Unwilling to go into details here, but suffice it to say that things appear to have settled down at the bottom of the village since last Friday. I would ask everyone to be vigilant - especially so following the disgraceful dumping of ten sacks of hazardous material in Brim Hill on September 30th.
Try to take a note of any registration numbers of vehicles and the time, date and location. This information can then be passed on to our community policeman - I'll get details for everyone and post in the side panel.
Maidencombe is, and should continue to be, a safe and peaceful place for all residents and we can all play a part in achieving this.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sport excellence in Maidencombe
A piece of Torbay and Maidencombe history was written over the weekend when Neal Taylor of Brim Hill, Maidencombe was competing in the ASA Masters Swimming Championships at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield.
Neal Taylor (on the right) pictured at Ponds Forge Sports Centre.
His coach, another Maidencombe resident, Don Roberts of Ashley Priors Lane, revealed that Neal is the first ever club member to break the two minute barrier for the 200 metre freestyle event - no mean feat even today as it was the legendary USA swimmer Don Schollander who was the first man in the world to break 2 minutes for the event, on July 7, 1963. Don Roberts was the winner of the Torbay Sports Award back in 2006 in recognition of his outstanding services to Oddicombe Swimming Club and Torbay.
Neal maintains a tradition of sports excellence for Maidencombers, following in the wake of Hiley Edwards - formerly of Maidencombe Cottage - (1951-2009) the Devon cricket captain who scored more than 16,000 runs in 17 seasons.
Neal Taylor (on the right) pictured at Ponds Forge Sports Centre.
His coach, another Maidencombe resident, Don Roberts of Ashley Priors Lane, revealed that Neal is the first ever club member to break the two minute barrier for the 200 metre freestyle event - no mean feat even today as it was the legendary USA swimmer Don Schollander who was the first man in the world to break 2 minutes for the event, on July 7, 1963. Don Roberts was the winner of the Torbay Sports Award back in 2006 in recognition of his outstanding services to Oddicombe Swimming Club and Torbay.
Neal maintains a tradition of sports excellence for Maidencombers, following in the wake of Hiley Edwards - formerly of Maidencombe Cottage - (1951-2009) the Devon cricket captain who scored more than 16,000 runs in 17 seasons.
Friday, October 26, 2012
POLICE OPERATION AT SUITE DREAMS
Details are hazy, but there was a police operation today at Suite Dreams in Steep Hill with vehicles being seized.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
MAIDENCOMBE CROSS LAYBY WAITING RESTRICTIONS
At a council Transport meeting held at the Town Hall this afternoon, it was decided to implement waiting restrictions at the contentious Maidencombe Cross layby. After being advertised August/September, the matter was laid aside after objections were received against restrictions.
Support for the restrictions came from various councillors, including St Marychurch Ward councillor Peter Addis. SEE HERALD EXPRESS ARTICLE SIDE PANEL RIGHT.
Support for the restrictions came from various councillors, including St Marychurch Ward councillor Peter Addis. SEE HERALD EXPRESS ARTICLE SIDE PANEL RIGHT.
Massive temperature drop in the offing
Get those thermals out - there's a shock to the system coming Friday with a massive 20+ (F) degree drop forecast. Come the evening, temperatures will plummet dramatically. With the wind chill factor coming into play, it'll feel like 30 F approaching midnight Friday..
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
CALENDARS UPDATE
I'll try and get more of the calendars out to those who ordered them in the next few days. Sorry for delay, but I've been unwell the past few days.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
TEMPLATE CRASH
Sorry about the loss of the blog today - all my other sites are fine but, inexplicably, The Maidencombers suffered a rare HTML crash necessitating the uploading of another template. A bit of rearranging to do yet, but hopefully we'll be back in business later today.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Arctic winds combe bound
Our first taste of winter and plummeting temperatures as a cold front sweeps in from the north this Friday. Start looking for the gloves and scarf.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Evening sky on fire above Sladnor
So Cruise and I had just returned from our early evening walk but had noticed the pink hues forming as the sun set behind the western ridge above the Sladnor chalets. I collected my camera and went out again to capture a few shots. The hues changed dramatically in the space of a few minutes, progressing rapidly to lurid crimson. Later, on our nightly tour of the combe, the magic continued with the light rustling of falling leaves reminding me of the transition into deep autumn.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
'It was good while it lasted ...'
UPDATE Friday October 19th: Now hearing that the clearing of the grill was not as a result of any call to the council or trust, but as a scheduled task.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Maidencombe Calendar now available for distribution
We are pleased to announce that the MRA calendar is now ready. A screenshot of the front cover is posted on the right. In the next few days I'll be emailing those residents who have ordered copies to arrange delivery. Reply to query: Please email me at preconcruiser@aol.com with your name and address and I'll reserve you a calendar. They are priced at £6.50 each. If you reside outside of Maidencombe, I can arrange p & p for you.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
House Martins swarming in the combe
Noticed swallow type birds swarming south of the orchard yesterday but wasn't close enough to identify. Late afternoon today So Cruise and I encountered them again east of Maidencombe Cross. White underbellies and fairly short forked tails eliminated both swift and swallow and noted that House Martins have been sighted in fairly large numbers in this vicinity past few days. Allied to the drop in temperature, sure signs that winter is on the way. We wish we could migrate to Africa with them!
Friday, October 12, 2012
MAIDENCOMBE HISTORY: BLACKALLER'S COVE
It is a matter of conjecture whether any of the Blackallers had a direct connection with this tiny cove, let alone even visited it and the more common name of this cove is simply 'Table Rock'. A look at the clip will show you why ...
ARCHIVE FOOTAGE: SNOW IN MAIDENCOMBE
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Spend a peaceful minute ..
Up to the sixties, when there was no unsightly wire cage or slabs, the outfall was absorbed into the sea via natural rock layers. The legacy of man-made 'improvements' has now succeeded in making the access point hazardous to navigate.
3 MILLION GALLONS OF RAIN IN THE COMBE!
If this is an indicator of the amount of water falling onto about six square feet in 48 hours, I have made an approximate (very!) calculation of how much water has accumulated in the combe over the same period.
Bear in mind that I failed maths at school but here are the calculations:
Surface area of wheelbarrow 6 square feet .. amount of rain water 2.5 gallons .. surface area of combe approx 160 acres or 6,969,600 square feet ... divide that figure by 6 = 1,161,600 ... multiply that by 2.5 and you arrive at a figure of 2,904,000 gallons.
So there we have it - roughly 3 million gallons of rain water falling on the combe in the past 48 hours. Flooding evident on underground watercourses surfacing in the lower reaches by the beach car park.
Bear in mind that I failed maths at school but here are the calculations:
Surface area of wheelbarrow 6 square feet .. amount of rain water 2.5 gallons .. surface area of combe approx 160 acres or 6,969,600 square feet ... divide that figure by 6 = 1,161,600 ... multiply that by 2.5 and you arrive at a figure of 2,904,000 gallons.
So there we have it - roughly 3 million gallons of rain water falling on the combe in the past 48 hours. Flooding evident on underground watercourses surfacing in the lower reaches by the beach car park.
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
NO LET UP
Shades of last summer's great deluge when over four inches of rain fell in as many days. Further sustained rainfall the past 36 hours. I'll pay a visit to the beach tomorrow to judge the amount of water gravitating down the combe and out via the cascade.
Monday, October 08, 2012
Soggy combe
Just over an inch of rain fell Sunday night - as measured by my ever reliable weather station (wheelbarrow on the lawn) and this on top of the heavy rainfall of a couple of days previous. The forecast for the rest of the week doesn't bode well for the chances of the combe drying out any time soon. Be careful out walking - it's quite treacherous in places.
Kestrel o'er the combe
Birds of prey can be tricky to identify but the size of this bird and the unmistakable ability to hover distinguished this as a kestrel and not a hobby (can't hover) or a Peregrine falcon (black head mask).
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Combe flooding
Sustained heavy rainfall from late evening Friday into the early hours Saturday has resulted in the drains overflowing throughout the lower reaches of the combe. Steep Hill and Rockhouse Lane flooding across the full width of the lanes from midnight onwards.
Friday, October 05, 2012
A Nightmare on Maidencombe Street (2012)
The sort of garbled signage you would expect in urbanised Torbay but now Maidencombe Cross has taken on nightmarish proportions as seen in the photo above. Back in the 1950's a majestic tree stood in the centre of this grassy rise. Granted, there is a need for appropriate signage to inform but this conglomeration is ill-thought out and does little to enhance Maidencombe.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)