Peacock on TRAIL

Our collection of peacocks' tails from our Peacocks' Tails History Trail is installed on Trail Recycled Art in the Landscape in Teignmouth. Mrs Peacock the Starcross Scarecrow has been modified to enable this 'sculpture of Captain Peacock and son' to withstand the seafront weather. All the tails have been fastened securely, and the central representation of the peacock no longer has any large bits of material which might get blown to bits. There's no wind resistance from the scaffolding netting, and the 2 ceramic pots have been pegged in place with  metal rods. Cable ties and wire have been used throughout to fasten everything down... but there could be some wind damage. When you go to have a look at all the sculptures on this year's exciting TRAIL, if you see any peacock bits blowing about, please can you pick them up, and maybe re-attach?
Cheers

Entry into the Starcross Scarecrow competition

Here's our entry into the Starcross Scarecrow Day - June 18th. It's made up of the tails from our Peacocks' Tails' History Trail on St George's Day. It represents Captain Peacock - so we need a nautical hat. We hope that our peacock scarecrow will also be an exhibit on this year's  Trail Recycled Art in the Landscape  in Teignmouth.

Here come the trail stamps

Artist Melissa Muldoon is busy making the Dartmoor-letterbox-type stamps for The Peacocks' Tails' History Trail. Can you guess where the first 4 here will go?

Printing money for the village

The clues&quiz sheets for the Peacocks' Tails' History Trail are now on sale around the village; price 50p.
The groups who have kindly agreed to print and sell the sheets will tell Starcross History how many they sell, so that we can print enough certificates. Everyone who completes the trail will be entitled to a certificate. The money raised will be kept by the organisations who print and sell the sheets. Jayne and Sue, our Starcross landladies, will support the Scarecrows and Starcross Community Society.
The clues&quiz sheets are on sale at:

• Starcross Primary School
• Starcross Pre-school
• St Paul's Church
• The Atmospheric Railway Inn (Starcross Scarecrows)
• The Galleon Inn (Starcross Community Society)
• The Westbank Charity Shop
• Myrtle Cottage (Starcross History)

On Saturday April 23rd, there will be historical facts on cards near the tails, and an exhibition in St Paul's of some papers and photos about the points on the trail - so the trail is for everyone; not simply for children.

Here's the certificates to be awarded on the day. There are 3 different designs to be coloured in. The peacocks were drawn by artist Melissa Muldoon, during her "Peacock Club" at the school. ( The children in the Peacock Club made colourful peacocks' tails from scrap which included CDs, silver foil, milkbottle tops, buttons, old tents, scaffolding netting and an umbrella. )

Captain Peacock's grave

Does anyone know what has broken off the top of the stone obelisk above the lavish pink marble? Are there any plans to restore this memorial to the Peacock - Cookson family?

The Peacocks' Tails Trail : a trail around some historically interesting places in Starcross.

•   St George's Day Saturday April 23rd

  starting and finishing at St Paul's Church

  TRAIL OPENS AT 1200noon

  St Paul's will open from 1:30pm until 3:00pm

  • TEDDY ToMBoLA

    Teas, Coffees and fantastic cakes

    • • BRING AND BUY

                                  Please bring something to sell if you can. Profits from
                                   the Bring and Buy will  go to St Paul's Church. 
                                  The TEDDY ToMBoLA will be run by the Starcross Westbank Charity shop

Peacocks' tails remind us of the Starcross adventurer and inventor, Captain George Peacock. 

First of all, buy your copy of the Peacocks' Tails Trail for 50p. This is a list of all the clues to where you will find the peacocks' tails, with spaces for you to stamp the special Peacocks' Tails Trail stamps.

We aim to have the tails and the stamps in place by 12:noon on  St George's Day.


Follow the first clue to Captain Peacock's grave, which is in St Paul's churchyard. Hidden nearby you will find Captain Peacock's letterbox stamp, which has been especially made by Melissa Muldoon. Use the stamp pad (or you could bring one of your own) to stamp your copy of the Peacocks' Tails Trail, or you could have your own book you might like to stamp.
Then answer the question about Captain George Peacock
and on to the next clue...

The last clue is St Paul's Church. When you have answered all the questions, and collected as many stamps as you can, VOTE FOR THE BEST TAIL

then you can claim your Peacock Tails' Trail Certificate.

The first few back will also get to choose a little peacocky prize - we have some peacock feathers, and we've been collecting a few other peacocky bits and pieces.

The Peacock Tails' Trail Certificates each feature one of Melissa Muldoon's beautifully drawn peacocks - which you can colour in

Captain George Peacock 1805 - 1883

 The tails are fantastic creations. Melissa Muldoon's Peacock Club at Starcross Primary School made nine tails. Messy Church, Starcross pre-School and local residents are busy making more - from mainly plastic junk.

Here's the trophy which will be awarded for the Best Peacock Tail after the votes have been counted.

History made today at Starcross Primary School

At today's assembly, the school celebrated the launch of an innovative book which features photographs of the children who created it on the front cover. The artwork was designed and the rhyming story written in one of artist Melissa Muldoon's after-school clubs, with help from children's author Susan Quayle. The book is about The Riviera Line, which goes through Starcross - from Exeter, to Newton Abbot, and then to Torquay and Paignton.
The Seaside Train is on sale at the school for £4.50, and on Amazon for £5.99 plus postage and packing. All proceeds from the book will go to the Starcross Primary School's  Parent Teacher Association, and the monies will be spent on the children.
Also on the front cover is the headmaster, Iannis Ireland, and Celia Minoughan who is the Projects Officer at Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership. The children presented Celia with some flowers, and a chocolate rabbit. 

The book is available from The Westbank Charity Shop in Starcross and from Starcross Primary School


Book launch from ACoRP

Book Launch Herald Express

Book launch Express and Echo


[   The Starcross History Peacocks' Tails that Starcross Primary school children had made were all on show at today's assembly as well. The children made the tales in Melissa Muldoon's after-school Peacock Club. (for our St George's Day Peacocks Tails' History Trail around the village) ]

Would you like your address to be included on the Peacocks' Tails History Trail?

The tails in the picture were made at Starcross Primary School, in Melissa Muldoon's Peacock Club.
More tails are in progress elsewhere in Starcross, including  Messy Church and Starcross Pre-school. The tails will be placed on the St George's Day  (Saturday, April 23rd) Peacocks' Tails History Trail. It will start from Captain Peacock's grave, and follow the peacocks' tails around Starcross. There will be a Dartmoor-letterbox style stamp hidden near to each tail, and details about the place where it is. Trail clue-cards with quiz-sheets will be on sale for 50p. As you arrive at each tail, stamp your card and answer the question. Completed cards win a prize of something-to-do-with-peacocks.

• btw have you anything peacock-related you could donate for a prize? A feather; a toy; an ornament, clothing or some jewellery?

Every house has its history. Even recently built houses have history; that of the land they stand on. 

If you'd like your address to be included on the trail, please get in touch by 1st April.

Nine peacocks' tails bask in the sunshine.

The latest tail

Best Peacock's Tail Trophy

The trophy for Best Peacock's Tail

 This is the trophy which will be awarded on St George's Day - April 23rd - for Best Peacock's Tail. The trophy is about 9 inches high - 23cms. It's made from a glass vase and a wooden ashtray - both from Ellie's Attic on Shutterton
Ellie's Attic is piled high with an amazing assortment of treasure. Do pay them a visit - and let them know you found out about them here, on the Starcross History blog! Cheers

The peacocks' tails will have another day out in Starcross, on Scarecrow Day; June 18th, before they spend the summer in Teignmouth, on Trail Recycled Art in the Landscape

Here's another idea how use rubbish to make your peacock's tail for the peacocks' tails trail: The tail in this picture has been made by fastening some old fishing rods to the back of a weathered plastic garden chair. Blue netting, which has been used on scaffolding, covers the fan of fishing rods. Concentric circles of plastic, milkbottle-tops and buttons have made the eyes of the tail.

The knotted scaffolding netting in front of the tail resembles a peacock?? ... sort of... His eyes were made with orange buttons.  needs a bit more work...

Please let us know by April 1st where in Starcross you will site your tail and its letterbox-style stamp, so that we can add it to the trail stamp-cards for the children to collect the stamps, and enter it into the competition for the trophy. The trail will start at Captain George Peacock's grave in St Paul's churchyard, and finish in St Paul's Church.

The Peacock Club at Starcross Primary School

The children in artist Melisssa Muldoon's Peacock Club produced another terrific amount of wonderful work today at Starcross Primary School

Because the tails are for outdoor display, the materials the children picked to make the eyes in the tails include bottletops, buttons, plastic sheets, CDs, pipe insulation and tinfoil. The pipe insulation had to be sawed up to make the circles.

The amazing tails are made from all sorts of rubbish too!

plastic milkbottle feathers on a broken leaf-rake

green plastic feathers attached to an old TV aerial

Wooden slats on a tyre base. blue scaffolding netting .

green corrugated plastic tail

The Peacocks' Tails Trail will start and finish at St Paul's Church on Saturday, April 23rd - St George's Day. There will be a stamp and an inkpad near each tail. The first 50 fully stamped-up cards will win a real peacock's feather.
The peacocks' next outing will be in Starcross Sportsfield, on Scarecrow Day - Saturday, June 18th. They will spend the summer on the Teignmouth Trail Recycled Art in the Landscape.

Can anyone please make another tail, (or three) ? Make them out of anything you like, and let us know before April 1st if you want your tail(s) to be included on the St George's Day trail around Starcross. We have a trophy for the best tail. 

We're using peacock's tails to signpost our history trail, in memory of our Victorian adventurer and inventor, Captain George Peacock. Search this website to discover all about him. There's an easy way to do this. Instead of typing Captain George Peacock into the SEARCH box, simply look in the LABELS  underneath this post, and click on Captain George Peacock.
Our club badge depicts his iconic yacht, The Swan of the Exe.