The County of Devon

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/14184102

The Dartmoor town of Ashburton is famous for many things.

Pivotal in the tin mining industry in the nineteenth century, it is the largest town in the Dartmoor National Park and was recently named one of England’s coolest places to live by a trendy London magazine.

But political history was made in Ashburton, thanks to the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, which was established in 1982 undistinguished rock musician and former DJ David Sutch, known as Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow.

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In 1987 the party was at its most active in Devon. Totnes pub landlord Tim Langsford stood against Tory grandee Anthony Steen in the South Hams at the general election and polled 277 votes. Mr Steen won with 34,218.

Alan Hope, who ran the Golden Lion in Ashburton, then became the first member of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party to hold public office when he was elected unopposed to Ashburton Town Council.

He served for more than a decade and became mayor in 1998. The Golden Lion had become the official party headquarters, and was the venue for its lively annual conferences.

Screaming Lord Sutch took his own life in 1999, and Mr Hope later moved to Hampshire, where he became a member of Fleet council – once again uncontested.

In the sixties he had sung with Screaming Lord Sutch, who made him deputy chairman of his new party in 1982. His election to Ashburton Town Council in 1987 caused a dilemma in the party as they had previously been decided that any member who was elected to a public office should be expelled.

That rule was changed at the 1987 party conference.

Mr Hope, who is also known as Howling Laud Hope, is the current leader of the Official Monster Raving Loonies. He and his pet cat, Catmando, were jointly elected as leaders but since June 2002 Mr Hope has been sole leader following Catmando’s death in a road accident.

He competed with a previous feline friend, Mandu, pictured, to be leader when he lived in Ashburton.

To date he has stood for election to parliament more than 30 times without success. The 576 votes he polled while finishing sixth out of six candidates in North East Hampshire in 2019 is his best result to date, along with getting 1.6 per cent of the votes in Leicester South, where he finished fifth and last in 2011.

Other party members have enjoyed success elsewhere, including in Devon.

An outbreak of a diarrhoea-type illness is expected to last for "at least" a week in south Devon, with people told to boil their tap water until further notice.

Public Health said 22 cases of cryptosporidiosis had been confirmed in Brixham and up to 100 people had reported symptoms to their GP in the last week.

Infections from the parasite cryptosporidium can be caused by drinking contaminated water or swallowing it in swimming pools or streams.

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SWW's chief customer officer, Laura Flowerdew, said there was "no indication" of cryptosporidium in the water when it left the treatment works.

She said the water met all of the UK's standards and requirements.

"We've extended and enhanced our sampling given the issues that have been identified with cryptosporidium in the area," she said.

Ms Flowerdew said it was one of the additional elements of sampling on Tuesday which first confirmed there was concern with the water supply.

"Following that we've immediately raised a boil notice for customers in the affected areas which are Hillhead and Alston areas," she said.

The water company initially told affected customers they would receive £15 in compensation.

The payment, which will be made automatically, has since been increased by £100, to £115, SWW confirmed.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/10368165

Web domains in the name of a Liberal Democrat MP that led people to a Conservative rival's website all appear to have been disconnected.

Two sitting Devon MPs, Conservative Simon Jupp and Richard Foord, Liberal Democrat, will go head-to-head in the general election in a new constituency.

People typing in RichardFoord.uk, RichardFoord.co.uk or RichardFoord.com were redirected to Mr Jupp's site.

Mr Jupp previously told the BBC he was "not responsible for the web domains".

Mr Foord, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, had said the links "serve to arouse suspicion and undermine trust".

After it emerged on Monday the links were no longer redirecting people, Mr Foord said he was considering how to take the matter further.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/4179659

A peal of clashing bells echoes across the hills. Hundreds of rooks roosting in the cemetery trees splutter into the darkness. At 7.45pm on 5 November, St Michael’s church bells ring out in discord across the village of Shebbear, in rural west Devon overlooking the Dartmoor hills. On Bonfire Night here, there aren’t fireworks, there isn’t even a bonfire. Instead, there is a stone.

Beneath an ancient oak in Shebbear’s village square is the Devil’s Stone. It’s a sarsen – a foreign stone not from this area. The boulder is thought to be quartz composite, where the local geology is predominantly sandstone and shale. No one attending the ritual turning of the stone on 5 November is bothered what it’s made of. It’s that the stone is turned that matters.

Shebbear’s vicar, Reverend Martin Warren, plays a leading role in the ritual. He says the legend of the Devil’s Stone is that it was dropped upon the devil after a celestial battle with the archangel Michael, trapping him in Shebbear. It is turned every year to avert disaster, Martin says, and ensure he doesn’t “wriggle out from under it”.

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There are various theories about how the stone arrived in Shebbear, but the most likely is that it was deposited by glacial ice, as there are similar “erratic” stones nearby. As to its purpose historically, many believe it is the remnants of a pagan altar stone. It is also thought an Anglo-Saxon parliament gathered around it, since Shebbear was the centre of an Anglo-Saxon “hundred” – the division of a shire for military and judicial purposes under the common law.

Revelations – both pious and heathen – often happen on hilltops with their clear views of the heavens, and Shebbear is at the top of a hill almost 150 metres above sea level. A hilltop with a huge, strange stone would have been an auspicious site for rituals. As to why people started turning it, that’s another mystery. “Anybody who says they know is telling porkies,” Ron says.

The ritual is said to be one of the oldest folk traditions in Europe. Although there is no evidence of the turning before the 20th century, Ron says, “I only turned the stone for about 20 years, and my dad only did it for about 45 years – like the men before.” (The stone has been left unturned twice in living memory, during the two world wars. In the second world war, despite blackouts, this was swiftly rectified to avoid further misfortune.)

Calendar Customs

Paignton’s ‘Golden Mile’ is now multi-coloured and residents are in disbelief

Video by "sandpit72".