Exeter

Exeter hospice named Searle House

Authored by Hospiscare
Posted: Wed, 09/23/2015 - 3:31pm

Our Exeter hospice has been named Searle House in recognition of the dedicated local family which helped establish our vital service.

Liz and John Searle were the driving force behind the group which 33 years ago established us as a local charity. Starting with just two community nurses Hospiscare quickly expanded and we opened the hospice on the RD&E Wonford site in 1992.

Today Hospiscare has 160 staff, 1,000 volunteers, three day centres and a 12 bed hospice; these services cost us £6m a year to run, with £1.25m funded by the NHS and the rest by fundraising events,...

Appeal after suitcase stolen from train

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 09/23/2015 - 12:09pm

Police have issued an image of a man who tried to use a stolen bank card in Torquay, which was taken in a suitcase theft on a Liskeard-bound train.

Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) hope someone will recognise the man – caught on camera outside the Halifax bank on Union Street making several attempts to enter the pin number– and come forward with his name.

A laptop was among other items inside the suitcase, which was stolen on the 4.25pm First Great Western train from Exeter on 19 July.

Sergeant Michael Phillips from BTP said: “The victim, a woman in her...

Appeal to green-fingered Exeter residents

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 09/23/2015 - 11:54am

The Stoke Hill Community Association is appealing for green-fingered residents to pitch-in and help create a new community garden in the imposing grounds of St Katherine’s Priory on the 26-27 September.

The project, which is backed by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), will be part of an open weekend at the Priory designed to bring the community together to share existing skills, learn new ones and turn an area of grey to green as part of the national Greening Grey Britain campaign.

RHS experts will be on-hand over the weekend to offer training, advice and insight to...

FORCE shop set for partial re-opening

The FORCE Cancer Charity shop in Heavitree will partially re-open on Friday October 2.

The award-winning shop in Fore Street has been closed since August 21 for essential refurbishment work.

Contractors have been carrying out renovations including new roofing, some structural work, total rewiring and redecoration.

They have completed work on the furniture and book section of the shop, which will be re-carpeted early next week and re-stocked with a variety of items in time to welcome customers again on Friday.

“We’ll put a bit of everything in, including...

Amazon and Lloyds Bank email scam warning

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 09/23/2015 - 10:57am

Detectives at Devon and Cornwall Police are warning people of two current email scams that are circulating the internet.

One is an Amazon scam, which claims Amazon accounts have been breached, this is incorrect, Amazon accounts have not been hacked into.

The fake email address from ukamazonverify.co.uk asks you to complete an ‘account verification’ process. Officers are warning members of the public not to enter any personal or bank details.

The other is a Lloyds bank scam. The email poses as coming from a member of staff from Lloyds bank called Chang Crabtree. It...

Trust marks ten years of green standard

Authored by Paigntonzoo
Posted: Wed, 09/23/2015 - 10:05am

A major local charity is marking a decade of environmental quality. Paignton Zoo Environmental Park has held the 14001 accreditation since 2005. Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, also parts of the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, which runs Paignton Zoo, have held the standard nearly as long.

The Trust’s Environmental Officer Pete Morgan said: “The ten year anniversary of our 14001 accreditation is quite a landmark. You have to improve each year, so we have been moving forward all that time. ISO14001 is an international standard with an external audit system...

Maynard School appoints Pre-Prep head

The Maynard School has announced the appointment of Miss Sarah Reddaway as Head of the newly established Pre-Prep Department. Sarah, who was brought up and educated in Devon, currently works at The Hampshire School in Chelsea where she is Head of Phase One (years 1 – 3) and also the Year One Class Teacher.

“Sarah was an outstanding candidate and we are thrilled to offer her this position. She is very experienced in the Pre-Prep field, clearly loves her job and I’m sure will be a wonderful addition to the staff here at The Maynard,” said Headmistress, Bee Hughes.

“These are...

Call for adventurers to explore local paths

The Ramblers is calling on young people in the South West to head off the beaten track to explore footpaths in their area, in the very first project to gather a complete picture of the state of footpaths throughout England and Wales.

The Big Pathwatch is the Ramblers’ biggest and most ambitious project ever to survey every right of way in England and Wales in order to build a national picture of the state of the paths – the first time this has ever been done!

It is the perfect chance for adventurous young people to discover new places and paths, and this opportunity can now...

Research transforms treatment of long-term conditions

South West patients with long-term health conditions are getting to see health experts when they need to, in an exciting project driven by research.

Under the existing model of care, patients with conditions such as arthritis are given routine appointments that often take place when their symptoms are mild. Yet when their condition deteriorates it can be difficult to secure an urgent appointment.

Now, a new approach known as Patient Initiated Clinics is hoping to transform the delivery of care across the South West by putting patients in control. Instead of appointments...

The Beacon Blitz is on!

Authored by Liz Straw
Posted: Tue, 09/22/2015 - 4:53pm

We started decorating Exeter’s newest community centre over the weekend and boy does it look better already!

The blue walls have been painted a bright, welcoming white – we’ll get some artwork up there soon, from local people of course, to give it a bit of colour.

We’re doing this again next weekend, there’s still a lot to do, so we’ll be putting on the music, loading up our paintbrushes and enjoying a bit of playful banter as we roll up our sleeves and get stuck in. Come and join us, it’ll be fun!

“We’d had a great time all working together and the main hall now...

Pages