Camelford Fun Week held recently was a great success, despite the committee feeling a little despondent with the lack of helpers and people wanting to be on the committee. But as usual, everyone in Camelford came together for the week and a great time was had by all, raising a good sum for donations to the various charities.

One of Bude’s best known characters is set to take over the leading role as figurehead of the organisation whcih represents the finest of Cornish culture. On September 2, John Bolitho will be installed as ‘Grand Bard’ of the Gorsedd of Cornwall — a group which now has nearly 500 members elected for their contribution to the music, history, literature, art and language of the Cornish nation.

After getting top ‘A’ grades in all her GCSE subjects two years ago, it was hard to believe that Stella Lalupu, from Lawhitton, would repeat her performance at Advanced Level, but she did, gaining ‘A’ grades in no less than five subjects. This outstanding set of results secured Stella’s place at Cambridge where she will be reading medicine.

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A large crowd gathered in the Castle grounds on Saturday afternoon to see the crowning of Bude Fairy Queen, Stacey Cornish, with her two attendants, Rachel Oke and Julie Thornton. Stacey was crowned by last year’s retiring fairy queen, Melanie Gloyn.

Despite the bad growing season the Tintagel flower show — although with fewer entires — was again very successful and exhibited maintained the usual high standard.

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The President, Mrs J Kivell, presented the trophies at Ashwater Agricultural Show including a cup to Mr Philip James for the best beef animal.

Bude Surf Life Saving Club members rowed from Boscastle to Bude, a distance of 15 miles, in two hours 35 minutes, a club record. The crew comprised Glyn Mill, Tim Highan, Jon Ball and Mike Moyle, with Paddy Frost as captain and sweep.

Miss Hilary Broad won three cups on her first time of entering the children’s classes at Delabole Horticultural Society annual show.

Mr Roger A Dunstan, who teaches geography at Holsworthy County Secondary School, is among a party of 89 who have gone to spend a year teaching in the USA under an exchange scheme.

Mrs Gwen Furse, a member of the Eliot Arms Dart Club at Tregadillett, Launceston, is the Western Area ladies individual champion and will play in the national grand finals at Fulham, London, in October.

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Bude-Stratton urban Council gave unanimous support to action which had been taken to provide beach patrols for Widemouth Bay, one of the North Cornwall coast “black spots” during the recent spate of bathing incidents.

Freight trains are to be withdrawn from Launceston by the end of the year. Mr Claude Hankins, British Rail’s divisional manager, said local traders will be offered the alternative “rail heads at Okehampton or Plymouth”.

An elderly couple, Mr and Mrs W J Ling, of Station Cottage, Lifton, were frightened when the diesel goods train to Launceston crashed into level crossing gates close to their home.

At Altarnun carnival the queen, Mrs Eddleston, and her attendants, Diane and Valerie Sanders, rode in a decorated Land-Rover lent by Mr R Jasper and driven by Mr W Whale.

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The drought is playing havoc with farms in the Launceston area and many have been without water for the past fortnight. Several wells near Bolventor are getting loc and Dozmary Pool is at its lowest level for many years.

An Auster plane from the airfield at Wrafton, between Braunton and Barnstaple, crashed into the sea four and a half miles off Harland Point. The pilot and two passengers were picked up by a boat from a passing steamer and admitted to hospital suffering from shock.

Entries were well up on previous years for the fourth annual horticultural show of the Launceston Labour Party in the Brotherhood Hall on Saturday. Secretarial arrangements were in the hands of Mr Claude Harvey, ably backed up by a committee comprising; Messrs G Reed, W J Moore, G Gerry, C Parsons and R V Uren.

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In addition to the celebrations already reported, VJ Day was marked in every village and parish of the district. A bonfire blazed on Raddon Hill, Lifton, and the gathering feasted on potatoes baked in ashes, washed down by draughts from a barrel of cider. At Callington, a man who had found safety there with his wife and family during the war, generously paid for a free tea in the town hall for all the children; for the first time that night, the town was lit by electricity, it always having been gas-lit before.

For making and selling cream, a woman was fined £20 at Stratton Petty Sessions on Monday.

Launceston Town Council wants to build houses for returning servicemen and some flats for old people, but has met with frustrating delays from government departments.

Mr Frank Mullis, a 53-year-old farmer, of Tregune, Altarnun, was killed when a horse bolted and the haycart he was driving tipped over.

Rev C C Kingdom has been presented with a handsome cheque with an illuminared scroll of subscribers on his resignation as vicar of Whitstone after 22 years there.

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Stratton’s new playing field was opened on Thursday week by the Bishop of Truro (Dr J W Hunkin). The field of one acre cost £110 towards which £80 has been raised by subscription.

Rev G A Vernon, superintendent minister at Launceston for the last four years, has left for Barking and is being succeeded by Rev J Lewis Gillians from Macclesfield.

St Breward carnival queen is Miss Monica Hancock and her maids of honour are Misses D Kent and D Teague.

Launceston Town Council are debating whether they should open the cattle market for use as a car park to help solve growing traffic congestion.

Miss Winnie May of Kelly Bray has been elected carnival queen of Callington with Misses Joan Brent and Naomi Moore as ladies-in-waiting.

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At Callington Urban Council’s meeting on Friday, Messrs Ryder and Bennett proposed that houses should be built for letting to working-class families and instanced the housing shortages in the town and the many other cases of overcrowding.

Mr W Phillips, of Callington, the trainer of the Murphy brothers, boy marathon champions of the world, brought the youngsters, ages 14 and 10, to Callington Cricket and Football Club’s sports and fete on Saturday. The boys gave a demonstration by running from Callington to Woodabridge and back, a distance of 12 miles, in 1hr 26 min.

The fortnightly speeches of Rev C J Bucknall, priest-in-charge at Delabole, who describes himself as a ‘Christian/Communist’ in his own church and on Catholic Crusade platforms in the area, has led to a split in the Delabole church.

Mr John Sanders, who was born on his father’s farm at Yeomaden, Pyworthy, has now retired from the large business he had built up in London. He has presented his employees with cash gifts amounting to £2,000.