If you go down in the woods today, you're in for a big surprise…. But not half as big as the one you'll get if you go down to Runnymede Gardens.  Someone has put ghastly blue-painted scaffold-type railings around the stone bridge over the stream.  It seems it is the Health & Safety morons gone mad.  Apparently, the bridge is a slip hazard.  Oh yes?  From what I have heard, the bridge has been perfectly safe for decades.  In any case, do we really need nannying to this extent?  It seems to me to be another example of the North Devon District Council (NDDC) in their ivory tower in Barnstaple foisting upon us yet another thing we don’t want.  Is it possible for us in Ilfracombe to seek independence from them?

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​An interesting story in the Western Morning News last week.  Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital had the highest number of operations cancelled at the last minute in 2015/6, according to NHS England.  A staggering 2,269 operations were cancelled in this period.  Meanwhile, the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital was 70th on the list with 457 cancellations in this period.  The significance of these figures to us is, of course, that these are two of the hospitals that we might have to attend if services are moved from the North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) in Barnstaple.

I am sure that most of you will know what I am talking about, but, in case you don’t, here is a summary.

​Jon Platt applied to take his daughter on holiday (to Disneyland) during term time.  He was refused permission but took her anyway.  He was fined and refused to pay, so the Isle of Wight council took him to the local magistrates’ court, where he was found to have no case to answer.  The council appealed to the High Court, which found that the magistrate had decided the case correctly and that there was no case to answer.

The flowers that bloom in the spring,
Tra la,
Breathe promise of merry sunshine

And we have certainly had some good sunshine over the last few days.  In my garden, the tulips are still going strong, as are the bluebells, but we are slowly seeing more summery flowers.  The camellia is now in full bloom.  Cold nights, though, so, if you have visitors coming over the next week or so, they should bring some warm clothing for evening wear.

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The pagan gods and goddesses must have smiled on us on Sunday, as the May Day parade went off without the heavy rain predicted.  In fact, the worst was a little drizzle, so, perhaps, they were grinning slightly.  Doesn’t time fly?  It seems only yesterday that I heard Kelly Raveney had taken on the task of bringing May Day and Jack in the Green back to Ilfracombe, and now it’s all over.  I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people participating, as well as the number in fancy dress of some description.