Newcomer Tom James may only have been at Sandy Park a matter of weeks, but already the Welshman says he is settling in well to life with the Exeter Chiefs.
One of a a handful of new recruits brought in by head coach Rob Baxter during the close season, James is clearly keen to make his mark in English rugby having spent the past six seasons with the Cardiff Blues.
The challenge of tackling English rugby’s elite sides was a key factor in the 26-year-old’s decision to join the Chiefs – and he knows the hard work put in by himself and his new colleagues during the current pre-...
Bookings are now being taken for Exeter City FC’s Football in the Community roadshows, which are again running throughout the summer holidays across the region.
The events kick off with Match Mania on Friday 26 July, a full day’s festival of fun and games for children aged 5-14, and the programme then continues for the whole of August finishing with a two-day roadshow at St Luke’s Science and Sports College on Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 September.
There will be three roadshow dates in Exeter, plus events in Dawlish, Exmouth, Cullompton, Honiton, Sidmouth, Crediton, Tiverton...
Paignton Zoo is inviting visitors to help name its baby orang utan. The female baby was born on Thursday 11 April.
“Her keepers have chosen a shortlist of names. We have a collecting box in the foyer with eight slots – people can vote for the name or names they like the best. This way, everyone gets to vote and we raise money for conservation at the same time.”
The names are: Bethari, meaning goddess; Elok (beautiful, awesome, jewel); Intan (diamond); Kes (patience); Lintang (star); Ratih (goddess of beauty); Tatau (a place in Sarawak where the baby’s great grandmother...
One top Devon company is helping an animal charity with the little things that make a big difference.
Sparkworld has donated a selection of domestic appliances and kitchen tools to Living Coasts, Torquay’s coastal zoo and aquarium.
“These things may not be sexy, but they are vital!” says Jenny Paton from Living Coasts. “The hand blender is used for preparing fish for feeding birds. And sometimes we make fish soup to syringe feed the rays, especially if youngsters need feeding up. The dishwasher is used to clean animal feed bowls.
Hot on the heels of the successful Vintage & Variety specialist shop in Topsham, Devon Air Ambulance Trust is delighted to announce the launch of its second specialist shop. On Saturday 13 July, at 10.00am, Exmouth’s Devon Air Ambulance shop in Rolle Street will become a Discount Shop.
Listening to customer feedback from around the area, Martin Bell, DAAT’s Retail Director, said that they recognised everyone is looking for value for money. Martin explained, “Almost everything in the shop will be just £1, with the exception of some items of Devon Air Ambulance Trust merchandise...
Torbay Hospital has donated a used ultrasound machine to Paignton Zoo.
Paignton Zoo Head of Veterinary Services Ghislaine Sayers said: “Ultrasound is a valuable imaging tool that helps us to diagnose certain types of soft tissue and organ disease including ligament damage and heart disease.”
It has already been used to diagnose a pregnancy in a sheep. Ghislaine again: “The big benefit for us is that it is portable. We could never have afforded to buy a new one for ourselves, so to have this one given to us is wonderful!
The NHS has launched a new ‘be clear on cancer’ lung cancer campaign and local doctors in Devon have urged people with symptoms that could suggest lung cancer is the underlying cause, to get it checked out.
The campaign, which will include advertisements on TV, radio and newspapers, runs for the whole of July and into the first half of August.
It aims to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of lung cancer, especially a cough that lasts for three weeks or more, and to encourage people with these symptoms to consult their GP. Doctors say the earlier the cancer is found,...
Exeter City have completed the signing of striker Sam Parkin, subject to international clearance.
The 32-year-old front-man moves back to England to join the Grecians after having spent three seasons playing north of the border – for St Johnstone, Queen of the South, and most recently Scottish Premier League side St Mirren, with whom he won the Scottish League Cup last season.
After starting his playing career as a youth player at Chelsea, Parkin went on to have permanent spells with Swindon (with a better than one-in-two strike-rate over his three seasons) Ipswich, Luton...
Yes, we know it's way too early to start thinking about Christmas, but how fabulous would it be to see your child or pupil's design on one of the Royal Mail's Christmas stamps?
Royal Mail is running an amazing national art competition for primary school pupils to design stamps for Christmas 2013.
Two lucky winners will see their designs on one of the 1st or one of the 2nd Class Christmas stamps from this year’s range.
Only twice before has Royal Mail run a competition like this – in 1966 and 1981 – so this is the first opportunity for more than 30 years for school...
Magistrates in Devon and Cornwall are almost twice as likely to send a woman to prison as courts in other parts of England and Wales, figures reveal today (9 July).
The Howard League for Penal Reform has released for the first time data which shows how sentencing rates for women vary from county to county.
The figures suggest that, while many magistrates’ courts are making good use of community sentences which help cut crime and turn women’s lives around, other benches are imposing prison terms unnecessarily in some cases.
