Milton Combe Village News
We have had quite a year so far in Milton Combe…
In April, I received a letter from the Lord Lieutenant of Devon, informing me that I had been nominated as one of the members of the public invited to attend the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle within the grounds of Windsor Castle. When the day arrived, we were able to take a buggy along the Long Walk to the castle as my husband has limited mobility, which meant being driven through the throng of people who had gathered; the crowd waved to us and we, of course, waved back. I think this alone made my husband’s day. We saw the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrive, followed by Princes William and Harry. A few minutes later a number of cars passed containing the bridesmaids, pages, the bride’s mother and lastly the bride. We were able to hear the whole service, including the fabulous music, and, once it was over, watched as the bride and groom left in their carriage. When all the main guests had left, we could enter St George’s Chapel, which smelt of roses. The day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I thank whoever nominated me from the bottom of my heart.
Thanks to the Town and Parish (TAP) fund, we now have a defibrillator at the village hall, which is great news as two people in the village have had heart attacks since Christmas; we now have the means to help should anyone else become ill in this way. In March, the village hall committee successfully applied for a grant from the Lottery Awards for All fund, enabling us to buy new picnic benches, that accommodate wheelchairs and buggies. Hopefully we will also soon have some new play equipment and a new path to the hall, improving access for those with limited mobility, wheelchairs and buggies.
June saw the 4th Milton Combe Piano Festival. This wonderful event involves bringing very high-quality pianos to the church to be played by world class pianists. All three concerts were sold out and the audiences were enthralled. Our thanks go to everyone involved in the organisation of the event. For a small village at the bottom of a steep valley, a lot goes on in Milton Combe.
Val Bolitho