Mike Dibble, retired estate agent and avid sports fan, writes for the Herald about his passion for East Devon

Sidmouth Herald: Mike Dibble Picture: contributedMike Dibble Picture: contributed (Image: Picture: contributed)

This week I have to start with the fantastic game of cricket played in Sidmouth last Sunday between Devon and Cornwall.

The match was played in very windy conditions but that didn’t prevent a very exciting game with Devon scoring 290 in their 50 overs and Cornwall falling just 21 runs short being 269 all out in their 50 overs.

There was a good sized crowd and it was a wonderful advert for sport in the Sid Valley. And thanks to volunteers a sum of £140 was raised for a local charity.

Last Saturday Sidmouth 1st XI played against Hatherleigh who are bottom of the Devon Premier League table.

Unfortunately Sidmouth came out on the wrong side of the result which was very disappointing. The 2nd XI also lost at Uplyme and it was the 3rd XI who were the only victorious team beating Bradninch.

This week preparations begin in earnest for Sidmouth Folk Festival for us at Sidmouth Cricket Tennis and Croquet Club.

We have just a few camper van spaces now available and our parking rotas are filling up nicely in readiness for July 29th. If you are a member of the club and haven’t volunteered yet we’d love to hear from you. Many other organisations in the Sid Valley will be also preparing for the week which will hopefully be something like back to normal.

The local seagulls are certainly very accurate at the moment with their bombing for food. We witnessed two attacks within five minutes on the seafront the other day. Both were successful. If you are a tourist visiting Sidmouth hold your food low or better still sit or stand with your back to a wall!

The street signs in Sidmouth appear to have increased again! I appreciate shop owners need to advertise their businesses but with lots of people around combined with our narrow streets it really is becoming a nightmare for pushchairs, wheelchairs and other pavement users. And to put it bluntly pavement traffic doesn’t exactly move swiftly in Sidmouth at the best of times!

So have you told the Town Council your thoughts on the air show yet? Let’s put it this way I haven’t spoken to many people who are against it! I can’t imagine there will be many local people, businesses or organisations who are anti the show. Personally I cannot wait for August 26th.

And I see in this paper last week that a full public consultation on the former East Devon District Council offices will be carried out shortly for local residents. And apparently McCarthy Stone hopes to meet with local neighbours and stakeholders to discuss the plans. It will be interesting to see what they plan for the four affordable houses on the site.

Now a little plug for an investment club here in Sidmouth called Harvesters with members who share an interest in the Stock Market and how it operates.

Would you like to meet informally to pursue this interest further? Harvesters meets every third Wednesday of the month at the Conservative Club starting at 5.15pm and finishing with a social chat and drink.

They also hold two social events each year to which partners are invited. The degree of expertise varies from learning to knowledgeable. The members pay £60 each month and from this kitty decide which shares to buy and sell.

The good news is that overall, they are currently showing a profit. They will be delighted to welcome prospective members to their meetings. If this appeals, please ring Peter on 01395 519550 to arrange a visit.

Finally back to sport. I have to emphasise that it is only the league rugby season that is due to end on March 11 as reported in this column last week.

Sidmouth will also have Devon Cup games to play so it is likely that the season will extend a little longer than that date.