Delabole Slate August 2022

A Methodist Minister’s View
As I sat down to write this article the news came through that there were 26 Ambulances at our Treliske Hospital in Truro
waiting to admit patients. This is not a new phenomenon but has been ongoing for many months but despite all the
discussions about it the situation does not seem to be improving. It is not just locally that we have this problem but the
same is happening at most hospitals in the South West and beyond.
One article which I read on the issue stated that over the past years some 25,000 hospital bed places have been taken
out of service across the country. The current estimate is that our hospitals need an extra 16,000 beds to be able to
meet the demands of the present time. It seems to me that somewhere along the lines there has been a miscalculation
in the business plans for our Health Service. I am assuming that somewhere there is a business plan in the relevant
government departments.
Part of this debate hinges on the work within government departments anticipating future needs. ‘Anticipation’ is a basic
human skill which is taught in various ways. For some 25 years I was involved with young people pursuing their Duke
of Edinburgh’s Award, when in the expedition training, we encouraged participants to ‘anticipate’ the likely outcome of
their decisions and to plan accordingly. We all in various ways are people who ‘anticipate.’ Some people are currently
anticipating going away on holiday, whilst those people who run holiday businesses have been anticipating their need
for staff and provisions. For those in business not anticipating future needs well has the potential for the loss of profits
and embarrassing situations as well as the consequences for the customers.
As I started thinking along these lines, I realised again just how our creator God anticipated the nature of us human
beings, who are created in his image, and planned accordingly in his love, care and concern for us. His answer was to
send his Son, Jesus, amongst us to suffer in the way in which he did to enable us to be reconciled to God from the
potential mess of our lives. His anticipation had costly consequences, perhaps all situations of anticipating correctly do.
Food for thought and action for all of us.
Enjoy your summer days. Every blessing,
Bryan Ede
Shops of Delabole - The Co-op
Access to the upstairs Co-op Hall was via a
door that was on the far left of the building
(A few years ago Tricia Molloy and I were preparing for a Flower Festival entitled
‘Delabole - Now and Then’ and during our researches we talked to Mary John (nee
Billing) who had been brought up in Delabole and was extremely proud of her
association with ‘the city of slate’. She was a source of much village knowledge - as
you will see from some of her
memories below! HH)
Auctions used to be held upstairs over the grocery section and I
remember going with my father (so I was about 5 years old) to see the
contents of Mrs Stacey’s house sold. She was a widow who lived next
door to the Manse in High Street and the ‘lot’ that caught my interest
was 100 books. No one bid except me! Father and Mother were not
particularly pleased to have 100 books for six pence!
The Co-op decided to hold some fashion shows etc and so a Miss
Morley (who later married the widower Mr Barrett Honey) came as a
Manageress.
It was all quite
exciting and I
remember the show that finished with a wedding scene and Miss
Phyllis Boundy (an assistant who cycled from St Teath every day)
was the bride and she looked beautiful.
We also used to hold concerts in the upstairs hall. On one
occasion my sisters Dorothy and Joyce played piano duets,
Frances sang and I sang and recited. It was just our family that
night and we gave the concert for charity.
The Manse, where the minister lived,
3rd from the right
I later remember, over at the lower end, being on Home Guard
duty. Colonel William John Williams and Major Arthur Kent
decided to put my age forward by a couple of years so that I could
join the Intelligence Section! It was quite ‘high powered stuff’ and
I found map reading quite difficult but I could assemble a Lewis
Gun and recognise gases by smell and appearance. One day
when we had a Sunday County Rehearsal and I was in charge and told to let no one in. I challenged this English-looking
officer who didn’t give me the correct password so I ordered his removal etc - only to find out that he was Sir Edward
Collins who was in charge of the whole operation. Apparently he was quite impressed by my action and I received a
certificate at the end of the war!!