Being socially responsible
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Shopping Online Fraud
| Have you bought anything online recently?… Almost 34% of all retail sales during May 2020 were carried out online, and new research suggests that only 16% of UK consumers intend to return to their old shopping habits post-lockdown. Online shopping fraud during lockdown Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, received over 16,000 reports relating to online shopping and auction fraud during the lockdown, with losses totalling over £16m. Members of the public have reported buying mobile phones (19%), vehicles (22%), electronics (10%) such as games consoles, AirPods and MacBooks , and footwear (4%) on sites such as eBay (18%), Facebook (18%), Gumtree (10%) and Depop (6%), only to have the items never arrive.Top tips for shopping online securely: Choosing where to shop: If you’re making a purchase from a company or seller you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first. For example, by checking to see if others have used the site and what their experience was. Email accounts: Use a strong, separate password for your email account. Criminals can use your email to access other online accounts, such as those you use for online shopping. Scam messages: Some of the emails or texts you receive about amazing offers may contain links to fake websites. Not all links are bad, but if you’re unsure don’t use the link, go separately to the website. And remember, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. Payment method: If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one as other payment providers may not provide the same protection. What to do if you’ve fallen victim to online shopping fraud We all make mistakes and these days the scams can be incredibly convincing. If you think you’ve visited, or made a purchase on, a bogus website, you should first, take a note of the website’s address, then close down your internet browser. You should then report the details to Action Fraud and contact your bank to seek advice. Whether you’ve been a victim of fraud will depend on how much information you’ve provided to the website, so keep an eye on your bank transactions, if you can. Contact your bank immediately about anything that you don’t recognise, even small amounts. For more information about how to stay safe online, please visit www.actionfraud.police.uk/cybercrime Message Sent By Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)  |
Publishing under Lockdown – The Fear of Ravens
Diary Entry by Wendy Percival, Author |
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Even without a pandemic, as an author with a book to edit I’d already planned to stay at home and keep my head down. So when Lockdown was announced, I was kept busy preparing the 4th Esme Quentin mystery, The Fear of Ravens, for publication. |
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For those who don’t know my books, my protagonist, Esme Quentin, is a ‘genealogy detective’ who gets drawn into solving present-day mysteries by revealing secrets from the past, invariably with unforeseen consequences.
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When I wrote my first book, Blood-Tied, readers took to Esme, liking her tenacity and how she’d keep digging for answers, even if by doing so she put herself in danger. They wanted to know what she was going to do next. So I wrote another book and the series was born.Apart from Blood-Tied, which takes place in Shropshire where I have family roots, the books are set on the coast of North Devon, around the Hartland area, where Esme “lives”. |
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The idea for Blood-Tied, came to me while I first began researching my own family history and realised how little we know about our family’s past. We meet Esme as she discovers her sister Elizabeth has a secret past after Elizabeth is attacked and left in a coma. Convinced of a connection, Esme resolves to uncover the truth, unaware of the dangerous path she is treading. |
The second book, The Indelible Stain, takes place near Hartland Quay and was inspired after reading an article about convict ancestry. Esme makes the gruesome discovery of a fatally injured woman at the foot of cliffs. Troubled by the woman’s dying words, Esme’s search for answers leads her back to the brutal penal history of nineteenth-century England and the mystery of a convict girl transported to Australia for her crime. |
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In the third book, The Malice of Angels, Esme investigates the mystery of a nurse’s wartime disappearance, delving into the clandestine world of WWII secret agents and undercover missions into occupied Europe, inadvertently stumbling upon the truth behind a trauma in her own past. |
The inspiration for the latest novel, The Fear of Ravens, came from the infamous history of Bideford as the home of the last women in England to be hanged for witchcraft in 1682. Esme is engaged to research the history of an ancient mill and uncovers dark family secrets, a bitter feud and a 19th century witch’s curse. |
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Sadly, due to the current Coronavirus crisis, I won’t be able to have a launch party at East Worlington Parish Hall, as I did when The Malice of Angels was published in 2017. But never say never. Perhaps by Halloween, the time of year when the book is set, things may have changed enough to have a belated celebration!Meanwhile, the book is available on Amazon in Kindle, with the paperback coming out on 20th July. I’ll have signed copies for sale at £9 (delivered) to anyone interested in reading what Esme did next!If you’d like to reserve a copy, drop me an email at wendy@wendypercival.co.ukFurther information can be found on my website www.wendypercival.co.ukLink to Amazon http://mybook.to/FearofRavensKindle |
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Someone to Lean On
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During ‘lockdown’ due to Coronavirus students from Chulmleigh Community College, our community secondary school, have produced a song ‘Lean on Me’ in tribute to Keyworkers and in support of Teenage Cancer Trust. Click on image to listen
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Newsletter July 2020
Our July Newsletter includes information about our website, our next Committee meeting, Hall closure and re-opening, future planning process and our Committee membership.
Coronavirus-Related Scams – How To Protect Yourself
Criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to try and get their hands on your money and personal information. To date, Action Fraud has received reports from 2,378 victims of Coronavirus-related scams, with the total losses reaching over £7 million.
How you can protect yourself from Coronavirus-related scams:
There are some simple steps you can take that will protect you from the most common Coronavirus-related scams. Here’s what need to do:
1 – Watch out for scam messages
Your bank, or other official organisations, won’t ask you to share personal information over email or text. If you receive an email you’re not quite sure about, forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS): report@phishing.gov.uk
2 – Shopping online
If you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first, for example, by checking to see if others have used the site and what their experience was. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, other payment providers may not provide the same protection.
3 – Unsolicited calls and browser pop-ups offering tech support
Never install any software, or grant remote access to your computer, as a result of a cold call. Remember, legitimate organisations would never contact you out of the blue to ask for financial details such as your PIN or full banking password.
NHS Test and Trace scams:
The NHS Test and Trace service plays an important role in the fight against coronavirus and it’s vital the public have confidence and trust in the service. However, we understand the concerns people have about the opportunity for criminals to commit scams.
What you need to know:
Contact tracers will only call you from the number 0300 013 5000. Anyone who does not wish to talk over the phone can request the NHS Test and Trace service to send an email or text instead, inviting them to log into the web-based service.
All text or emails sent by NHS Test and Trace will ask people to sign into the contact tracing website and will provide you with a unique reference number. We would advise people to type the web address https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk directly into their browser, followed by the unique reference number given to you, rather than clicking on any link provided in the message.
The NHS Test and Trace service will never:
- ask you to dial a premium rate number to speak to them (for example, those starting 09 or 087)
- ask you to make any form of payment or purchase a product or any kind
- ask for any details about your bank account
- ask for your social media identities or login details, or those of your contacts
- ask you for any passwords or PINs, or ask you to set up any passwords or PINs over the phone
- ask you to download any software to your PC or ask you to hand over control of your PC, smartphone or tablet to anyone else
- ask you to access any website that does not belong to the government or NHS
If you think you have been a victim of fraud, please report it to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Message Sent By
Action Fraud (Action Fraud, Administrator, National)
Newsletter June 2020
This Newsletter includes Work During Parish Hall Closure; AGM; Hallmark; Annual Report and New Website.
Our Churches
Worlington Churches |
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| As part of our Heritage project 2014 / 2019 the Worlington Heritage Group research the history of our churches. | |||
| In the current parish of East Worlington there are two churches, St Mary’s, West Worlington and St Mary’s East Worlington. Their history is of interest. Historically the parish that is now East Worlington was three different parishes, Affeton, West Worlington and East Worlington. | |||
| The de Affeton family are the earliest recorded holders of the manor of Affeton, from which they took their name. They held the manor from the feudal barony of Plympton, the barons of which were the Courtenay Earls of Devon and feudal barons of Okehampton . A parish was probably established there in the 13th century. |
Arms of de Affeton: Argent, a chevron engrailed between three fleurs-de-lys sable |
Affeton arms carved in relief on 15th century screen of the Affeton Chapel |
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Arms of Stucley: Azure, three pears pendant or |
The de Affeton line in the parish was superseded by that of Stucley around 1434 when Sir Hugh Stucley whose family were from Huntingdonshire married Katherine, the only daughter and heir of Sir John de Affeton. | ||
St Mary’s Church, West Worlington |
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St Mary’s is a stone church, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a western tower complete with wooden spire. Built mainly of stone rubble, but also some Bathstone dressings, with a slate roof. St Mary’s was built in the gothic perpendicular style, which was a common design for churches in the 15th century in Devon, and is so-called because of the emphasis on vertical lines. The spire (possibly rebuilt in the 17th century), has a slight twist, making it look not a little like a slightly crumpled wizard’s hat. It is covered in oak shingles and supports a peal of six bells. Inside the church a splendid feature is the wagon (also known as a barrel) roof, which runs the full length of the church (apart from the chancel). The roof boasts beautifully carved ribs and decorated bosses. The pulpit, lectern, altar rails and altar table are all mid-late 19th Century and are in the High Victorian Gothic style popular at the time. |
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View of the nave |
The roof boasts beautifully carved ribs and decorated bosses |
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The tower and chancel dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. Much of the church, however, is predominately fifteenth century. The chancel was restored and refurnished in 1881 at a cost of £140. Further restoration was undertaken in 1906 and 1913. The spire was restored after a lightning strike in 1976, but retains some of its early structure. The church underwent another major repair programme in 2011 to restore the floor and interior panelling. At the same time the bells were refurbished and are now rung on a regular basis. The church has 6 bells. |
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Chapel Screen |
On each side of the chancel is a memorial plaque dedicated to the Stucley family; this one is dated 1663 and with its flanking Corinthian columns is quite a feature. |
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St Mary’s Church, East Worlington |
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Although St Mary’s Church dates from the 12th century most of the church that you can now see was rebuilt in the 19th century as it had then become dilapidated. The rebuilding and renovation was paid for through the generosity of its then patron, the 5th Earl of Portsmouth at a cost of £1,000.The church once boasted a wooden spire, presumably matching the one on West Worlington Church, but regrettably this has been lost.It is believed that the East Worlington St Mary’s church was built on the site of a Saxon place of worship.
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St Mary’s is a stone built church, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch with a Norman doorway, and an embattled western tower containing 6 bells: The only part of the original 12th century church that remains is the Norman doorway to the nave and the church therefore is, in essence, a Victorian church.Not everyone has approved of the efforts to restore the church as testified by a disparaging remark from a renowned local historian, William Hoskins, in his 1954 book entitled simply “Devon”; in this he wrote about the church, “almost rebuilt in 1879 and spoilt | ||
Churches Unite |
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For at least 700 years East and West Worlington were separate parishes. That arrangement changed in 1885 when the two parishes were united for civic purposes under the title of East Worlington. 34 years later the livings were similarly united by an Order of council dated August 18th 1919 and the rectory of West Worlington was sold off as a farm. The living of East Worlington continued until 1958 at which time it was put into abeyance and the East Worlington rectory was also sold. In 1967 the two St Mary’s became part of Little Dart Team Ministry, which is a group ministry of twelve churches (Burrington, Chawleigh, Cheldon, Chulmleigh, East Worlington, Eggesford, Meshaw, Romansleigh, Thelbridge, Wembworthy, West Worlington and Witheridge). |
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Newsletter 1 – 29.05.20
Memories of Worlington |
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| During lockdown due to coronavirus I have uploaded a weekly post on our community facebook page focussed on Memories of Worlington. |  Rainbow over West Worlington |
 Dancing to Jazz Band |
Each post provides some information that reflects on living memories or contributes to the community archive. To read the posts visit our East and West Worlington Community Facebook page |
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The post titles are:
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 Barn Dance in Parish Hall |