ON the first Friday of each month a bingo evening is held at Cheriton Fitzpaine Parish Hall. Each month a different band of helpers set up and take down the tables and everything else for that evening’s session.

They were publicly thanked this month when each organisation received a cheque from Andrew Dean, one of the bingo organisers. With Schnare Taylor-Shorland, Andrew is also a caller. The other bingo organiser is Andrew Norton.

The bingo sessions are sponsored by Morrisons (Crediton and Exeter).

The seven cheques totalling £2,000 were handed out at the monthly market held in the Parish Hall on the second Saturday morning of each month and run by the Hall committee for Hall funds.

A cheque for £400 went to the Parish Hall Committee, £600 to Pete’s Dragons, and £200 each to Cheriton Carnival Committee, the Friends of St Matthew’s Church, Cheriton PTA, the Wassail Group (Cheriton Fitzpaine Apple Society) and BASICS Devon.

This last group is the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS), a network of volunteer emergency doctors who provide immediate access to specialist medical care, responding to incidents at the request of South Western Ambulance Service, an extra tier of medical support to that given by the ambulance crews.