Ted Hughes OM –

90^th birthday on Monday 17 August

Monday, 17 August, marks what would have been the 90th birthday of one of North Tawton’s most celebrated residents, the former Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, who lived in the town at Court Green for nearly four decades until his death in 1998.

Born in West Yorkshire in 1930, Ted Hughes won recognition for his first collection of poems, The Hawk in the Rain, while still in his twenties and went on to write prolifically for the next 40 years, creating a hugely diverse body of work – from poetry and prose for adults and children to memorable theatre adaptations and translations. He is rated by many critics as one of the 20th century’s greatest British writers.

The natural world and our relationship with it is one of the most abiding themes in his work, from early poems such as The Thought Fox and Pike through to his classic children’s story, The Iron Man – still one of the author’s best-selling books more than 50 years after he wrote it for his own children. His Moortown Diary is of particular local interest – poems recording the years spent farming near Winkleigh in the 1970s with his father in law, Jack Orchard.

Hughes was also a passionate campaigner for the environment, especially the water quality of Devon’s rivers where he spent much time as an avid fisherman. In a long career, he garnered many literary prizes – including the Whitbread Prize for his last poetry collection, Birthday Letters, exploring his relationship with his first wife – the American poet, the late Sylvia Plath. 

In 1970, he married Carol Orchard, who still lives in the home she and Ted shared in North Tawton. Hughes was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984, the last person to hold the position for life, and was awarded the prestigious Order of Merit by the Queen in 1998.

The plaque on the Town Council Office wall commemorating the poet’s life in North Tawton was unveiled by Carol Hughes in 2011.

Photo showing Ted and Carol Hughes outside their NorthTawton home in the 1980s.

Photo copyright Mrs Carol Hughes.

BT Phone Box, The Square, North Tawton

With the posting of official BT notices on the phone box, we’re aware that residents will want to know what is happening to this box.

BT periodically consults with parishes about the future of under-used phone boxes in their area.  At the  last consultation, Autumn of 2019, we said that whilst we don’t feel there is now a need for the phone box at the junction of Mill Lane and Fore Street, we’d  like BT to retain the box in The Square.

It’s the emergency phone for the Town Hall, and also an emergency phone for people in the vicinity of The Square where the mobile phone signal is not always reliable – thinking of schoolchildren getting off the bus and needing to ring home for example.

We only recently became aware that the phone has been out of order,  and asked BT to investigate.  BT have a concern about the bookshelves that have erected being a potential safety hazard, and they can’t access the phone, so they’ve asked for the shelves and books to be removed.  It seems from the newly posted external notice that they are consulting yet again as to whether residents want to retain the box.

We’re aware that the books and DVDs have been a great help to residents especially during the more severe restrictions of the lockdown and we really appreciate people’s enthusiasm in setting up the free books initiative.

We’re waiting to hear back from BT about the consultation issue, and this matter will be on the Agenda for the Council’s next meeting on 7 July 2020.  If you have any comments, please be aware we don’t  have resources to monitor facebook pages and collate comments, but you can easily get in touch with us via the ‘Contact Us’ page on our website, northtawtontowncouncil.gov.uk .

Children in England who are eligible for free school meals will receive a six-week food voucher to cover the summer holiday period, after a campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

You can find out if your child is eligible for free school meals by checking the criteria on the gov.uk website

If you put your postcode in at place indicated on the relevant page you will go direct to the Devon County Council website where you can register for free school meals if you have not already done so.  Eligibility will be assessed immediately  so you will know if you qualify or not.

Alternatively, just go straight to the Devon Citizens Portal page, where you can register or log in to check eligibility.

Government FAQs on new Covid-19 measures – What do they mean?

West Devon and South Hams councils have issued a Government FAQ document to outline what the new measures mean in practice.

For more comprehensive information, please refer to the full Government Guidance Document – Staying Safe Outside Your Home.