Devon

Tai Chi - it's as easy as ABC!

Free Tai Chi instruction will now be available at the opening event for the much improved Jubilee Gardens on the seafront in Seaton (in front of the clock tower) on Saturday 4 May. There will also be live musicians and chess lessons on offer.

ABC Tai Chi, which offers regular beginners classes at Seaton Town Hall, has kindly offered to run a completely free Tai Chi taster session from 11.40 a.m. for an hour. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done Tai Chi before and if you have limited mobility you can even take part sitting down.

Tai Chi is a form of exercise suitable for...

Exeter hits top ten in The Complete University Guide

The University of Exeter moves up from 13th to 10th place in The Complete University Guide ’s ranking of 124 UK universities for 2014, which was published today (Monday 29 April). It is the first time that Exeter has entered The Complete University Guide’s (CUG) national top ten of UK universities. Apart from Exeter’s entry into the top ten, the composition of this grouping has remained unchanged compared with last year. Cambridge again heads The CUG ranking of 124 UK universities, with Oxford back in second place ahead of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Professor Sir...

Third Post Office strike Today

Post Office staff in the country's network of 373 Crown Post Offices, including Exeter and Exmouth, will take a third round of strike action on Monday April 29 in a dispute over closures, franchising, jobs and pay. The CWU says that the management continues to refuse to negotiate, despite their financial arguments being proved wrong.

Strike action will start at 1pm on Monday April 29 and will affect up to 4,000 staff working in 373 Crown (main) post offices. Post Office staff voted by nine to one (88%) in favour of strike action and have already taken strike action on Easter...

Road closure for Dawlish Strand improvements

Motorists are being reminded that the road through Dawlish Strand will be closed for around two weeks from Monday (29 April) as work on the £1.5million regeneration of the Strand continues.

The road will be closed for reconstruction and resurfacing, which is expected to be completed by Friday 10 May. As per the previous road closure in February for water mains diversion, deliveries to the businesses will be permitted, although drop-off points will vary. During the second week of the closure, there will be some disruption to the car parks at the western end of The Strand...

Tour of Britain design competition hits the spot with cycling fans

Devon school children have the opportunity to design the famous ŠKODA King of the Mountains Jersey for this year’s Tour of Britain.

The “Polka Dot Jersey”, as it is often referred to, is awarded to the best climber in the race and the official jersey sponsor ŠKODA is offering one student the chance to see their design made and worn during The Tour.

The competition is open to children aged seven to 16 and entries must be submitted by Friday 14 June. The winner will be invited to present their jersey to the rider crowned ŠKODA King of the Mountains at the Tour’s official...

Art for Life charity auction to raise funds for Children's Hospice South West

An Art for Life charity auction is due to take place on Saturday 11 May 2013 at the Royal Clarence Hotel in Cathedral Yard, Exeter.

The event (taking place from 10.30am to 12.30pm) will display a vast amount of artwork by South West academicians and other established British artists including works by Ken Howard RA OBE, Rose Hilton ARCA, Peter Brown NEAC and many more.

The paintings have been donated to the auction, which will be conducted by Robin Barlow, in order to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West. This fantastic charity cares for children with a limited...

The arts are central to our economic and general well being, says Ben Bradshaw MP

The Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, said this week she would fight hard in the forthcoming spending review for Arts and Culture. That’s an improvement on her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, who seemed to take pride in the size of the cuts he offered up to the Treasury and was the first Minister to settle in the last spending round.

Investment in arts and culture is tiny - less than 1% of overall Government spending. Yet it goes a long way in terms of jobs and economic growth. Sometimes wrongly seen as a fluffy luxury, arts spending is central to Britain’s economic future. Independent...

Devon adds its voice to MMR campaign

Devon’s Director of Public Health is urging parents to ensure their children have had their MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccinations, following a measles outbreak in Wales.

Dr Virginia Pearson’s message is part of a national joint campaign between the Association for Directors of Public Health, Public Health England – the government organisation responsible for immunisation; and the Local Government Association, to increase take-up of the vaccine in children and teenagers, following the recent outbreak in some parts of the UK.

Dr Pearson said: “Generally across Devon...

National Trust volunteers make an unprecedented contribution on Exmoor

In the past year nearly 45,000 hours of volunteer time have been devoted to looking after National Trust owned property on Exmoor.

The latest figures for volunteering on just the National Trust properties inside the Exmoor National Park show that 748 volunteers contributed an astonishing 44,470 volunteer hours in the twelve month period to March 2013.

It is the first time that the volunteer data has been compiled in this way to include every NT property within the National Park boundary - Dunster Castle, West Exmoor, Exmoor Bunkhouse and the Holnicote Estate.

The...

10th Exeter Food & Drink Festival set to be biggest and best ever

From its humble beginnings ten years ago, always with acclaimed chef Michael Caines MBE at its helm, the Exeter Festival of South West Food & Drink has grown into one of the largest events of its kind in the UK, its rise corresponding to the huge surge in consumer demand for local produce. More visitors than ever flock to Exeter's Northernhay Gardens each year to visit artisan food and drink producers from throughout South West England.

In the popular Cookery Theatre, Michael organises and hosts the chef demonstrations, supported by the region's best and best known chefs. Be...

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