Following a recent report by The Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), predicting that half a million elderly UK residents could spend Christmas Day alone, NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer, is concerned that the problem of isolation is much greater for elderly people living in rural areas due to a lack of access to reliable broadband.
While the Government is keen to encourage elderly people to use social media and video-calling to contact distant relatives, such systems are reliant on access to reliable and affordable internet access, something which can be a postcode lottery in...
Bicton Arena in East Devon, part of Clinton Estates, has been awarded international status for its April Horse Trials next year which means the venue will now host two CIC competitions in 2015 with the second taking place in August. A new competition has also been added to the calendar with an affiliated event (BE80 – 100) now running in July. With opportunities rare for riders in the Westcountry to compete at one or two star level, and thus gain qualification the next level of international competitions, the events are seen as valuable additions to the British Eventing calendar....
It's that time of year again when Father Christmas and his team of elves step up their toy workshop operations to ensure their production targets are met before Christmas Eve.
With the world's population increasing, Father Christmas needs more and more space to store the toys and gifts produced at his North Pole headquarters before the big delivery date.
Like many businesses, Father Christmas makes use of his local Dainton Elf Storage to meet peak demand and now the successful storage company is offering members of the public a similar service to the one used by Father...
Exeter’s own independent chocolate company is now busy preparing for Christmas but with some rather exciting news.
Choccie Bar will shortly be tending to the Christmas rush from the company’s new shop in Gandy Street, Exeter.
Cuddled into the corner of the cobbled street (made famous by JK Rowling as the blueprint for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter Books) the former Gandy Street Kitchen closed its doors for the last time on Saturday and will re-open very shortly as the newly minted Choccie Bar in time for late night shopping.
The annual Exeter City FC Santa Dash will be taking place ahead of the Carlisle match on 13 December 2014.
As usual, the dashers will be setting off from the Guildhall at 1.15pm, with the Deputy Lord Mayor seeing everyone on their way.
The one-mile route will be the same as in previous years and there will be medals and certificates for the adults and children who arrive at St James Park first!
This year, we are running the Dash in association with our friends at that fabulous local charity Hospiscare, who provide high-quality care and support to people who are...
The Exe Estuary Trail, Devon’s flagship cycle route, will be fully open to the public from this weekend.
The opening of the final £1.6 million section of the trail, which links Turf Lock and Powderham, means that the 16 mile route around the Estuary, can now be enjoyed in its entirety for the first time.
Although minor work on the new 1.9km section will be completed in the Spring, from tomorrow (Saturday 8 November) walkers and cyclists can access the three-metre wide off-road cycle path and newly constructed bridge, near the existing level crossing at Powderham. When fully...
New data released today reveals how over 850,000 UK employers are benefitting from the Employment Allowance, with 80,000 businesses benefitting in the South West.
The Employment Allowance is a reduction in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) that an employer pays on their employees, and is worth up to £2,000 for eligible businesses and charities.
Within the first six months of its launch 80,000 employers across the region had benefitted from the Employment Allowance. This number is expected to increase throughout the remainder of the tax year.
RGB Building Supplies’ ‘Well Built Community Fund’ has already given away £1,000 worth of building materials to a charity, sports club and most recently a primary school.
The builders merchant, which has a branch on Alphinbrook Road, is now asking for community groups based in Exeter to get in contact and apply for the grant.
The Community Fund is helping various groups to complete work that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do. Perhaps a community centre is in need of some decoration, a youth group would like to create an outdoor area, or a church hall needs...
With evidence suggesting the lungworm parasite, which can be potentially fatal for dogs, is spreading across the UK, a nationwide ecological experiment called the ‘The Big Snail Count’ is launching to help pet owners recognise the link between mollusc activity in their gardens and the risk of lungworm to their pet.
The campaign, by Bayer Animal Health alongside Exeter University is encouraging families across the UK to take part in a ten minute timed snail and slug count within their gardens and local parks, recording and submitting data on prevalence, location and activity to the...
Generous locals from Exeter have given £84,000 to an appeal set up by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to help those affected by the deadly Ebola crisis.
The DEC, which is made up of 13 leading UK aid charities, said they were humbled to see how the UK public have responded to such an unprecedented crisis, which is devastating communities across West Africa. A total of £14 million has been raised since the appeal launched on Thursday last week.
DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said: “The people of Exeter have been incredibly generous and I want to thank each and every...
