Bristol Temple Meads.

1.40pm – The bloke on the First Great Western Service asks for EVERYTHING. He wants to see two tickets – because one obviously isn’t enough these days and it’s also the first time ever I’m asked to show my under 25s rail card.

2.10pm – We decide to get off at Westbury. One man warns: “You’re not getting off here are you. It’s a special day!” .. special? “Yes, because of all the flooding...” It’s hardly special... although I could have been home by now.

2.20pm – I go to the opposite platform but realise I read the timetable wrong so have to go back again whilst Baker has decided he can get a lift with his bag. A train to Exeter comes but it’s not going through Tiverton which is where I want to go. We’re left standing too and end up going through all the piddly places in South West such as Yeovil and Axminster. We’re also delayed thanks to another train on the line.

3.40pm – There’s lots of lakes outside in places where there wasn’t lakes before. I haven’t even seen much rain so god knows where it’s all come from. Oh well, we’re in Exeter St David’s now and are being rushed onto another train which is apparently leaving.

4.00pm – We’re being delayed again and have to travel at 5mph over the river near the Culm Valley paper factory. This is slow and the outside is again very watery.

4.20pm – Finally at Tiverton parkway almost two hours after I should have been.....

Tiverton Jive @ Moorhayes Community Centre

DANCING has never been my strong point, so when asked to go jiving I thought I’d be letting myself in for another article that makes me look like a fool.
Before the session a colleague told me I’d ‘be a hero a university’ because his friend learnt jive and was a hit with the ladies. Since I couldn’t even pull a cracker, I’d be able to put his theory to the test.
Moorhayes Community Centre was the location for my first lesson, with my only dancing experience being on stage with the Tiverton Junior Operatic Club, and bobbing up and down nervously in the nightclubs not knowing quite what to do.
Thinking it started at 7.15pm instead of 7.45pm I had the chance to talk with the organiser and jive instructor Phil Payne before the jivers got jiggy: “I’ve been teaching jive here in Moorhayes since February. To anyone who hasn’t done anything like this but wants a go, just come and try it. Like most things, if you want to do it, you’ll be able to with a bit of practice. I’ve learnt there’s no such thing as two left feet.
You know you’re in good hands when the teacher has won several being the National Aerials Champion, Southwest Best of the West and Leroc 2000 National double trouble awards.
When asked how many members the club has, Phil quickly pointed out that they don’t have membership as anyone can go and join in. There were a good number of people at the evening with about 20 all dancing together and learning new steps.
Jive demonstrator Elle Williams also helped get my feet moving in the right direction: “I like to think of myself as an all singingall and dancing person” she said
“It’s really fun to be able to help people here learn to dance and I do as much as possible.”
In the lesson we were taught The First Move and the Windmill which didn’t take too long to grasp, but putting dance moves together and getting the body going instead of looking like a broken down robot took more practice.
Everyone at the evening had a smile on their face despite some getting completely tied up in knots with each other. If you’re a newcomer and don’t know anyone there, it’s easy to settle and not be afraid to make mistakes as making errors is part of learning.
A combination of bravery, having a good time and being told I wasn’t that bad made me stay for the intermediate jiving.
After freestyle dancing and trying to get into an unusual position with Elle for a photo, the intermediate dancing began and it wasn’t long before my feet and hands were tangled up.
Anyone with an eye for performing should give this a go as there’s nothing to lose from doing it – apart from some excess bodyweight of course. There was a range of people from all ages there so you definitely won’t feel out of place. It’s surprising how much I enjoyed myself and I’d definitely go again – who knows, I may master the art of jiving and be that ‘hero’ at university!
Come along to Moorhayes Community Centre, on Lea Road at 7.45pm to get jiving. It’s £5 for over two hours of jiving and its well worth it.

A very weird Mornin - 24/05/08

A HOUSE of students was disrupted in the early hours of the morning when a resident's friend turned up drunk at 3am.
Gemma Mornin 21, turned up at the house in Beswick Avenue, Bournemouth because she wanted to talk with her friend who lived there. Lewis Clarke 19, who opened the door to let her in said: "Well, I didn't know whether or not to open it. I was about to go to bed and at 3am you don't know who it's going to be, or what they're going to want.
"When she entered the house it was clear she was pissed, and she wanted to talk to Jonny and use the toilet."
Jonny Blair 28, who had come back from a party half an hour before was in bed asleep when he was awoken by the banging on the door, but he wasn't prepared to get out of his bed and lumbered Lewis with the responsibility of his friend.
Gemma, who had driven from Poole to the house in Bournemouth whilst clearly being drunk was then offered the sofa for the night but instead went to lie on Lewis' bed. Lewis added: "I wasn't expecting it, I was hoping Jonny would have done something to help but I didn't want her driving home being pissed so I didn't argue and I got in bed beside her. At one point she started stroking my shoulder which was a bit weird."
At 7am, she got up to use the toilet and went to get back in the bed telling Clarke to roll over: "When I did roll over the bed sheets were completely soaked, it's like she was sweating all night or had pissed the bed or something. I couldn't sleep in there so I got up at watched Sunday morning shows such as Andrew Marr until Jonny got up."
When Jonny eventually woke up in the afternoon, Gemma was still in Lewis' bed which annoyed Jonny. He then told her to leave his house and how weird it was to go calling at friend's house at 3am. Jonny told us: "Me and Lewis were in the front room and I thought I should take a photo of it, but when I went into his room she was nowhere to be seen."
The two housemates decided it would be a good idea to take their mind off the fiasco from the previous night by driving to Durdle Door. Speaking at Durdle Door Jonny added: "I had to get away from it because I don't want to be in the house and have Gemma call again like she's stalking me or something. I know she's my mate, but there's no need to call at my house at 3am."
Since she left on Sunday afternoon, nothing has been heard from Gemma since but the bed sheets in Lewis' bed were changed later on that day

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Relative Values : Inger-Marie and her sister Anne

Anne 18, and her sister Inger-Marie 19, both from Norway, always travel to see their grandad Arne who’s 90, twice a year. Here they share their experiences and thoughts of the time they spend with him……..

Inger-Marie -
“As far as I can remember my Easters are, and always have been filled with loads of excitement and fun. We have always celebrated Easter in Hardanger at my grandad’s. I live in a city called Stavanger and Hardanger is a good four hour drive away, and we have to get on two ferries. My grandad is 90 years old and is in good health. When we arrive at my grandad we eat
Fleskasos - a Norwegian dish which tastes really good! It is a tradition that we eat that for dinner when we arrive. Afterwards, we help do the dishes, because he doesn’t have a dishwasher. We then go outside to get our stuff from the car, and then we unpack.
My grandad lives in a large house, all by himself, but he says he doesn’t get lonely, because he invites friends over. He is also very good at baking cakes, so after we have unpacked, he asks us to come downstairs for some cake and a chat. He goes to bed early, so he wants to talk with us first. We only see him every six months so there’s a lot of catching up to do!
He was in the Second World War, fighting for his country and has a lot of memories, but he doesn’t like talking about them. If we ask him gently though, he tells us. This is because he used to have nightmares which used to wake him in the night. Because of the trauma caused by the war, my dad tells him that it is good to talk about It, and that he shouldn’t be keeping everything locked up in his mind.
If the weather is nice, we drive up to the mountains. The landscape is so beautiful, and must be seen! I like all the seasons. In Spring, everything is coming to life, the heat in Summer, Autumn colours and the snow in Winter. There is a lot of snow in the mountains all year long and it is even there in May!
We don’t have to drive too long to get to the ski resort which is located at a beautiful place with loads of snow! I do slalom, and I love it! It is such a great feeling to be skiing down a hilltop!
On Easter afternoon we get Easter eggs from the Easter bunny. I don’t believe in him, but I think that the sweets inside the egg are tasty.
I really like going to Hardanger and seeing my grandad in the Easter, and can’t wait to go there again next year!”

Anne -

“When we leave to go to Hardanger to see my grandad we travel a long way from where I live in Stavanger. Inger looks out car in her own little world, my brother Hans never says much and I listen to my iPod. Sometimes we sing in the car to Hans’ songs but it’s usually quiet. Going to visit him is a bit dull, but we have to do it to please my dad.
When we arrive we have to unpack the suitcases and then after that, have dinner. We have a meal cooked by my grandad called Flaskasos and it doesn’t taste too good. It’s a potato meal and by the end of the fortnight at my grandad’s I get sick of potato as he always seems to have it for dinner.
After dinner we all avoid doing the dishes – especially me! I make something up like ‘I’m tired’ or ‘I’m going out for a while’ so somebody else does them.
My grandad makes us cakes and we eat them too, even if they were made years ago. He has made some nice cakes when he puts his mind into them, but with all the potatoes and the cakes; it can all become a bit too much.
Sometimes I make ‘new age’ food for him, and even thought he may enjoy the taste, his stomach can’t handle it and he becomes ill.
I always remember my grandad’s house being larger but it seems a lot smaller than how I remember it as a child. I think he must get quite lonely as he only invites people over about twice a month.
My grandad talks about the war, church and music, but we don’t really talk to him all that much. I don’t feel I can be myself around him and make jokes or have a laugh.
Recently he’s been telling us how he wants to die, and he’s bored of being in such good health. He just wants everyone to have a celebration of his life
when he’s not around any more.
Everyone has to go to bed at 9.00pm, but I stay up and talk to Inger or I invite a friend with me. Sometimes my grandad goes to bed very early -before 8.00pm.
The landscape around my grandad’s house is pretty. Norway is a beautiful country and I’m proud to be Norwegian.
When I am up in Hardanger in Easter I like to go skiing
and I love the snow! I’d like to point out; Inger is not as good at skiing as she makes out. I also enjoy the summer when we go fishing and making videos outside but it’s the same thing every year.
Nothing particularly exciting has ever happened during my visits to see my grandad. Once I nearly got caught smoking but that was it. Usually the best part of the vacation is watching a DVD on my Mac.
I’d much rather stay home with friends and go up the mountains and stay overnight in a rented room, but it’s traditional to go and see grandad and it has to be done.”

Open the God-Damn door!!

Have you thought when waiting walk into a building how inefficient it is? No?

In a busy environment with people moving about often from one room to another, I’ve noticed one major flaw in the way people go through doors. You would have thought that this process is traumatic enough as it is, with the thought of pushing a door saying ‘pull’, or attempting to open a locked one and end up making a tit out of yourself, but it seems people like to add to the misery of it all. Go and stand by any double door and you’ll realise what I’m on about. It is with that in mind I make a plea from the bottom of my heart – open the other door! It’s in the best interest of us waiting in the rain behind.

What is the point in having two doors when everyone seems to cram through one? You’ll notice queues trying to fit through the single door even though all it takes to improve the flow through a building is to open BOTH.

I have pondered what it is which prevents people from doing it. Could it be laziness, or the thought of embarrassment? Whatever it is, something needs to be done so we don’t all end up waiting in the cold or late for a meeting.

A vicar from Brazil who went up in the air using a load of helium balloons

has gone missing – perhaps he’s gone to the big man in the sky, or perhaps he’s trying to cross to the UK and apply for immigration?

Bread Related Injuries on the Increase

A JOURNALIST reporting for a Devon paper nearly ended up in hospital after cutting his lip on a baguette.
Dave Shepherd, who writes for the Tiverton based Mid-Devon Gazette, was unaware of the danger his lunch posed.
The lethal baguette had been bought from Sara’s Dairy, a bakery which operates close to the Gazette newsroom and is popular with the staff there.
However, the dairy may soon get a reputation for selling dangerous items as Shepherd had a bleeding lip for over 15 minutes. Tissues were quickly handed to him and blood didn’t stain clothes or cause major disruption in the office.
Whilst colleagues were able to laugh at how somebody could injure theirselves with a piece of bread, Shepherd was not joking and said: “I’m glad somebody can find the funny side in it.”
The bleeding stopped shortly afterwards and the day continued as normal. Dave did not let this put him off lunch and he has been described as brave for finishing it.

Family Holiday Ends in Casualty

It was a nightmare holiday in Majorca, dad was sick and I had blood pouring from my knee!” During the summer of 1994 James Tegerdine’s family of four went to Majorca for a weeks holiday but as soon as they left the house, trouble began. “The car broke down in Dartford Tunnel so we had to get a train and we missed the flight.” It didn’t get any better when they had got to the island and were relaxing in the sun beside the pool “I was running around the pool and then I fell over gashing my knee and had to have butterfly stitches!” However that was not the end to a traumatic holiday as the family were back in hospital again when James’ dad Pete was throwing up due to food poisoning – “I think it must have been a dodgy fish because he spent five of the seven days we were there in the hospital.” The holiday to Majorca just kept on getting better for James when he was playing with a ball which bounced into the road, “I was only six so I didn’t really know about it but I was a victim of a hit and run when a scooter knocked me over,” he explained (maybe it had something to do with the Spanish driving on the opposite side of the road?). Since Majorca James has been to Cyprus, the USA and the Caribbean but says nothing has been more eventful then the Spanish island. “Since that holiday, I’ve never been on Spanish soil again!”

Mid Devon Gazette - 2006

This is an email sent to me by an 'insider' back when the days of the Mid Devon Gazette were gloomy and the quality of the paper temporarily went downhill because of the cost cutting that was taking place. The email was sent towards the end of February 2006, a lot has happened since then!

"You might know, you might not know or you might have heard a rumour, about the radical changes taking place at the Gazette. People seem to be interested in what is happening with the paper, so maybe this blog will make a few things clearer.

Newspapers across the country are cost-cutting and streamlining their operations, and this is also happening to the Gazette and the four other titles run by Cornwall and Devon Media Ltd. Under the restructure, some of the staff here in Tiverton will be or have been made redundant, with effect from March 30 orthereabouts. From that date or before, other staff will be shifted to new offices in Barnstaple, where all the page production, sport and leisure will be done for both the Gazette and our sister paper the North Devon Journal. A three-person sports team will overlook both papers. A Gazette newsroom will remain in Tiverton but with only three reporters, and none of them will be on sport. The two photographers will stay here along with a couple of advertising staff. There will be no front counter or front office in Tiverton as of Tuesday, February 28, although those staff staying here will remain upstairs in the same building at 29 Bampton Street before, in all likelihood, a smaller office is found in the town. If you have an advertising query after February 28, you are encouraged to use the internet or telephone. If you have an editorial query, e-mail is the preferred route but as far as I understand it you can ring the doorbell just down from the main reception room and somebody will come down to see you. Alternatively you can use the postbox in the same dark blue door to leave reports, stories and photographs, etc. The wholesale changes have been in the pipeline for the past three months and, on a personal level, I am concerned at the shifting of many operations an hour up the road, the threadbare staff and the removal of a front office and town-centre presence. The Gazette remains the best performing of the five Cornwall and Devon Media Ltd papers in terms of readership (they are defying national trends by rising while the others are all about five per cent down), so in that sense it is even more disappointing that they are having to undergo these changes."

Crediton Residence and their Opinions

PEOPLE in Crediton have been giving opinions on how the town can be improved.
Joyce Huxtable, 78 from Orchard Court wants seats on both sides of the High Street for those who find it difficult getting around. She also expressed concern at the cancellation Chiddenbrook Surgery bus service.
Retired Carole Pocock is hoping that Tesco will improve shopping and that pollution where she lives on the High Street can be reduced. She also thought that there needed to be more space in town for parking.
Parking problems were also a view shared by Fifty year old Elaine Page from Churchill Road. Elaine who works in Stevie B’s Bakery said the town needed a Primark and that the arrival of Tesco should make her weekly shop cheaper.
58 year old Pete Spooner from Tebensmary continued the trend of people dissatisfied with the town’s parking facilities. “Finding a place to park is especially difficult during the weekend.” He also suggested that the Square could be improved to make it more amenable; however he hoped that the character of the town wouldn’t be lost.
Retired musician, Tony Truscott, 55 from Park Street spoke highly of Crediton after moving there from St Austell. “The streets are clean, the people are friendly. I would like to see more police officers at night and more disabled parking, but other than that it’s perfect.”
However Seb Worthington, 20 disagreed. “Crediton is on its way out. You know when a town is on the way out when you’ve got charity shops and estate agents.” Seb, a jeweller from Morchard Road suggested that the town could encourage people to visit if it promoted its history as a market town. “That way people from all over would come and spend more money and with that the town could be improved.”

Blair Breaks Bone - Neighbour Annoyed

University Student Johnny Blair spent the festive season hobbling around a flat because of a broken metatarsal. Johnny (27) who had intended getting legless at Christmas party at Bournemouth’s student nightclub – The Old Firestation – ended up barely being able to use his legs by the end of the night.

Johnny said he was attempting to retrieve an elf hat when the leg broke. “I was dressed as an elf and it was an expensive costume so when my hat go nicked I had to go and get it back, and that’s what I broke my leg because I must have tripped up.”
Although the leg was broke part way through the festive party, Blair was able to stay at the club until the end. “It was a painful experience walking from the taxi back into the house and I knew it was more than a sprain.”
Housemate and friend Jason Radford said “When he came home from the doctors the next day with crutches and a plastered foot I thought it was quite funny, I shouldn’t have but I did.”

The Public Relations student however had more worries and had to get coursework extensions all at least three pieces of coursework that were due in saying “I was quite happy really because I hadn’t made much of a start to one of the pieces.”
Johnny is due to return back to university next month however housemate Jason is concerned. “Our neighbour keeps telling us to move his car as his stuck it right outside there front and they’ve got a removals van coming. He’s starting to get quite abrupt about it.”