Paul and Donna Berry from The Swan.

The Swan reaches number 25 in Gastropub top 50

Authored by Reporters
Posted: Tue, 01/25/2022 - 4:54pm

STAFF at The Swan in Bampton are celebrating this week after being named for the sixth year running as one of the top 50 gastropubs in the country (January 2022).

The multi-award-winning mid-Devon pub polled in at number 25 in the 2022 ‘Estrella Damm’ Top 50 Gastropub Awards.

Chef-patron Paul Berry, who co-owns The Swan with his wife and fellow award-winning chef Donna, said: “We can’t believe we have made the Gastropub top 50 list for the sixth year running and we have come in at number 25, especially after such a rollercoaster two years.

“We’re so proud and would...

Food Charity appeals for retired volunteers

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 01/25/2022 - 3:49pm

FoodCycle , the charity that aims to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community, is in urgent need of volunteers. This month, FoodCycle will invest in a national recruitment campaign to try to entice more people to join them.

While volunteer roles are open to anyone who has some time to spare, the current drive will particularly target retired members of the community.

Alex Hatherly, South West Regional Manager explains why:

“Only around 3% of our FoodCycle volunteers are retired yet we’ve found with the combination of...

Five men holding pasties

Local businesses sink their teeth into competition with Men’s Walk launch stunt

Authored by SofyR
Posted: Tue, 01/25/2022 - 1:05pm

Men’s Walk will return on Saturday 12 March to raise vital funds for Hospiscare. The popular fundraising event offers two ways to take part this year in order to raise vital funds for families living with a terminal illness. Participants can choose to walk a route of their choice in their local area or join the event at Double Locks in Exeter.

As the fundraiser is renowned for its triple perks – a pint, a pasty and the rugby – the charity chose to celebrate the event launch with a pasty eat-athon. Five key representatives of these well-loved elements competed to earn the glory of...

College helping students keep their New Year resolutions

Authored by Joe Cooper
Posted: Tue, 01/25/2022 - 10:30am

New year…New You: Lose weight, do more exercise and cut back on spending, are three of the top New Year resolutions.

But with most falling by the wayside within seven weeks, a Devon college is hoping it can help buck the trend well into 2022.

South Devon College has hundreds of health courses on offer to lure people away from the biscuit tin and swap chocolates for chin ups.

“We have a course to suit anyone who wants to teach fitness, get fitter, or work in the industry,” said Daniel Gaze, Head of Sport, Adventure and Protective Services at South Devon College....

Business support programme launched in Devon

Authored by Program
Posted: Tue, 01/25/2022 - 9:55am

A new business support programme has been launched offering a range of business training and support services for the self-employed and small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

Up to 600 businesses will be supported through the Heart of the South West Growth Hub’s new programme – Thrive.

The programme is part funded by the ERDF and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with match funding from the Growth Hub and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The programme aims to stimulate...

British horses to keep an eye on this year at Cheltenham

Authored by Simon Wells
Posted: Mon, 01/24/2022 - 5:51pm

The Cheltenham Festival in 2021 was one to forget for the British trainers, as they were given a hammering in their own backyard. Irish trainers were responsible for winners of 23 of the 28 races that were competed at the Festival last year, and there is a growing fear that history could be about to repeat itself once again this year.

If you have a feeling about any British horses making waves in the big contest, click here visit TwinSpires website and place your bet on your favourite.

However, there are a number of British-trained hopefuls that will be expected to pick...

Woodland tidied up thanks to enthusiastic volunteers

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 01/24/2022 - 5:10pm

A Dartmoor woodland has been given a tidy-up thanks to a team of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. Working with Dartmoor National Park’s Rangers Ella Briens and Ethan Parsons and Dartmoor Headwaters Project Officer Kerry Smith, the group spent a Sunday morning removing tree guards from a native woodland in the Dean Burn valley near Buckfastleigh. Seventeen volunteers joined Ella, Ethan and Kerry for the volunteer event on January 9 and the collective hard work was a success because they collected up hundreds of tree-guards – filling five big dumpy bags. It’s hoped the tree-guards can...

VoIP

Is your phone system affecting your revenue growth?

For many businesses, their phones are their lifeline for generating new revenue.

Even in our age of email and messaging, there’s something powerful about the phone. Fewer people call into a business these days. But those that do are often ready, willing and able to buy.

Perhaps you rely on your phones to be able to correctly route inbound calls to your staff, whether they’re working in the office or at home.

Or maybe you need your phones for outbound calling, either for business development or to keep in touch with existing clients.

However you rely on them...

What is Block Hours IT Support?

Looking for exceptional, responsive and professional IT support but with maximum flexibility? Then Block Hours support could be for you.

Here at Bluegrass Group we understand that SMEs are all really individual. Some have an in house IT team supporting their operations and staff 9am – 5pm.

Some SMEs work with an outsourced IT partner. Some might have a bit of both or none at all.

The main thing we understand is that in today’s unpredictable world, companies need total flexibility and support that fits around their individual needs.

That’s why we don’t just...

Bluegrass plants trees for every new client

25 trees planted for every new client

As part of their mission to ‘Turn Bluegrass Green’ Exeter based IT support business Bluegrass Group are delighted to announce that they will be planting 25 trees for every new client that signs up for support.

Joint Managing Director David Thomas comments ‘As a business we want to become more aware of our impact on the planet and we’re keen to take measures to offset our business footprint. This is one of the first steps we will take in order to become a more sustainable business.

It’s critical that every individual and every business takes action against the climate crisis...

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