Devon

Your guide to What's On this weekend

Your essential guide to What's On in and around Exeter this weekend (8-10 January)

THEATRE

Aladdin Friday & Saturday, Victory Hall, Broadclyst Broadclyst Theatre Group transports you to Old Peking for the most popular Arabian Nights magical tale of Aladdin. There you’ll be met by the irascible widow Twanky and entertained by Peking’s giant Kung Fu Panda. A fun show for all the family. Performances at 7.30pm and a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets £9, children under 12 £5 from Broadclyst Post Office and online: www.ticketsource.co.uk/broadclyst

Eloise and...

Exeter home visit pharmacy service showcased

AN innovative NHS service in Exeter which visits patients in their own homes to give advice and support around medication has been showcased at a top industry event at the ICC in Birmingham.

The Exeter cluster pharmacy team, managed by the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, was one of only 12 projects from across the country to be selected to exhibit at the NHS Providers Showcase.

The event, part of the two-day NHS Providers annual conference and exhibition, is designed to promote outstanding work and provide delegates with inspiration and ideas to improve patient care...

Exeter Chiefs confirm Services Day

With Exeter Chiefs bracing themselves for an exciting conclusion to their European Champions Cup qualification from Pool Two, the club can confirm they will be carrying out a special ticket offer for the forthcoming home game against Ospreys on Sunday, January 24.

Following the success of a similar idea in previous seasons, the Chiefs will again be recognising the efforts of all our Armed Forces and Emergency Services by staging a special match-day in their honour.

For the Ospreys clash, which will kick-off at the slightly later time of 3.15pm, any serving member of the...

New Year Honour for Exeter nurse

A leading nurse at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust has been recognised in the New Year Honours List with a British Empire Medal. Fiona Fry has worked at the RD&E since 1993, and been in her current Hepatology Nurse Specialist role since 2001. In the last 14 years she has developed liver nursing services in Exeter and Mid and East Devon which have gone from strength to strength. The service has benefited from the care of a lead nurse who is shaping national thinking and as a result the service is ensuring high quality patient focused care. Fiona said: “The British Empire...

Cholesterol-lowering drug Simvastatin trialled as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Thu, 01/07/2016 - 12:03pm

A clinical trial using cholesterol-lowering treatment Simvastatin in people living with Parkinson’s is getting underway in centres across the country – with the hope that it could become one of a number of effective treatments available to treat Parkinson’s.

Spearheaded by Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, the double-blinded placebo controlled study will involve 198 people with Parkinson’s. The trial is seeking people who have been living with Parkinson’s and who are not already taking a statin. It will take place in 21 centres in the UK including...

Mosaic artist to leave Exeter after 40 years

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Thu, 01/07/2016 - 10:53am

Elaine M Goodwin, internationally acclaimed and world renowned mosaic artist, is leaving her beloved City of Exeter after some forty years. She is moving to France to establish a larger studio and gallery.

Elaine started her creative path in Exeter in the 1970s where she studied sculpture and photography at Exeter College of Art & Design.

Whilst her developing interest in mosaics took her to exotic global locations such as India, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, it was always to Exeter she returned.

Between 1982 and 1986 she tutored mosaics at Exeter College and...

Council tax increase will pay for adult social care

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 01/07/2016 - 8:07am

Devon County Council is set to accept the Government ‘s offer to increase council tax by two per cent to help pay for adult social care.

The increase would raise just under £6.5 million extra this year.

That would help pay for the Government’s increase in the minimum wage which will cost the county council over £7 million more in care costs.

The two per cent council tax increase will be on top of any rise in the rate for general services which will be decided at the annual budget meeting next month.

The Government has set a ceiling of 1.99 per cent for...

Sign up for Race for Life

Exeter women are being urged to get the New Year off to a great start by signing up now to Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2016.

The charity is calling on women of all shapes and sizes to show cancer who’s boss by choosing their event - Race for Life 5k, 10k or Pretty Muddy – and committing to take part at Westpoint Exeter.

Although many see January as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter in terms of health and fitness, motivation can slip as the cold weather drags on.

That’s where Race for Life comes in. Pretty Muddy will take place on Saturday, 23...

Old Mill double number of shareholders

Exeter accountants and financial planners Old Mill are doubling the number of people owning an equity stake in the business. There are already 21 shareholders in the business but from 1 January 2016, 23 further members of staff acquired equity taking the total number of shareholders up to 44 – almost a fifth of the 250 workforce. Simon Cole, Board member and one of the co-founders of Old Mill, commented “Many firms in our profession have a business model that sees them restrict their ownership all too often to a small select group of individuals. As a consequence, staff who work hard for...

Study suggests January the worst time to diet

People have evolved to have subconscious urges to over-eat, and limited ability to avoid becoming obese, especially in winter, a University of Exeter study has found.

There is not yet an evolutionary mechanism to help us overcome the lure of sweet, fatty and unhealthy food and avoid becoming overweight for understandable and sensible reasons, according to researchers.

This is because in our past being overweight has not posed a significant threat to survival compared to the dangers of being underweight. The urge to maintain body fat is even stronger in winter when food in...

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