Bypasses.
Having dashed up to Kent for the weekend for a family party I sympathise with 'The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy's comments on bypasses.
A bypass may be the most direct route between Points A and B; but if you are at Point C - between Point A and Point B - then why does everyone who is at Point A want to get to Point B; and why does everyone who is at Point B want to get to Point A? And what is so wrong with Point A that everyone there wants to get to Point B and similarly, what is so wrong with Point B that everyone there wants to get to Point A?
Being permanently at Point C was quite tiring, I found.
I haven't seen so many expensive cars in so short a time for quite a while: Jaguars, BMWs, Range Rovers and Toyota Weissmullers - indeed an extraordinary number of rather large 4 wheel drive vehicles. I could sense the curled lip as we crept up to the hotel reception trying to pretend that we had arrived in some grand machine and not our tired old Honda Accord with splodges of mud all over it.

Perhaps we should have slogged up in our very own four wheel drive - my Austin Champ.
Ah! What Dave and Andy Holland at Owlsfoot don't know about my Champ by now probably isn't worth knowing. You should see the delight in their faces when I when I say that I think something else has fallen off it. How they love it!

Anyway, this month seems to have been a time of meetings, which I won't dwell on, rather than social events. May is already looking pretty busy; and the Parish Day on Saturday 12 th June seems to be looming rather frighteningly large and close. I wish we could get a few more volunteers for our modest list of projects!

Saturday 17 April - Moor Harmony Miscellany. Sticklepath
Well.we got an audience that was roughly equal to the choir in numbers. Not bad for Sticklepath! The fact that they came meant that they were on our side and as far as we can tell they enjoyed it as much as we did.

We sang a couple of anthems: "If Ye Love Me" Thomas Tallis (which we all really love - how can it be so simple and still so stunning?); "Ave Verum Corpus" William Byrd; Old Macdonald; The Drunken Sailor: The Bell Ringing Song (you know: "The men of Northlew rang so steady and true that never were better in Devon I hold.") Speed Your Journey; Homeward Bound (which Theresa does brilliantly); and an extract from the Faure Requiem which we will be performing on 12th June in St Mary's South Zeal - yes the same day as the Parish Day, so help me!

Sunday 18 April - Quiz Night. Kings Arms.

I just don't get it. We had our 'A' team for that night and we still came ... well we didn't do very well at all. Andy: we got none of rubbish questions that he is so good at; Peter, nothing on cauliflowers his specialist subject; Ian; nothing on bridges of the world; and me: well I can't do everything can I?

Tuesday 27 April - Teenagers:
what do you do with them? Exeter School .

With my daughters aged 10 and 12 this is too scary a subject to report on.

Friday 23 April - St George's Day. Kings Arms.
I think the best thing to do here is let the pictures speak for themselves. Brawling, the Mummer's play, roast beef and traditional songs. If you haven't been to one of the Kings Arms events then it is time you did. It was another extraordinary evening. There is a pretty full set of pictures for viewing, if you are interested, on the wall in the bar.

I believe the Dartmoor Big Band might be coming on 30 May (please check this with Richard - don't rely on me) and that is not to be missed.