HCT Turf are delighted to announce their partnering up with local charity, Living Options Devon to run this year’s #ILoveMyGarden photography competition. To enter, entrants simply have to share a photo of their garden and explain what they love about it. For every garden entered into the competition, HCT Turf will donate £1 to Living Options Devon.

The aim of the competition is to raise Devonians’ spirits and the £1000 needed to refurb one of the Living Options Devon’s off road mobility scooters. These scooters offer disabled people and those that have difficulty walking, the...

Life will return to the “old normal” once the COVID - 19 vaccination is available. That does not, however, imply that it will be beneficial to the markets. The first cases of covid 19 were detected in Wuhan, China , almost a year ago. We saw an unimaginable global shutdown as a result of the virus in Q2, followed by a record-breaking come back to growth in Q3 as the summer month approached. The second and third waves emerged in Q4. The finding of phase 3 vaccine trials began to trickle in November and by the end of the year, frontline workers and those in greatest need had already...

This volunteer’s week (1-7 June), long-serving volunteer Thelma Peters, 89, is celebrating being back behind the till at the Young Lives vs Cancer charity shop in Exeter after a long period of closure due to the pandemic.

Thelma started volunteering for Young Lives vs Cancer, the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity, when it first opened its Exeter shop, around 24 years ago, after losing her husband to cancer.

Thelma said: “I first got involved because I lost my husband to cancer and I was very down and depressed and my doctor suggested I get myself out there and...

Poundland’s South West community champion for its newly launched charitable foundation today (1 June) opened up a 30-day window for children’s sports organisations across the region to apply for grants.

The new Poundland Foundation brings all the retailer’s charity fundraising under one banner, including a commitment to invest £825,000 in communities over the next 12 months.

This first grant window opens at 9.00am today (1 June) and community groups will have the opportunity to apply for one of 250...

Exeter-based charity, Veterans With Dogs, has announced the launch of a new fundraising initiative on Armed Forces Day, 26th June. The charity is asking supporters across the UK to join forces and walk with their four-legged sidekicks for a total of 26 minutes, with the aim of raising £5,000.

This initiative is seeking to get people out walking with their own furry friends while also raising some much-needed funds so that the charity can continue to help veterans with invisible injuries such as PTSD.

Commenting on the fundraising campaign, Craig MacLellan, Chief...

Grant & Stone Group, the largest independent builders’ merchant in Southern England, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Devondale Electrical Distributors (Devondale), expanding its network of specialist electrical wholesalers and complementing the recent acquisitions of builders’ and plumbers’ merchants in the South West of England.

Established in 1981, Devondale is the largest independent electrical wholesaler in the South West. Operating from nine branches across Somerset and Devon, it provides an extensive range of electrical and ancillary products to electricians...

IKEA Exeter has launched a new exhibition with Barnardo’s, shining a light on the journey of young people’s experiences leaving care.

Since 2018, Barnardo’s and IKEA have come together through a national partnership to help improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK. Combining IKEA’s expertise in life at home and Barnardo’s 155 years of experience of delivering high-quality services to support young people in need; Barnardo’s and IKEA are united by their belief that every young person deserves a safe place to call home. They have joined...

Every Hut’s a Castle: The hugely popular competition celebrating the UK’s iconic and much-loved coastline havens has returned for its second year, with Beach Hut insurance specialists, Ryan’s Insurance inviting owners to enter to win over £1000 of prizes.

This year, in collaboration with both Millie’s Beach Huts, and the bestselling British author and scriptwriter, Veronica Henry, the competition is calling on the UK’s 20,000-plus beach hut owners to compete to become the prestigious winner of the ‘Ryan’s Beach Hut of the Year 2021’ – with entries judged on beach hut uses and the...

There is no doubt that surveys can affect the result of a local or national election. It influences us, in different ways, according to our personality and beliefs. It may be the factor that will make us vote, or stay at home, if we feel our vote will count. But now that surveys are moving online, does it make a difference? It would seem so, according to two American universities, which have just switched from phone surveys to online polling.

Costs matter

There are a few reasons why online surveys are getting the upper-hand on traditional ones. The first one is the price...