Devon

Barbering training transforms lives of Exeter’s long-term unemployed

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sat, 09/26/2015 - 11:41am

A group of long-term unemployed people from Exeter, who recently qualified as barbers and are setting out on their new careers, have described how the training enabled them to develop confidence and transform their lives.

The 19-week course is funded by Learn Devon – Devon County Council’s adult education service – and delivered by Hair @ the Academy, a salon at the Exeter Deaf Academy that offers hair and beauty training to disengaged adults and young people. The course is free to unemployed adults who are drawing benefits in their own right.

Natalie Hirst, who has started...

Exeter racing driver heads for Brands Hatch

Up and coming Exeter racing driver Richard Mitchell heads for iconic Brands Hatch circuit this weekend for the HSCC Historic Formula Ford 1600 Championship.

Racing newcomer Richard joined the Silverstone based Speedsport team this year with virtually no previous racing experience. Despite that, he was straight on the pace and has won four of the first nine races, with second place in the season’s opener at Thruxton Circuit - beating former F1 driver and TV’s FIFTH GEAR presenter Tiff Needell.

The title race for the HSCC Historic Formula Ford 1600 Championship is really...

Webb Ellis cup is coming to Exeter... again!

Rugby's biggest prize, the Webb Ellis cup is coming to Exeter, and people have a chance to have their picture taken with it.

The Webb Ellis Cup will be in the official Rugby World Cup 2015 Exeter Fanzone in Northernhay Gardens on Tuesday (29 September) from 12noon to 1pm and will be welcomed by a schools music mini fest, with music from local schools, The Academy of Music and Sound, and Exeter College.

The cup will then travel to Sandy Park for the first Rugby World Cup 2015 match in Exeter - Tonga v Namibia - and will be located outside Sandy Park from 2pm to 3.30pm, then...

Devon print company joins Paris fashion phenomenon

Devon’s very own creative print company, Inspirwood, has been handpicked by global fashion sensation Jessica Minh Anh to create exclusive VIP invitations for the highly anticipated J Autumn Fashion Show, which will take place on 29 October 2015 in Paris.

The show is part of Jessica Minh Anh’s series of history making catwalks at the world’s most iconic venues. After the phenomenal success of the Eiffel Tower’s first ever catwalk, the model and entrepreneur will transform the Seine’s giant glass boat into a 100 meter floating catwalk.

The wooden boat-wheel invitations...

Baring-Gould Folk Weekend

Event Date: 
23/10/2015 - 12:00pm to 25/10/2015 - 12:00pm
Venue: 
Okehampton

Baring-Gould Folk Weekend returns October 2015 sees the welcome return of the “Baring-Gould Folk Weekend”.

This intimate and family-friendly folk festival, hosted by Okehampton-based music organisation Wren Mu-sic, brings great local and national music and international dance, and blends them with locally-sourced food and drink and an electric atmosphere to create an unforgettable weekend out for the whole family.

Guest highlights this year include Lady Maisery, a fabulous female trio exploring vocal harmony to breath-taking effect, through their fresh interpretations of...

Topsham prepared for winter's worst

Residents along the river frontage in the estuary-side town of Topsham were full of praise for the flooding exercise that took place on Wednesday evening of this week.

The exercise was aimed at raising awareness of the risk of flooding in the town – which suffered from floods in the storms of February 2014 – which allowed residents to test their own property defences.

The exercise also tested the readiness of Topsham’s recently recruited Flood Wardens, 10 of whom were deployed across 5 sectors covering the town’s 1.5 mile river frontage, from the recreation ground through...

Molto Delizioso at Bella Italia!

This week my dining companion and I were fortunate enough to be invited to the launch of the new menu at Bella Italia in Queen Street, Exeter. I was particularly excited about this having enjoyed my precious visit so much.

Again, we were warmly welcomed by our previous Italian waiter, Manuel and an extremely friendly and highly professional manager called Mykolas. Good staff count for a lot these days, and I have to say, Bella Italia are extremely lucky to have such good staff working for them.

The new menu tasting involved a set menu of new dishes accompanied by a drink of...

New courts for Exeter Netball Winter League

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 09/25/2015 - 11:28am

The Exeter & District Netball League starts this week at the University of Exeter Sports Park with games being played on a brand new high-grade surface.

The University of Exeter - which recently won the Times and Sunday Times Sports University of the Year 2016 award - has invested to significantly improve the playing surface of the Covered Courts facility. Their aim is to both improve the playability of the surface and also improve the look and feel of the Facility. The new surface which exceeds England Netball surface requirements and is LTS competition standard will be a...

Comedy at the Park

Event Date: 
16/10/2015 - 7:30pm to 11:00pm
Venue: 
Sandy Park, Exeter

Comedy at the Park returns to Sandy Park on Friday, October 16th.

Compere for the evening will be Dave Thompson, who’s best known as Tinky Winky in the Teletubbies. Dave has also regularly appeared in and written for shows by Al Murray, Ben Elton and Harry Hill.

The first comedian up will be Neil Cole, who’s described as a ‘relaxed, amiable presence’ with ‘an easy chemistry with his audience’. Neil has a wealth of experience working as a TV and radio Presenter, and an actor, writer and comedian.

Next up will be Mark Dolan, who hosts Channel 4 Comedy show Balls of...

A pay and a ploy get your kids eating carrots!

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 09/25/2015 - 10:11am

Amongst all the cake guzzling, sweet quaffing and sugar-hyped activities on offer for kids this half term, there is another event in town that promises not only to entertain the children but to get them truly excited by carrots and the good stuff! Tortoise & Hare: Making a Meal of Storytelling re-imagines Aesop’s fable to look at the conflict between slow and fast food.

Hare is a fun but unreliable chocoholic whilst her friend Tortoise is moody, slow but a rather fine chef.

They set off on a race to see who can deliver a meal faster to their party guests. Whilst Hare...

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