Open air theatre, including works by Shakespeare and Jane Austen, will be staged in two of East Devon’s best loved parks this summer.
Four touring theatre companies are bringing their productions to the beautiful Connaught Gardens in Sidmouth and Manor Gardens in Exmouth in a joint project between East Devon District Council’s StreetScene and Countryside departments. Topping the bill will be The Tempest, Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice and the Triumph of Love.
Cllr John O’Leary, the district council’s Culture Champion, said: “These gardens have wonderful...
A new study from the University of Exeter has revealed that the Central African country of Gabon is providing an invaluable nesting ground for a vulnerable species of sea turtle considered a regional conservation priority.
A huge ground survey covering nearly 600 km of Gabon’s coastline has uncovered the largest breeding colony of olive ridley turtles in the Atlantic.
The study, published today (4 June) in the journal Biological Conservation, is the first to combine existing monitoring data with a back-to-basics coastal survey of the area. The results suggest that Gabon...
Devon Restaurant Month is now in full swing. Participating restaurants, pubs and cafés have already reported an increase in bookings as both Devon locals and visitors to the county take advantage of the month long range of promotions and offers. For full details of all taking part go to www.devonrestaurantmonth.co.uk .
Sponsored by Luscombe Drinks, Buckleigh Laundry, Favis of Salcombe, PVM Supplies and Voyager Coffee, this creative initiative entices those living nearby and from further afield to experience the incredible variety of both Devon produce and cooking at really great...
Grants of between £2,000 and £10,000* are available for schools in Devon to develop creative and engaging learning experiences that will develop students' skills in enterprise and innovation.
Devon County Council's Enterprise in Schools Grant (EiSG) programme is open to state funded and primary schools benefitting Year 6 pupils and above.
Applications must be received by 12:00 noon on Friday 26 June 2015. Grant funds must be spent and claimed by 31 March 2016.
The programme is designed to help Devon’s schools create or expand educational opportunities within the...
Ladybirds use colour to reveal their toxicity to predators says new research
For one of Britain’s best-loved and colourful group of insects, ladybirds, the brightness of their colour reveals the extent of their toxicity to predators, according to new research undertaken at the Universities of Exeter and Cambridge.
The study which is published in the journal Scientific Reports, also found that the more conspicuous and colourful the ladybird species, the less likely it is to be attacked by birds.
Lina María Arenas, a PhD student at the Centre for Ecology and...
Exeter Axhayes adoption centre is a local cat re-homing centre run by Cats Protection the UK's leading cat welfare charity.
The centre is holding a quiz night at Exeter Saracens RFC on 3rd July 2015 to help raise funds for the centre. The centre looks after local homeless cats until they are found a new home. Their policy is never to put a healthy cat asleep therefore sometimes a cat can be looked after for quite some time.
An example of the type of work they do is highlighted by Panjo. She came to them originally as a stray, and was in a bad state - she has a terrible...
Driving is a risky activity; it requires our full attention at all times.
This week is Road Safety week (8-14 June) Fire and Rescue Services across the UK are coming together to raise awareness of the dangers to young drivers of driving and being distracted.
Although driving and distraction is a significant risk to all drivers, if combined with the inexperience of a newly-qualified driver it becomes an even more deadly cocktail.
Retailers who stock and sell personal care products that contain tiny particles of plastic may have finally realised that washes, scrubs, gels and pastes made from natural products are just as effective and won’t damage our seas, says the UK’s leading marine charity.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says many leading high street retailers have promised to stop selling products that contain microplastics. These tiny bits of plastic, which are too small to be trapped in sewage works, are ending up in the sea where they can be ingested by zooplankton and other animals, which in...
Private sector activity in the South West continued to rise in May, according to the latest PMI® survey data.
The rate of expansion remained relatively strong but eased to the weakest since February, mainly reflecting the slowest growth of new business since April 2013. Charges for goods and services rose slightly, having declined in March and April, but overall inflationary pressures remained weak.
The seasonally adjusted Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking South West Business Activity Index fell for the second consecutive month to 55.1 in May, from 56.0 in April, indicating...
August is just around the corner and with that comes the annual Topsham to Turf Ferryman’s Swim which is now in its 10th year.
As we celebrate the first decade of the swim in recent times and its annual return appearance in the local calendar, a little reminder on its history.
Named in recognition of Topsham’s Ferryman Mike Stevens who resurrected this swim back in 2006 after discovering that the swim was a regular event for people in Topsham in the 1930s the last one being swum in 1938.
Being no stranger to endurance water events; 27 years ago Mike had held the...
