Local News

Firefighters in the South West, along with the TUC, raised more than £1,000 at the 3 day Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in July for the Grenfell Firefighters’ Support Fund.

A cheque was presented last week (Wednesday 23 August) by Fire Brigades Union (FBU) South West official Tam McFarlane to a group of heroic firefighters from Battersea fire station who responded to the Grenfell fire. McFarlane was joined by Nigel Costley, South West TUC regional secretary, and Joanne Kaye, South West TUC vice-chair.

Tam McFarlane said: “The support and solidarity shown by everyone at the...

As people take to their cars this August Bank Holiday, Dogs Trust, which has a Rehoming Centre in Ilfracombe, is launching ‘The Houndway Code’ a car safety awareness campaign after new research revealed that 17% of dog owners regularly travel with their dog unrestrained in the passenger seat of their car and 5% even reaching into the backseat to interact with their dog whilst at the wheel.

The survey also revealed that nearly half of dog owners in Devon who drive with their dogs in the car, are unaware that they are breaking the law and not abiding by the highway code by not...

Tributes have been paid to a well-loved and highly respected former University of Exeter gardener Gordon Newton MBE, who has passed away at the age of 71.

Gordon spent his working life of 50 years helping transform the University’s Streatham Campus grounds from fields and crops into the award-winning botanical gardens it is renowned for today.

Having joined the University as an apprentice gardener aged just 15, having attended Exeter’s Ladysmith School, Gordon rose from his earliest tasks of washing pots and mixing soils to winning dozens of medals with the University at...

After one singing session, we were askedL "Are trained music teachers involved?" Our reply ..."If so they haven't told us" ... probably tells you more about Forever Young Sing for Fun than two paragraphs of descriptive text.

There are a number of fine choirs in Exeter and some of our regulars are also members of these choirs.

They have told us that they like the informality and the fact that we don't rehearse and never do any performances – every time we sing we are performing just for ourselves. It is just fun to sing a lot of songs, rather than perhaps in a more formal...