A meeting of the Holsworthy Community Forum at the hospital, held recently, began with the chairman Crispin King presenting a bouquet of flowers to ward manager Gill Piper, in appreciation of the hospitality given to the forum for its regular meetings at the hospital, writes Christine Williams, our Holsworthy correspondent.

She received it on behalf of the matron Rachel Hooper who was unable to be present and will shortly be leaving her post when under new arrangements, Holsworthy Hospital along with Torrington and Bideford Hospitals will be under joint management. Members of the forum expressed their great regret at what they regarded as a retrograde step.

Maria Gray of 'Time For Life' a free service that assists people 50 and over to build confidence, remain active and independent, was to have been the guest speaker. She was unable to attend, however, having at short notice received the news that the contract for the service was to finish at the end of February. It is to be replaced by a new service from April 1 of which details were awaited from Devon County Council.

Louise Day, of Torridge Mid Devon and Bude CAB, said they had put recruitment and training of new volunteers on hold for the present, until their financial situation became clearer. However, an advisor for migrant workers was providing a new service and could be consulted by appointment at the Holsworthy office.

Geoff Green, Devon County Library's special services librarian, said he would be going part time on two days a week from April 1, but a new person was being trained to continue to the service. He said some changes were being made to the mobile library service. Its visits to villages would be less frequent but longer, and coinciding with community events such as coffee mornings, thus providing a more concentrated service.

Aprille Eaton of Wheels2Work said that with fewer bikes out at this time of year and therefore less income, they were currently experiencing a cash flow problem and were making every effort to find other sources of funding.

Brian Withall, of Holsworthy Lions, said they would be holding their annual lunch in the Memorial Hall on Saturday, February 13 to which all senior citizens in the town were invited.

Cllr Phil Pennington was attending for the first time to speak about an initiative of Macmillan Cancer Support with funding for five years to ease the financial worries of anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer. Having cancer could bring all kinds of additional expense, he said, so their aim was to explain what financial benefits were available and show how this help could be accessed.

As the nearest treatment centre was in Exeter, involving a round trip from Holsworthy of 84 miles, help with transport was also available. A booklet full of useful information can be obtained from the CAB.

The next meeting of the forum will be at the hospital on Thursday, March 25.