Devon

When most hear the word dementia it’s often Alzheimer’s disease and older people they think about. In fact there are over 100 types of dementia.

However for this piece I want to raise awareness and touch upon one of the more rare types - Young Onset Dementia (YOD) which means the person diagnosed is under 65.

This presents many challenges such as the person may have a young family, be working and also struggle to get a definitive diagnosis.

It is estimated there are over 70,800 people living with Young Onset Dementia in the UK.

Raising awareness is key...

As part of its commitment to create a positive legacy in the community, the team behind the McCarthy Stone Retirement Living Plus development, The Curlews on Merchant Avenue, has donated £500 to a vital community resource in the town, Exmouth Men’s Shed.

Exmouth Men’s Shed provides support and a safe and friendly meeting place for local people who might otherwise find themselves isolated and lonely. Located at Clayton House on Salterton Road, members are encouraged to pursue practical interests and enjoy ‘making and mending’, with further opportunities to be part of creative...

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) will be hosting a three-day career access course in partnership with the Prince’s Trust, for young people aged 18 – 30 years old, at the Trust’s headquarters in Exeter from Wednesday 11 to Friday 13 September. The course will offer individuals an insight into three job roles at the region’s ambulance service, Emergency Medical Dispatcher (999 call taker), Vehicle Preparation Operative and an Administrator.

Anyone who attends the course will be guaranteed a space on an assessment day to interview for a position at...

Devon CPRE, the local branch of the countryside charity CPRE, has taken to the road this summer, encouraging people who care about the future of Devon’s countryside to get involved in its latest campaign and become Devon Defenders.

The charity has taken its rallying cry to three agricultural shows in different parts of the county- Dartmoor’s Chagford Show, the Yealmpton Show in the South Hams and the North Devon show at Umberleigh.

Defend Devon is an overarching campaign by the local charity to protect our county’s unique landscapes from greedy developers and bad planning....

As anticipation starts to build for this year's annual Food Drink Devon Awards in October, Food Drink Devon has unveiled the shortlist of finalists for its prestigious awards. Since entries closed in April, a distinguished panel of judges and industry experts has evaluated an extraordinary number of entries sampling over 340 products, visiting 107 hospitality venues, exploring 17 retail outlets and experiencing nine training schools to identify the best that Devon has to offer.

Winners will be announced during the organisation’s glittering black tie award ceremony on Monday 7th...

A Tiverton man has completed the first leg of his charity tour of the UK coast.

Jim Bray is taking on the mammoth road trip – entitled Exploring Britain’s Coast and Seaside Pubs – to raise money for Hospiscare.

The cash-strapped local charity cared for his sister, Emma Ansley, before she died of cancer aged 48.

Jim started from Tenby in South West Wales at the end of July and, travelling anti-clockwise, has reached the Exe estuary.

It’s the closest he will be to home and Hospiscare’s base in Exeter.

Following a brief spell at home to do some...

New North Devon-based contemporary circus theatre company Kook Ensemble has announced its first two shows: premiering in Devon and touring, Filibuster, is a solo show created with and performed by gentleman juggler Tom Gaskin and inspired by silent movie physicality.

The show premieres and plays several venues in Devon, and tours to venues including Jackson’s Lane in London. It will be followed in 2025 by Sand, a show about coastal erosion and dementia. Kook Ensemble, which aims to create character-driven circus theatre, was founded to by Michaela O’Connor and Sean Kempton, two...

Part Victorian thriller, part contemporary tale of friendship and rebellion, RedCape Theatre’s new time-travelling, genre-busting show The Luminous will go on a UK tour this autumn. Delving into tales of old, the show employs the company’s trademark blend of physical theatre, dark comedy and gripping storytelling to explore the power of narratives to penetrate the present and forge unexpected connections.

Set in a modern-day book club, the action follows the course of one evening as three women discuss their chosen book - a schlocky melodrama set in Victorian London called...

Adult learners at Learn Devon were among those who endured the nerve-racking moment of collecting their GCSE results yesterday.

Learn Devon, Devon County Council’s adult education service, offers free GCSE English and maths qualifications, with courses that start in September and in January.

In Exmouth, Andrew Morgan achieved a grade 5 in his English GCSE. He said: “I’m delighted, it's has been a long year and I have had to work really hard and I'm now feeling really relieved. Thanks to Learn Devon, especially to the learning support team for their help.”

Jiyong...

Exeter College students are celebrating their GCSE results as sixth form and adult learners alike collected their results on Thursday, alongside thousands of young people across the country.

Bucking the national picture for those retaking English and Maths GCSEs, sixth form learners have made amazing progress from the GCSE grade they attained in school while studying alongside their full time course.

One of those students is Trinity Bridger who retook her GCSE Maths and English. Trinity previously achieved a 3 in English and has made amazing progress, getting a 6 today,...