Mickleton

The Plantation corner stones have been cemented in.

The soakaway under the cemetery tap has been cleaned out by the odd-job man, who has almost completed clearing the church walls of ivy and brambles.

A letter has been received from GCC regarding the bus timetable, that was put up on the bus shelter. It needs permission from the bus company, so it will be taken down in due course and placed within the shelter.

Pavements footpaths and roads: The overgrown hedges in the village are to be attended to and the road junctions repainted following recent road works.

A finger signpost has been requested for the Plantation.

A letter was read out from a parishioner in Meon Road, who suggested that yellow lines should be used along parts of the High Street due to traffic congestion. All councillors are not in favour of this though parking round the Plantation should be discouraged. The letter will be sent to the highways department for their comments and a discussion will take place at the May meeting.

A report was made that there was an increase of HGV vehicles using Granbrook Lane. County councillor J Girling would like to know the lorry firm names and at what times they are using the road, to check if they are legal.

A sincere thank you was expressed by the chairman to councillors and members of the public who helped in the recent successful clean-up. It is hoped everyone will keep their areas tidy in readiness for the Bledisloe Cup competition.

A letter of thanks was received from the Hedgehog Bus for the £200 received.

The police mobile station will be visiting Ballards Close on Thursday, May 19, noon-1pm.

A letter was received from Lesley Wade asking if the Brownies could paint a mural inside the bus shelter on boards.

The council agreed to this and suggested that the side walls should be used and that they would give a sum of money towards anti-graffiti paint on their completion. Ray Slingsby had also offered to paint the rest of the interior.

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, May 25 at 7.30pm.

GARDENING CLUB HOLIDAY: Twenty-seven members of Mickleton Gardening Club set off for Cornwall on Friday, April 22. They stopped first near Port Isaac for lunch to see Long Cross, a rectangular Victorian garden, a little dilapidated at present, with a maze of paths threading through shrubs with viewpoints, standing stones and dovecote. Then it was on to Newquay, where after several turns around the town, Eric found the hotel perched on cliffs above Towan Bay.On Saturday morning there was the first of five Cornish gardens all featuring rhododendrons, camellia, azalea and magnolia, most of which were planted from the discoveries of plant hunters in China 100 years ago. Trebah's 26 acres dropped down a steep-sided valley to its beach on the Helford river and were full of exotic plants within an amphitheatre of rhododendron. Next door, Glendurgan was a similar but more manicured version with huge banks of wild flowers, a maze in which to get lost and a tiny village on the same estuary.On Sunday members first viewed the restoration of Heligan, marvelling at the walled gardens for vegetables, flowers and fruit that included melon and pineapple, and the pleasure grounds which included Italian and New Zealand gardens. There was a jungle area, a wildlife hide showing live pictures of barn owls from a hidden camera in their nest box, and ancient woodland where coppicing, charcoal burning and woodwork take place as in medieval times. Members then went on to Caerhays Castle, a springtime paradise with enormous tree magnolias above carpets of spring flowers. The parkland led down to a private beach.The last day saw half the group at Lanhydrock, a beautiful house and superbly maintained garden with planted beds and borders that would give interest at all times of the year, set in 450 acres of woods and park running down to the Fowey river. Again the tree magnolias were unforgettable. Others visited the Eden Project, a construction of two huge biomes in a disused clay pit housing plants from temperate and tropical areas.