12 Nov 20Forget-me-not is my favourite flower

Armistice Day last week I am sure bought back a lot of memories for many. One story that struck a cord with me was that of Marcel Pinte. He helped to collect weapons for the French resistance which had been dropped by the RAF in the Second World War. His signal to act was when he heard on BBC radio the phase, “The forget-me-not is my favourite flower.” He died having been shot by accident when he was only six years old. Such courage for such a young boy. During the following ammunition drop by the RAF black parachutes were used in his honour. Some of the sacrifices our forefathers made are truly remarkable. Some of this generation still live today. Respect them, for you do not know what they did for you. On Marcel’s tombstone is the phase, ‘forget-me-not is my favour flower’.

One of my other hats is as a trustee of the Budleigh Community Workshop Trust. Through the generosity of our community we recently purchased the old Budleigh Fire Station. Recently we even had a few donations from people offering their winter fuel allowance which they felt we needed more than they did.

We intend to repurpose the building into a community workshop for the benefit of all. People of all ages, abilities and sexes will be able to come together to build and craft in a welcoming and friendly environment. Budleigh Town Council has supported our change of use planning request and we now move to the next stage. If you would like to get involved in our workshop through: volunteering; helping us refurbish the building using your skills or want to offer help in anyway please get in touch by emailing info@bcwt.org.uk. Otherwise, if you see us in the fire station and you want to know more, please pop in for a socially distanced chat.