Exeter Church had its first meeting in the lsca hotel on 10th July 1976. ‘lsca’ comes from the old Roman word for Exeter. Previously we had been meeting with the Plymouth Church. The room we rented was a ballroom, and in wet weather the ceiling leaked in several places. When the ceiling eventually fell in, we had a few meetings in Friar's Gate, and then we moved to the Age Concern Centre in the St. Thomas area of Exeter. When a decision was made to combine with the Taunton Church, we chose to a more convenient place for distance between both churches and started meeting in the Tiverton Motel. This was a more expensive venue as tea and coffee was supplied but charged per head, so when the church split we looked for a hall with a kitchen facility, and found America Hall, De La Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter. This Hall was built by the Americans after World War 2 as a thank-you to the people of Pinhoe for their kindness to the GI's during the war. The hall rather swallowed up our small group, and when an annex was built (with the necessary kitchen), we moved into the smaller hall. We are so grateful for this lovely little room, and we have a wonderful relationship with the committee and caretaker. This room supplies all our needs and we are happy here. The car park is spacious (except when the Weaver's Guild meets once a month), but the caretaker now cordons off an area for us). It is advisable to contact us before visiting because we do sometimes have alternative venues. Nearby we have a hotel which offers a very reasonably priced carvery, and is situated almost on the M5, making easy access for the trip home. We plan to have several meals at this hotel after sampling their food on three past occasions. In the coming year (or next year) we have some fellowship gatherings planned with a ‘bring-your-own-picnic’. These are: a boat trip; a horse drawn barge trip; a medieval jousting tournament; an Italian or Pizza meal (don't bring a picnic!) on the historic quay where the filming of the TV series 'The Onedin Line' took place. The bonded warehouses now have many businesses run from them (crafts, food etc). This outing will be followed by an obligatory walk along the canal, which is very pleasant: (just joking about ‘obligatory’!). John Armstrong | 
