Devon

Recycle your real Christmas trees

Teignbridge Council is offering residents the chance to recycle their real Christmas trees for free.

People can take advantage of the many ‘free tree’ recycling collection points on offer across the district. In Teignbridge last year, over 4,000 real Christmas trees were recycled and turned into compost.

Anybody wishing to dispose of their tree can go to any of the sites below on the dates and times listed. Ashburton: Edwin Tucker & Sons (Car Park), Fri 9 Jan (8am - 5pm) and Sat Jan 10 (8am - 4pm). Closed Sunday

Bishopsteignton: Jacks Patch Garden Centre Car...

Devon’s Crealy - the largest indoor play offering in Exeter and East Devon

Devon’s Crealy Great Adventure Park is pleased to announce it now offers the largest indoor play offering in Exeter and East Devon.

With over 75,000 square feet of indoor play and adventure, the park is not only open all winter for the first time in 25 years, but has some fantastic treats in store for guests of all ages this winter season.

Guests are invited to join Buddy Bear on his weekday winter adventures, with storytelling, meet and greet sessions, arts and crafts and soft play.

The family run park has something to make parents and grandparents smile too, the...

Lunchtime lecture: Saving the Seaton Down hoard for Devon

Event Date: 
21/01/2015 - 1:00pm
Venue: 
RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter

Come along and discover how to help us save this important archaeological discovery Come along and discover how to help us save this important archaeological discovery

Tom Cadbury, RAMM’s Curator of Antiquities. Over 22,000 coins and three iron ingots were found by a metal-detectorist near Seaton. The coins mostly date between AD 310 and AD 348 and are associated with Emperor Constantine I (the Great) (AD 306-37). This was a turbulent period, when settled periods of affluence were interrupted by civil wars, rebellions and invasions. It may have been these troubles that led to the...

New Year’s Day racing at Exeter Racecourse

Exeter Racecourse looks set to share in jump racing’s success story with pre-sales for its traditional New Year’s Day meeting ahead of its last January 1 fixture in 2012.

Both Premier and Grandstand & Paddock tickets have seen strong pre-sales. There has also been a recent swathe of abandonments due to frosty conditions, and with temperatures set to rise in time for Thursday’s fixture the racecourse is expecting an exceptional turnout.

Spokesman Jade Walters said: “Racing on Haldon Hill is such a tradition in Devon that nowadays everyone seems to head up the hill to...

Shotgun Theatre present Rent at Exeter Phoenix

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 12/29/2014 - 12:33pm

From the 19-22 January the Exeter Phoenix will be hosting an exciting new production of the musical Rent, produced and performed by the University of Exeter’s Shotgun Theatre Company.

Set in early 1990s Manhattan, Rent tracks the trials and tribulations of several struggling artists living in the island’s East Village. The musical’s narrator is film-maker Mark Cohen who, along with musician Roger Davis, can’t drum up the outstanding rent for their old friend and landlord Benny. Mark and Roger’s story is intertwined with those of their friends and love interests, as well as all the...

GPs should be more open in discussing cancer

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 12/29/2014 - 10:48am

GPs should consider a more overt discussion with patients when referring them for further investigation of symptoms which may indicate cancer, according to a paper published in the British Journal of General Practice.

In an NIHR-funded study, researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Durham and Exeter conducted interviews with patients being referred for possible lung and colorectal cancer.

They found that patients were rarely involved in the decision to be referred for investigation and that reasons for referral tended to be couched in non-specific terms...

Urgent action needed to target child exploitation in Devon

There is no intelligence to suggest organised child sexual exploitation networks are operating in Devon, according to a detailed new report.

But child exploitation is still likely to be happening in the county on a daily basis, according to the report.

However neither the police nor the county council currently hold enough information on the issue to take effective preventative action.

And the report calls for an urgent new database to be set up to record and map instances of child exploitation so that prevention work can be targeted in ‘hot-spots’.

The new...

Millions wasted in unspent gift vouchers

As much as £300 million worth of gift vouchers bought this year could go unspent according to research by the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA).

Consumer Affairs Minister Jo Swinson is urging consumers to spend and enjoy any vouchers they get for Christmas before they expire.

Every year 6% of vouchers bought by consumers go unused as they lay forgotten in people’s wallets and drawers.

In 2013 some £2.5 billion worth of gift cards and vouchers were sold in UK retail stores as gifts and £2.25 billion were purchased by businesses as staff or customer...

Rise in rural jobs predicted over next decade

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sat, 12/27/2014 - 10:37pm

Productivity could grow faster in the countryside than urban areas over the next decade, with a rise in rural jobs, thanks to a high-tech boost from speedier broadband and better transport links, a new analysis has shown.

Increased connectivity, spread of innovation, growth in knowledge-based industries and changes in working patterns are expected to help rural areas catch up with urban areas over the next decade, contributing to the government’s long-term economic plan.

This is expected to deliver higher wages and output of rural areas could potentially increase by around...

RMT criticises Government over SW investment

Rail union RMT has pledged an all-out fight over rail investment in the South West after the Transport Secretary cast doubt on the scale of investment in the Plymouth region’s railways by admitting that just £40million has been promised – despite calls for a £7 billion package. RMT has branded the move a “complete and utter betrayal of the South West despite all the posturing and promises after the resilience of rail services was exposed in last year’s floods and storms.”

A spokesman added: "The line into Plymouth continues to be beset by delays and cancellations as the failing...

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