Devon

Bus 60% cheaper than driving to work

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 02/04/2015 - 10:19am

Catching the bus is around 60%* cheaper than commuting to work by car despite falling pump prices, according to new research.

The study by Stagecoach, Britain's biggest bus and coach operator, found that bus users save an average of £1,200* a year – or £100 per month - by leaving their car in the driveway. The saving is enough to pay almost all of the average household’s gas and electricity costs for a year**.

Pump prices are at their lowest level for four years, but the Stagecoach survey of around 40 key commuter corridors in England, Scotland and Wales found that hopping...

Volunteers needed to defend Castle Drogo

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 02/04/2015 - 10:06am

On Friday 6 and Saturday 7 February 2015, from 11am to 3pm, there will be a volunteering open day at Castle Drogo.

The year ahead promises to be a busy one at the castle. From 9 March, the huge five foot wide front door opens to visitors as phase three of the exciting renovation project gets underway. This is the most exciting time in the history of Castle Drogo since its initial construction. After receiving funding in 2012 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Interreg, the project to save this iconic place from the wind and rain began. 2015 marks the start of the final phase of...

SW farmers at risk of losing millions

Today (February 4th) is the 100 day countdown for farmers across the region to apply for £175 million of EU subsidies – but the new high tech way of applying and more detailed information needed could lead many to miss the deadline and fail to qualify.

The warning comes from countryside experts at Luscombe Maye which helps farmers across the region in their bids for the EU Basic Payments Scheme.

The company – which has been a land agency in the South-West since 1873 - is already working with 120 farmers to make sense of the new application system but fears others could...

Level crossing dangers highlighted

Network Rail is joining the British Transport Police (BTP) at level crossings across Britain this week, as part of the BTP’s ‘Operation Look’ awareness campaign.

Motorists and pedestrians are risking their lives and those of other road and rail users at level crossings. The week of action provides officers and safety managers from Network Rail with an opportunity to speak to thousands of people about how to use crossings safely and highlight the risks. ‘Operation Look’ has received backing from both the AA and the RAC.

The BTP has revealed that almost 1,500 motorists were...

Children set a very wiggly challenge

Leading charity Action for Children is teaming up with The World of Eric Carle™ and encouraging children’s centres, nurseries and groups for under fives in the South West to host a Giant Wiggle on Thursday 19 March 2015 to celebrate the UK’s most read children’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar™. The event will bring together under-5s to wiggle along in giant caterpillar conga lines, encouraging them to help others, and opening up their imaginations through storytelling and creative activities. Brigitte Gater, UK West Director of Children's Services at Action for Children, said: “We want...

Sitel Exeter names Young Devon as Charity of the Year

Young Devon is delighted to have been named as Sitel’s Charity of the year.

In addition to the announcement, the staff at Sitel have also raised a fantastic £3,500 for the charity, which Young Devon hopes will go towards creating a drop-in service at the Exeter YES Centre.

With offices in Exeter city centre, Sitel is a leading outsource provider of customer experience management, supporting major brands, with a 600 strong work force. The money has been raised thanks to staff holding numerous fundraising events including bake sales, dress down days and raffles.

Tim...

New Go Together Club is just the ticket for Exeter theatregoers

Exeter Northcott Theatre has launched a club for people who’d love to go the theatre if they had someone to go with.

The Go Together Club is free to join and makes the whole experience of a theatre trip more enjoyable than going alone.

The club is the idea of the Northcott’s Development Committee, on which Tricia Cotton and Michael Terry serve as volunteers. It was trialled with a limited number of performances last autumn and proved so successful that the number of shows is being increased for the Spring 2015 Season.

Michael Terry says, “People are often reluctant...

Custom House to reopen as visitor centre

Exeter's famous Custom House is set to become the centre of attention once again as a visitor and interpretation centre celebrating the history of the Quay and Canal.

The landmark building, which for centuries was used to collect taxes on goods entering the city, has in recent times been not been used to its full potential or underoccupied. Exeter City Council, the owner of the building, has for some years been exploring various options for its long-term sustainable use.

Now the City Council can reveal its plans.

The Quay House Visitor Centre is to relocate from its...

The Secret of Willoughby Hall

Event Date: 
19/02/2015 - 7:30pm to 21/02/2015 - 7:30pm
Venue: 
Silverton Millennium Hall, Silverton EX4 4JZ

Silverton’s drama troupe, the Silverton Luvvies, is gearing up for its next production, a murder mystery play set over six decades – “The Secret of Willoughby Hall”.

This follows the group’s sell-out production in 2014, which honoured the lives of Silverton’s WW1 soldiers, “Trenches and Wenches”. The play, as with all of the Silverton Luvvie’s productions, is an original work written by director Portia Smith and Iain Gonoude (in cahoots with the Luvvies themselves).

The three-act play, set in the fictional Willoughby Hall, starts in the 1950s and takes the audiences on a...

Fancy a 'Beak Burger' ?

An English student at the University of Exeter has been announced as the winner of Urban Burger’s ‘What’s Your Beef’ competition.

Lucy Harrison has won £250 in Urban Burger vouchers and will see her ‘Ducking & Dive-in’ burger included on the menu at the gourmet burger restaurant on Queen Street, Exeter.

The competition saw contestants create and submit a variety of recipes, with the best four selected for the grand final by Urban Burger owners Melissa and Garth Pearse.

The ‘X-Factor’ style final was held at the restaurant on Thursday January 29 with the judging...

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