Community champions honoured with British Empire Medals

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sat, 04/22/2017 - 9:41am

​​Eight of Devon’s community volunteers were honoured by the Queen last Thursday, 20 April, when they were presented with a British Empire Medal (BME).

They were presented with their awards by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Devon, David Fursdon, the Queen’s representative in the county, at the Investiture at County Hall.

The eight men and women, from South Hams, North Devon, Torridge, Plymouth, Torbay and Teignbridge were all named in the New Year’s Honours List 2017.

The British Empire Medal is awarded for meritorious service worthy of recognition by the Crown...

Bob Dylan, The Beaten Path: The Silkscreen Collection

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 04/21/2017 - 8:57pm

After the sell-out success of Bob Dylan’s legendary The Beaten Path, a series of limited edition hand-signed silkscreen prints have been released and will be on display at Castle Fine Art from next week. The Beaten Path: The Silkscreen Collection features six hand-signed, coloured silkscreen prints taken from Dylan’s major solo exhibition which took place at the end of last year. The prints will be available to view from Friday 21st April 2017.

The Beaten Path captures iconic images from Dylan’s travels across the main routes and backroads of America. From the exhibition emerge...

Joss Stone to appear at Exeter Pride

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 04/21/2017 - 6:17pm

Devon singing-songwriting sensation Joss Stone will appear at the 9th Exeter Pride, which will take place in the city on Saturday, May 13.

Joss (30), who hails from Uffculme and still lives in Mid Devon, as well as attending to support the event, says she will take to the main stage to sing a song or two at the biggest free celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) communities in the county of Devon.

Joss recently returned from her Total World Tour which has seen her perform gigs at large and small venues across many continents.

Joss rose to...

'Justice Mirror' Reflects crime correspondent's experiences

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 04/21/2017 - 5:24pm

Simon Hall is well-known as a TV news correspondent, but Simon has an alter-ego who uses his own position as a television reporter to turn detective and solve some extraordinary crimes.

‘I never answer the question of whether my books are autobiographical,' Simon teases. ‘It's much safer that way.'

For 20 years, Simon has covered some of the biggest stories Britain has seen as the BBC's crime correspondent for the South West of England. Now his life is reflected in fiction with the publication of his thriller, Justice Mirror.

Simon's alter ego is Dan Groves, a...

Probate fee hike abandonment welcomed…with a warning

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 04/21/2017 - 5:18pm

The ditching of proposed substantial hikes in probate fees by the Government has been welcomed by financial experts. The radical changes, increasing from the current flat rate of £215 to £20,000 for larger estates, were due next month, but have been shelved following the announcement of the General Election on June 8. But chartered accountants and business advisers PKF Francis Clark have warned that the reprieve from what has been described as a tax on grieving families may only be temporary. Lisa Macpherson, the firm’s Head of Tax Technical, said: “The abandonment of these proposals gives...

Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s long-standing musical director prepares to hand the baton to his successor

Andrew Millington, Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s musical director for the last fourteen years, will conduct the choir for the last time next month - his farewell concert will be Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius on May 20th in collaboration with The Sinfonietta.

The Exeter-based conductor, organist and composer has been a key figure in Devon’s classical music scene since 1999 when he moved to the city to become Director of Music at Exeter Cathedral. In 2003, he stepped up to the rostrum to join Exeter Philharmonic Choir, the city’s oldest choral society.

The Choir is currently...

One Planet MBA named among the best in the world

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Fri, 04/21/2017 - 3:07pm

The University of Exeter’s unique One Planet course has been ranked again as among the best MBA programmes in the world.

The pioneering programme, which helps talented business professionals address the global challenges of our time, has been named as one of the top courses in Europe, and joint 21st in the world by CEO Magazine.

The One Planet MBA is a collaboration with leading FTSE 100 and other progressive organisations and allows participants to develop innovative business thinking and new business models. It is taught by academics from the University of Exeter and...

90 children look forward to starting school in Broadclyst

Broadclyst Community Primary School (BCPS) will welcome 60 new children to its reception class in September, and its sister school, Westclyst Community Primary School (WCPS) will gain 30 reception pupils.

The announcement of this week’s allocation of primary school places has confirmed that the very popular BCPS was once again oversubscribed. However, Cornerstone Academy Trust, which runs both schools and is currently building a permanent base for WCPS at nearby Hillside Gardens, is accepting another 30 children, across two reception classes, in extended temporary accommodation at...

Rogue traders target elderly in Exeter

Police are urging householders to be on their guard for a gang of rogue traders targeting elderly people in Plymouth and Exeter.

Detectives are investigating a number of reports of men calling at pensioners’ homes over Easter weekend deploying high-pressure tactics to carry out so-called ‘essential’ work on their properties. The victims have then been forced to pay thousands of pounds for shoddy and substandard work.

Officers are linking four offences in Plymouth in the last week and looking into similar reports in Exeter.

On Saturday 15 April, three men called at...

Exeter solicitor takes message to Parliament

ACCESS to justice for people in the south west was high on the agenda for a group of delegates from the Devon and Somerset Law Society when they visited the House of Commons.

Exeter solicitor Chris Tagg, of Cartridges Law, was among the party who met the Lord Chancellor, the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss, MP, as well as local MP Kevin Foster, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, Baron Armstrong, Baron Tyler and Baroness Jolly.

The meeting was held to highlight some of the issues affecting UK citizens seeking access to justice and particularly those facing eviction or homelessness who are...

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