News: Greetings from Templeton (Nov 2026)

November and December mark a special time in the countryside. As the last of the autumn work is completed and the farming year turns towards winter, there is an opportunity to take stock of the year that has passed. The hedgerows are bare, the days are shorter, and frost and mist often greet us in the mornings.

This year has been a challenging one for many in our rural community. Farmers have contended with difficult weather, rising costs and uncertain markets, yet their resilience and determination remain an inspiration to us all. As the old saying goes, "The good Lord made the weather and farmers provide the commentary!" Modern tractors contain more computing power than the Apollo missions. Many farmers would still happily swap some of that technology for an accurate weather forecast.

These months also remind us of the strength of our community, as neighbours help neighbours, volunteers give so generously of their time, and people come together to support parish and village events. From Remembrance Sunday, through Advent and on to Christmas, we give thanks for the friendships, generosity and sense of belonging that make Templeton such a special place. Whether through a kind word, a helping hand or support for local events, it is these acts of community spirit that help sustain us throughout the year.

Church and Churchyard

Fundraising to maintain St Margaret’s Church and the churchyard has continued over the past year. Gloria’s Hundred Club has supported the much-needed work on the walls and windows. The Harvest Supper will have provided funds to continue the upkeep of the church. By the time this magazine goes to print, a group of volunteers will have cut back the yew trees, cleared the paths, removed the brambles, and strimmed the grass in the churchyard. This is, of course, ongoing work so a big thank you to all those who have taken part and supported our beautiful church. A big thank you as well to all those who clean the church every week and provide the flowers. We are so grateful to you all.

Past Events

On Saturday 8th August, Templeton held its annual Summer Fete. This is always such a fun day with a variety of entertaining games, Steve cut the hay, and Bruce mowed the grass before the big day to create a perfect pitch and putt course for him and William to run. Everyone enjoyed delicious cream teas, hot dogs, lots of games, bric-a-brac, clothes, produce and book sales … and so much more! Thank you all for taking part and making it such a successful day. A grand total of £1,261 was raised, which will help support much-needed village funds.

On Saturday 14th August, there was a Car Boot Sale at Templeton Village Hall.

Thank you so much, Alex, Katie and Scott for all the hard work you put into making Saturday’s Car Boot Sale such a lovely community event. And thanks for the delicious cakes donated. Despite the bad weather there was a great turnout and the rain held off for most of the time! £127.50 was raised for village funds.

There was a wonderful spread of hot and cold scrumptious food at the Harvest Supper on 3rd October at Templeton Village Hall. Many thanks to all those who came and supported the evening, to those who contributed the delicious food, and thank you Mark for running the bar. The display of Templeton Art Group’s paintings really shows such amazing talent within the village – more of their artwork will be on display on November 20th and 21st. Well done Alicia for winning the raffle hamper! The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and raised a total of £740 - much-needed funding towards the upkeep of St Margaret’s Church, Templeton.

Templeton’s Harvest Festival Service took place at St Margaret’s Church on Sunday 4th October. The church was filled with beautiful flower arrangements and generous food donations. All the donations of fresh, canned or packaged produce were taken to the charity CHAT (Churches Housing Action Team) in Tiverton, for which they were extremely grateful. Thank you everyone for your generosity.

Future Church Services
The centre pages in this magazine cover the many services that will be held over the next two months across the nine parishes in the Exe Valley. Many of the Templeton Church services will be lay-led, but group services are usually led by different clergy in the nine parishes in the Exe Valley Mission Community. We are indebted to Marjorie Smith for her invaluable support in playing the organ for our services. The services at St Margaret’s Church, Templeton for November and December are as follows: Nov 8th Lay-led Remembrance Sunday Service at 10.50am; November 15th Lay-led Family Service at 10.45am; November 22nd Group Holy Communion Service with Tim Gorringe Dec 6th Lay-led Morning Service Dec 20th Lay-led Family Service. Dec 24th Christmas Eve Carol Service at 6pm.

Future Templeton events

Saturday 31st October: Firework and Bonfire Night –from 6.30pm at Templeton Village Hall. By the time this issue reaches you, Templeton’s Bonfire Night will be almost upon us! The firework display is always spectacular and great fun will be had by all. The bar will be open from 6.30pm, and the bonfire will be lit at about 7.30pm with fireworks to follow. Hot dogs and hot drinks will be on sale. Entry is £6 for adults and £3 for children aged 5 to 15 (tickets on the gate – cash only). Please no sparklers or personal fireworks!!

Sunday 8th November: Remembrance Sunday Service at 10.50am at St Margaret’s Church, Templeton, honouring the efforts, achievements and sacrifices made in past wars. Alfie has agreed to play The Last Post and The Reveille again for us this year. It was so moving to hear him play last year.

Saturday 14th November: Murder Mystery – Sherlock Holmes at The Manor House Templeton Village Hall!! At 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Lord Moorbourne has been murdered. Can you figure it out or will you be the murderer?

The setting: 1899, in Dartmoor, Devon, England at Moorbourne Manor.
Where: The Manor House Templeton Village Hall
PLEASE come in costume! There are limited numbers so please let Alicia and Julie W know before Sunday 1st November (aliciatout11@gmail.com) that you’d like to come, so that you can start looking for your costume!

Friday 20th November and Saturday 21st November: Wine and Cheese evening and Art Sale and Exhibition on the Friday evening of 20th November at Templeton Village Hall from 7pm to 9.30pm (£7.50 advance tickets - £10.00 on the night – for wine and cheese, to meet the artists, and the first opportunity to purchase) and the Art Sale will continue all day on Saturday 21st November from 1pm to 5pm, with refreshments available to enjoy and cakes to purchase. This will be a wonderful display and sale of paintings, drawings, cards, pottery, and other gifts by Templeton’s talented Art Group and also by local artists, and ceramic artists. Lots of ideas for Christmas!
Just to say, there won’t be a Christmas Dinner in December this year, as was mentioned in the last issue of the Today Magazine. However, Sue and Shaun have kindly agreed to cook their delicious Sunday Roast Dinner in the new year – date to be confirmed - at Templeton Village Hall.

Sunday 13th December at 3pm, Christmas Children’s Party at Templeton Village Hall! - with a visit by the big man in the red suit! This is a wonderful, free annual family event organised by Tony Loosemore, with a disco, party food and fun. If your children would like to join the party please let Tony know beforehand so that he can cater for enough food for everyone (07510128683). You will need to bring a wrapped and named gift for each child for Father Christmas to distribute.

Saturdays 5th December, 12th December, and 19th December: Annual Christmas Bar Games (table tennis, pool, darts, and skittles) will be held at Templeton Village Hall. Do come and take part in this fun event – and there’s still plenty of time to practice on club nights or other nights in the week!

Make use of Templeton Village Hall. With the nights closing in fast, perhaps you and your family and friends would like to use the village hall for a game of table tennis, skittles, darts or pool on other days in the week apart from club nights – maybe to get into form for the Christmas Bar games?

Just phone 01884 860655 or email templetonvh@gmail.com to make sure there is not already a booking on the date you’d like, and someone can open up the hall for you.

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News: Greetings from Templeton (Nov 2026): News: Greetings from Templeton (Nov 2026)