Merry Christmas to Kingsteignton

It is difficult to make time for Christmas being a Councillor. Thanks to my friends I have managed two Christmas Bazaars, The Mayor's Christmas Carol Service and a Carol Service for the Children's Society in St Michaels Church Hall.

The Mayor enthused at his idea for his charity. He will set up a Trust for young people to extend their knowledge through travel. The criteria needed would have to be an educational project which would be beyond the reach of parents to pay for.
Click here for link: www.kingsteignton.gov.uk.

The Children's Society Service was interesting. We sat at tables of six to meet new people. The nativity was acted out starting with Mary and Joseph calling at the door of the Inn, waking a sleeping Inn Keeper. Accompanied by the organist at a keyboard the Choir sang carols with us all joining in. We were then treated to coffee and mince pies.

Pick up a list of Carol Services throughout Christmas from the Library printed for the Combined Churches of Kingsteignton.

IMERYS CERAMICS New Business in Teigngrace

On the morning that Vince Cable announced his ideas to make it easier for businesses to take on apprentices Councillors from Kingsteignton West were hosted to a reception at the opening of Imerys new laboratories and offices at Brocks Plantation Teigngrace.

The new plant at Imerys covers 400 square metres. It has six individual laboratories for Research and Development and Quality Control.

One of the employees told me of his experience working at Imerys. He had been an apprentice during the 1970's and has been employed there full time for 25 years. Facilities were certainly not to the standard of the new Laboratories as they were working in huts and prefabricated buildings.

Imerys Ceramics is a world leading supplier of industrial solutions. From quarries and transformation plants Imerys have developed a comprehensive offering for the ceramic industries: raw materials, prepared bodies, glazes and engobes. Imerys has advanced Research and Development facilities in several continents. Among these are the new Eastern European countries which will help to strengthen their economies. This subject was spoken about in one of my earlier blogs by Sir Graham Watson MEP for the South West.

Are you a young person at school, interested in Chemistry and thinking of your options at school . Why not click on www.imerys-ceramics.com and see what they could offer you sometime in the future.

More about Imerys with photos in later blogs.....

Keeping Kingsteignton Clean

On Friday 21st October Teignbridge District Council held a Tourism Conference. I was unable to go but it set me wondering on why should people visit Kingsteignton. Perhaps they wish to see the litter and the dog excrement that is the stigma of the area.

Can anyone tell me who the culprit is who allows his dog to foul our pavements. This week it seems to be in the area of the junction, Broadway Road and Gestridge Road. Help me and the Town Council, Enviroment Department at Teignbridge District Council, the dog warden and our PCSO's to catch the perpetrator and help keep Kingsteignton a nice place to live, work and to Visit. Thank You

Tai Chi Comes to Kingsteignton

Do you want to improve your Health and Well Being, then come along to the Tai Chai Group at Oakford OAP hall, Kingsteignton. Held on Friday Mornings at 10am for an hour of exercise that exhilerates but does it in the slow exact moves taught by a Tai Chi Master Nick Taylor. See all about him at:- http://www.devontaichicentre.com

For more information on health and wellbeing in Kingsteignton click on http://www.kingscare.co.uk

A Morning with MEP Sir Graham Watson

Teignbridge Lib Dems were invited to meet our MEP Graham Watson last Friday 21st October. Congratulations were given on his recent title as he was honoured in the Queens Birthday List.
I had listened to Graham Watson 2 years ago at a Twinning meeting in Exeter and recently I had e-mailed him to see if Citizens Advice Bureaux nationally could apply for some money from the Eurpean Union. This was a great chance to speak to him personally when we were gathered for a welcome cup of coffee.
He spoke on the how the coalition came about in 2010 through the breakdown of talks with Labour. Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and Chris Hulme among the team on the Coalition Parliament. The National Debt at the time was £400m per day. £10m so far has been paid back.

On Education he spoke on some of the issues brought up by a few of my constituents, that of cut backs on student fees and Education Maintenance Allowance. He would take this issue back to Nick Clegg with a hope of a possible re-think similar to what has been done to the NHS. In the meantime his message to constituents in Kingsteignton who are low income families is to keep applying.

One question asked was should the Euro be devalued. Sir Graham suggested that Trade would suffer. Farmers in South West England who through diversification would suffer when trading their yogurt with Belgian.

On Agriculture he also explained how EU were building up Eastern European countries so that they were better able to trade with each other.

EU on World development. Helping countries such as Africa to become self sufficient and to be able to trade within their own country.

Time ran out because Sir Graham was visiting Candy Tiles in Chudleigh taking a question from one of my constituents: Should Candy Tiles promote their product to local developers.

See Link: http://grahamwatsonmep.org/

More to come plus photos....

Kingtsteignton Twinning with Orbec Association

A group of the Association consisting of residents from Kingsteignton including school children with their parents or grandparents enjoyed 5 days and 4 nights in Orbec. We were hosted very congenially by the residents of Orbec and received very enthusiastically by the local shops and businesses.

I enclose the itinary but I will give special attention to the Memory game devised by Giselle Motio, a teacher at Orbec school and organiser of Orbec Twinning.
We were given places to visit and to mark the name of street they were in. Some of us walked but soon took the option to go by car. Not easy driving in the very narrow streets of Orbec.

A reception took place as soon as we returned to the Place de Mairie where the Mayor of Orbec and Mayor of La Vespiere were on hand to welcome us. KOTA was represented by our President Veronica Chambers. A letter was read out in apology from our Mayor. Also an apology from our Chairman who was also not able to attend.

A visit to France Miniature was planned on Sunday. It is the largest miniature park in Europe situated at Elancourt near Paris. 2011 is the 20th Anniversary of France Miniature funded and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Rural Affairs ( if I have interpreted that correctly).
It is advertised as “A chance to visit all of France in less than a day”.
It was a very hot day, minus ‘mon chapeau’ I bought a baseball cap and wondered around the imposing figure of the Eifel Tower inaugurated 1889 for the Universal Exhibition The real Eifel Tower now has a television antenna on it. Also came across the le Mont St Michel and had my photo taken with my host Michel named after the Saint. The monestry was founded in 966 by the Benedictine monks. A tape could be heard of monks chanting. It was also a prison during the French Revolution.
There was a fantastic model of The Chateau of Versaille built by Louis X111 but characterised by his son Louis X1V the Sun King. The model takes 200 sq metres and took over 12 months to build.

Every now and again a passing TJV train would come through the countryside on the French Rail Network.

Another sound alerted us was a rocket being launched to remind us of the Launch Pad in French Guiana. It was the rocket Ariane 5 at Karou Space Centre. The model was designed by Sculptor William Glachant and took 1,500 hrs to complete.

Anne Lonsdale

August Break for Councillors !!!

Well that is what I was told. Personally I was working well up to last two weeks when I made a firm stand and said 'No more'. My annual holiday was much needed. I had worked solidly for 13 months (having put off three attempts to have a holiday) and was looking forward to a five day break in Orbec Normandy. I had joined the Twinning Organisation at the beginning of my retirement 5 years ago with the intention of improving my school french. I had never been to France until joining twinning and this visit would be my third time and I was relieved to be staying in La Vespiere with my hosts Maud and Michel.

Taking a coach to Portsmouth we set sail for the port of Ouistreham We arrived late at night around 11pm so it was a tired group who set out the next day to meet the Mayor of Orbec and the Mayor of La Vespiere.

Orbec Twinning inspired by teacher Giselle Motio had arranged a tour of Orbec which included a quiz to find which places of interest was in which street.

The medical centre , the post office and the police station were very close to La Place de Mairie in Orbec's market square....... Catch up later with photographs!