Blogs

Fresh from winning the Venus Award for Employer of the Year 2013, Mariam Badavi, owner of Purity Spa on the quaint cobbled streets of Exeter's Cathedral Green, answers a question or two about living and working in this wonderful city.

How would you describe yourself in 5 words? *Fun, *Positive *Loyal *Compassionate *Trustworthy

How would you describe Exeter in 5 words? *Stunning *Traditional *Historical *Hospitable *Friendly

What brought you to Exeter? I was lucky enough to be brought up in Exeter and continue living here because its a great place to live!...

MPs of all three main political parties met Westcountry Ambulance Service bosses at Westminster today.

We had asked them to come to see us because of concerns they are planning to abandon national pay agreements for their staff and introduce regional pay to the ambulance service.

We were very sympathetic to the financial pressures they are under because of the Government’s cuts and the recent loss of the contract for Hospital Transport Services to private companies. The changes the Government has introduced that have allowed private companies to cherry pick services, have...

As we head towards Car-Free Day this year (Sunday 22 September) perhaps it’s timely to ask a very challenging question. Should Christians, and other people of faith, drive cars? Or to be less controversial, what might our attitudes be to driving that express something of the spiritual and ethical values that are central to religious tradition? We ask similar moral questions about our sexuality, war, economics and medical ethics. Why not about transport? There are rights and wrongs in our travelling which relate to how we love others as ourselves. If a particular focus of faith is...

Growing large vegetables is a pursuit that is largely underrated. For, to produce a giant carrot, onion or cabbage takes persistence, an intimate knowledge of your subject and dedication. At the Chagford Show in Devon recently I marvelled at the incredible specimens on display. This humungous harvest was the result of months of effort, blood, sweat and tears and yes, sometimes, failure. Everything from the choice of seed and the time of planting to the watering regime and the thinning out process went into producing these incredible results. The extra minutes spent eliminating bugs or...