SOUTH TAWTON AND SOUTH ZEAL PARISH DAY 12TH JUNE 2004

I am not entirely sure where the idea came from, but I was certainly one of those people who, when I hear the statement: ‘Someone should do something about it’ thinks that maybe it should ‘we/I’ who should do something about whatever ‘it’ is that is causing concern. 

Quite often the ‘it’ is a third party responsibility - a local authority as often as not. I cannot really fault the logic of those who say that they have paid through their taxes for ‘it’ to be done by whoever it might be, but I just think we might as well get ‘it’ done between ourselves and have a good time as well! Otherwise, how long do we have to wait for ‘it’ to be done?

Question: What on earth am I talking about you are no doubt asking.

Answer: The Parish Day we held on 12 June 2004. 

Most people reading this (if anyone does) will have probably forgotten the event or perhaps were not around at the time, but which ever category you fall into, I hope this note will either remind you of what a wonderful day it was, or wish that you had been there!

It was a Parish Council exercise, and I discovered all the paperwork at the bottom of an enormous pile in a cupboard. (There is quite a lot of it!) I cannot resist putting here extracts from some of the discussion notes made prior to the event, partly because (as is so typical of me (alas!)) I popped in some rather light hearted points into the notes which you might be able to spot.

What did we do on the day?

• repair and refurbish all the public benches around the parish;
• collect litter around the entire parish;
• clean all the parish signs and notice boards;
• redecorate the toilets;
• clear the land all round the tennis courts;
• tidy up the tennis courts;
• retreat and repair the fences around the playground;
• restore the parish boundary markers;
• clear blocked road drains;
• repaint the Victory Hall railings;
• repair the wooden sports pavilion;
• clear footpaths;
• er … I can’t remember the rest!

Just in short:

• we had a slap up fry up breakfast; 
• everyone then went off to their allotted tasks; 
• by lunchtime the tasks were completed; 
• we then had a hog roast (by Trevor); 
• we may have had a beer or two (or (I mean there were some sensible people) a few cups of tea);
• all sorts of games and the like for children and adults were held;
• everyone collapsed and went home.

What did I do on this day? Well, I can probably admit it after all this time: I swanned about in the Champ as chauffeur for the Chair of the Parish Council so that he could thank and encourage all the workers engaged in their various tasks spread around the parish.

I have included some pictures which may give you the flavour of the day. I am afraid that they are a bit disorganised - not in a great order - but they do show some of the preparatory investigations and the occasional ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots as well as everyone actually carrying out their tasks.

Looking at these photos after so many years, and seeing how many people got involved with such enthusiasm and goodwill, makes me think we should do it all again! I am sure there are plenty of ‘its’ that we could put right between ourselves!

Robin Tilley, March 2022

Photos also by Robin Tilley