Devon

Floral designer and judge on BBC2’s “The Big Allotment Challenge”, Jonathan Moseley has gathered a selection of garden blooms and purchased flowers to create the eclectic mix of colours and varieties to bring a 17th century Dutch floral painting to life in anticipation of the exciting gardening spectacular Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival at Powderham Castle.

"The painters of the Dutch masters could arguably be termed the first arrangers of flowers in the Western style,” says Jonathan, “their intrinsic understanding of form, colour and texture are still inspirational to arrangers...

The British Red Cross is today (Thursday 30 April) launching ‘Shop Drop for Nepal’ to give people another way to donate to its Nepal Earthquake Appeal.

The Red Cross is appealing to people to clear out their wardrobes and cupboards and donate their unwanted clothes and goods to their local Red Cross shop.

Funds raised from the sale of the items will aid the organisation’s life-saving work in Nepal. The Red Cross appeal has now topped £3 million but much more is needed.

People wishing to help can drop off their goods at their nearest Red Cross shop, and explain they...

A University of Exeter student has created an online resource to educate young people in the basics of British politics in the run-up to the General Election.

Liz Atkins, a first year undergraduate in Politics and International Relations is aiming to improve student engagement with British politics by providing essential information that will give a solid introduction to the framework of the electoral process. To achieve this Atkins has created an online pamphlet explaining what constitutes a Government; a Parliament; the different types of elections and key information concerning...

Lawyers in campervans? Surfing solicitors? They are not the images that first spring to mind for a law firm, but a leading local legal firm is hoping to change that as it puts its staff and their love for Devon centre stage in a major new marketing campaign.

Stephens Scown LLP’s Love Where You Live campaign, which starts on 1 May, will celebrate the great things to see and do and wonderful way of life in Devon.

Stephens Scown has been recognised for its staff engagement by the Sunday Times, which ranked it 39 in the list of the 100 best mid sized companies to work for 2015...

Gary Flint was hoping to raise £1,500 running the London Marathon for local charity Rainbow Living but after completing the grueling 26 miles in a very respectable 4 hours 18 minutes he has smashed this target having raised an incredible £2,300 – and that figure is still climbing!

Supporters have been incredibly generous and Gary is now aiming for a total of £2,500. If you would like to help him achieve this amazing figure you can sponsor him via his Virgin Money Giving page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GaryFlint . Every pound will be put to very good use.

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The first stage of some exciting archaeological exploration has just been completed on Dartmoor. This has involved a geophysical survey on a recently discovered large stone circle located close to Sittaford Tor.

The circle is situated 525m above sea level, making it the highest stone circle in southern England, with panoramic views in all directions. With a diameter of 34m, it is the second largest circle on Dartmoor. The first stones were identified by Alan Endacott a few years ago.

The circle consists of 30 recumbent stones, plus one more lying in a gap just outside the...

Devon County Council is launching a consultation on Friday (1 May) on its draft guidance for the implementation of the county’s new Waste Plan.

The draft guidance contained in the Supplementary Planning Document has been prepared following a consultation earlier this year on its structure and contents. The feedback from this initial consultation has been used to help shape the draft document, and the County Council is inviting comments by Friday 12 June 2015. Devon’s Waste Plan, which was adopted in December, now forms part of the Development Plan for Devon and is to be considered...

Police have issued a CCTV image of a woman they wish to speak to in connection with a theft.

Almost £4,000 was taken when a 91 year-old woman had her cash card stolen.

The card was used to withdraw money between 27 January 2015 and 26 February 2015 from the Barclays cash point in Newton Abbot.

The suspect is described as a white woman, aged 40-50, approximately 5’ 6” in height and having auburn coloured, bobbed hair. On occasions she wore a red, half -length padded jacket with a black fur collar, and black boots. She can be seen carrying an over the shoulder satchel...

Businesses across Devon will gather at a sponsorship lunch to hear about the Venus Awards, which were specifically created to recognise and reward local women in business.

The lunch, which will take place at the Bishop Fleming offices in Exeter, has been designed to celebrate the achievements of hard working women and to inform businesses on how they can get involved.

Celia Delaney, who has organised the awards in Devon for the past two years, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to reach out to women and inspire their own workforce at the same time. Our...