MEMBERSHIP of Crediton and District Third Age Group, the local thriving group for the retired or semi-retired, costs £12 a year and we have “gone virtual” during these challenging times!

“Zooming” subjects include the History group, Mindfulness and the monthly quiz challenge.

Some good news this month: The National U3A held a Short Story competition and, out of hundreds of entries, our member, Lynne Carroll (who also belongs to our Creative Writing group) was the winner of the South West Region. Many congratulations to Lynne!

If anyone would like to read Lynne’s story, it can be found on the Creative Writing page of the National U3A website.

We are still on a quest for a Chair and Vice-Chair for the committee - please come forward if you are interested.

This month’s virtual monthly meeting was a spooktacular affair as Robert Hesketh gave a presentation entitled Devon’s Ghosts. Robert is a local writer and has published books on this topic.

Robert gave us a whistle-stop tour of the most haunted places in the locality. We were treated to stunning photos of churches, pubs, housing estates and abbeys all of which have a resident ghost or ghosts. How lucky are we to live in such a lovely part of the country even though it is haunted!

The first place we visited was Berry Pomeroy Castle (near Newton Abbott) which claims to be the most haunted castle in Devon. There are two resident female spirits: the White Lady (Lady Margaret Pomeroy who fell in love with her brother’s husband and was imprisoned by her sister for two decades until she died) and the Blue Lady, who lures men down dangerous steps.

Among the many other haunted sites we learnt about was an inn, (what better place to find spirits?), The Three Crowns in Chagford. In this drinking establishment a resident ghost has been seen by many different people - some of which left their jobs because of the sightings and others who are fond of the lady.

The Oxenham Arms in South Zeal is another spirited pub. The Oxenham family were haunted by an omen of death in the form of a white-breasted bird. It appears if you were aware of this bird then death followed quite quickly. Seven individuals apparently suffered this fate.

However, not all the Devon Ghosts are human: The Royal Castle Hotel in Dartmouth echoes with the sounds of a carriage and horses trotting across the cobble yard and neighing can also be heard... is this the stuff of nightmares?

The hauntings are not always seen - ethereal, spell-binding music can sometimes be heard at Dartington Hall - but it fades away when you try to search its origin.

The ghostly experience does not just occur indoors, however, there is a bridge on the main road across Dartmoor that has suffered more than its fair share of accidents. One lucky survivor was reported as saying a pair of hairy hands grabbed the steering wheel and made him lose control of his vehicle.

Thank you to Robert for an interesting talk.?To end on an amusing note: “Why do ghosts make bad liars? Because you can see right through them...”

Keep well, safe and look after the vulnerable and hungry adults and children.

Jo Poulton