Ottery St Mary Friends of Phyllis Baxter Action Group

Perhaps one day we will return with fresh ideas and more stories to share.

The commitment to road safety is clearly visible in Ottery, as exemplified by the proposed 20-mile speed limit in the town.

Perhaps the Poet’s Corner Bench will one day inspire some new poetry.

The tales and history sealed in our pub walls are as intriguing as those attributed to our town.

It’s been two years since we wrote our first column for the Sidmouth Herald.

A few days ago, speaking with a resident who has been teaching languages to adults in Ottery for 15 years, first in the old Council Offices in Silver Street, then at the Old Convent and finally at Ottery Station until 2019, she explained to us how important and beneficial the location of the classes had been when looking for topics of conversation for the advanced groups.

No, Grenville didn’t know what it meant either, despite his interest in words.

Ottery Community Theatre has encouraged people to become members to join in the fun in any capacity.

A statement made by a local resident a few weeks ago on social media about volunteering, brought back memories of what we once heard from a very experienced teacher saying to her students: “you have to promise me you will do well on your exams. Not because you wanted to please me or your parents, but because you’re convinced it‘s the right thing for you to do”. She then explained to us that saying that to her students was the way she had to ensure that in the future they could become the kind of members of society that will make them proud wherever they would go and also the only way she could guarantee that her students would always work hard for the right reasons.”

We got in touch with a resident who in 2018 became Ottery’s first foreign Deputy Mayor at age 74 and who has been teaching in Adult Education for 42 years and at 78 plans to continue doing so and asked her opinion.