People's Republic of South Devon

Crapfest! One of the last celebrations of summer… and local bands

PRSD — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:31:28 +0000

Right at the end of the festival – and cricket – season is Crapfest (named after the place where it’s based… Crapstone), and taking place, as it is, on Saturday, September 11, it could well be your last chance to get that festival vibe from a host of local bands.

Crapfest is organised by Buckland Monachorum Cricket Club to help raise funds for a much needed new pavilion – the old one is made of asbestos and is falling to bits!

Not only will the festival help the club to raise funds, it also aims to give local acts stage time to help them boost their profiles.

And among those bands are Kitty and the Lost Boys, The Diggurz, Edd Lane, Jo Harris, Dr Thud’s Remedy XLR, Kirsten Smith, Rory Dyer Chloe Jones, Cas Davey and Sound House Youth Brass Band.

Children’s entertainment 5pm to 6pm, and the bands from 6pm to midnight.

The ‘day’ starts at 5pm with an awards ceremony for the ‘Bucks’ (BMCC’s youth team) and children’s entertainments, with the bands playing from 6.30pm onwards. There will be a BBQ (with a vegetarian option) and also a licensed bar selling local real ales, including Dartmoor Brewery’s Legend.

Tickets are available at £5 per adult and £1.50 per child and can be bought on ebay (CrapfestUK), at the Drake Manor (Buckland Monachorum) Who’d Have Thought It (Milton Combe) or via email via the website or the cricket club

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Youth singing day in Exeter with Wren Music

PRSD — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:36:49 +0000

Devon’s folk and community arts development charity Wren Music is to present a day of singing workshops for young people in Exeter on Thursday, July 29.

The workshops have been specially designed to help find your voice and give everyone the chance to enjoy singing songs from England and around the world. All are welcome, whether they have sung before or not. There is no need to read music, and it’s not a competition! Professional vocalists and educators Sarah Owen and Matt Norman from Wren Music will be leading the day and sharing their skills.

The morning session, from 10.30am to 12.30pm, is for 8 to 12 year olds, and will be hosted by members of the Exeter-based youth singing group Campus Choir. The afternoon session, from 2pm to 4pm, is for 13 to 18 year olds, and will be hosted by members of the county-wide vocal ensemble Roots A Capella. The workshops will both be held at Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, Bradninch Place, Exeter EX4 3LS.

The fee for either the morning or afternoon session is only £5. Young people who are part of the Don’t Stop Me Now scheme will be able to attend free of charge.

Workshop places are limited, so booking in advance is advised to avoid disappointment. Contact Wren Music, 1 St James Street, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1DW, tel: 01837 53754, or email admin@wrenmusic.co.uk

Further information on Wren Music’s full programme of adult and youth folk choirs, orchestras and bands, concerts and dance events throughout Devon, as well as CDs, song and tune books and other publications check out the Wren Music site.

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MP gets on her bike to push for cycle network link in Totnes

PRSD — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:09:46 +0000

The last time Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston was on her bike she cycled the 61 miles around the Totnes constituency with husband Adrian to meet voters. Now she’s asking people to join her on Thursday (July 29), for her a “mobile surgery” to listen to the problems of constituents while cycling from Totnes to the Dartington Cider Press Centre along the River Dart.

Sarah is meeting up with County Councillor Paula Black and District Councillor Robert Vint and others on Totnes Plains between 11.15am and 11.30am.

She will be supporting their efforts to persuade Devon County Council to link Totnes to the South Devon National Cycle Network. Together they will investigate a possible route link.

(image: Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston on her bike with hubby Adrian during the 2010 general election campaign)

(from a press release)

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Head of Programmes album launch and onec birthday bash

PRSD — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:12:21 +0000

Crikey how time flies! onec is five years old at the end of the month and to celebrate they are having a combined birthday bash/Head Of Programmes album launch show on Friday, July 30 at the White Rabbit, Plymouth.

The Head Of Programmes album launch is for their second album, called Goodbye, Forever it’s released on UPR Records. They are touring all over the place and they have chosen to share the show with onec.

Also on the bill are The Rooftop Gambler, Mark Greenwood and Elliot Whale Boy (first Plymouth show for three years) with Neil Rose keeping everyone on their toes in between the live acts.

It’s free entry.

Plus for those who know onec’s history in domestic art and events, a trip down memory lane with plans for cake or maybe cakes!

Onec’s first ‘pizza box’ series of limited lathe cuts will be available to buy at the show. Bloodband – Live In Hell, The De Sade EP 7″ limited to 25 copies only!

The ‘pizza box’ series will be ongoing and the once crowd hope to put one out every 6-8 weeks, the next one will be from Poems in Stone around the end of August.

So what are these ‘pizza box’ thingies? well depending on the act each pizza box will contain a 7″/10″ or 12″ lathe cut record (a hand made record that looks, plays and lasts as long as a pressed record but is made by cutting the sounds into a blank piece of polycarbonate plastic) and all manner of other goodies, all packaged within a custom designed pizza box! Each one will be strictly limited to between 25-50 copies. Lovely eh?

Further onec news is that they’ve sold out of Mark Greenwood’s White Mice, All Colours and DR.AKE Stonehouse Dreams!

Don’t worry if you have not yet got your copy Wilbur Whately/Pyschopomp by Neil Rose or The Rooftop Gambler’s beautiful yellow vinyl EP Turned Out The Light, as there are a few copies remaining – but don’t hang around as we’re assured these limited edition treats wont be available forever! For reviews, information and of course the shop head to the onec site.

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Plymouth City Museum responds to call for cost-cutting sell off to raise funds for arts prize

PRSD — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:18:45 +0000

Plymouth City Museum has responded to Stuart Bonar’s call sell some of its collection to create a local arts prize his story Commodes, a Tutu and an Asparagus Holder – or a Local Arts Prize? Take it away guys…

Mr Bonar only received information relating to our works of art and not the human or natural history collections held at the museum, nor indeed the collections held in trust at the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. In addition, most of the beds and armchairs he mentions are actually on loan to us from the V&A and reside on display in the Elizabethan House on the Barbican.

In response to the specific issues he raises, all told we hold well over 2 million items. These objects, specimens, works of art and documents are primarily owned by the residents of Plymouth. To dispose of them, either by throwing or giving them away, involves work to review the collections, where possible track down original donors, consult with the city’s residents, the council and the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) as to whether we should be disposing of them.

To sell any of the collections would be quite a significant step to take. We adhere to standards and ethics set down by MLA and the Museums Association where we are expected to transfer, lend or destroy items rather than sell them to back-fill budget deficits or create new initiatives.

Those museums who feel the need to take such drastic steps suffer from de-accreditation by the MLA and subsequent loss of grant funding streams open to them from places such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, National Memorial Fund, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, Preservation or Scientific & Industrial Materials Fund, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Clore Foundation, Art Fund, Arts Council… the list goes on). With almost 50 per cent of our funding coming from these sources it would be a false economy to look at selling collections as a way of saving money spent on running costs.

That said, we will be reviewing our collections in the future and we have recently been extremely lucky to be just one of six museums to receive Effective Collections funding from the Museums Association to review our 4,000 strong spirit preserved marine life collection. Any saving made will be, as Mr Bonar suggests, created through efficiencies of space.

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Literary Lights Writes: Elsewhere

PRSD — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:59:39 +0000

Zion Lights is a writer, poet and social entrepreneur. This week on the PRSD we have poem Elsewhere

I grew up in a country of

fish & chips

& 9 to 5.

With jet back hair and almond skin

I stood out sorely at school,

at work,

in the street.

I waited to visit that place, elsewhere,

Which my parents always spoke of.

The place where I would fit in.

Now I’m here,

And I did not grow with this country of

chappatis & dahl

& ooh-rahs & air-rahs.

I stand out sorely at work,

on the bus,

in the street,

With my too-short hair and my too-beige skin.

‘Western immigrant’, they whisper.

It reminds me of that place,

Where I grew up,

Elsewhere.

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Torquay’s other history: The Mod squads in Torquay

Kevin Dixon — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:02:10 +0000

The site by Torbay Mods is well worth a visit. The gallery features Max Bygraves on a Vespa at Castle Circus in 1967 and some of the estimated 1,000 scooters who visited Torquay on Easter Monday 1966. Make sure that you have your sound turned on!   Later Mod photos from the late 70s and early 80s are to be viewed in The Torbay Mod Squad site. I remember the Mermaid well.

On the topic of the late 70s Mod Revival, here’s the Melody Maker write up of the 1979 March of the Mods Tour. It features the Torquay visit which included Secret Affair, Back to Zero and The Glory Boy.

Thanks to Glynis for the following memories:

“I met my husband at the Yacht back in 1968. I had just been thrown out of the Gibbons for being underaged. What really annoyed me was that I was 18. Anyway I met my future husband when he dropped a pint of beer over me. Such romantic beginnings! Great times – the Yacht, the 400, Casa Marina and the Shiphay Manor Club…

“Does anyone remember Sunday afternoons with the Mods on Vaughan Parade outside Macaris and then Sunday evenings at the pictures usually to see a horror film? Some of the pubs that have closed weren’t originally pubs, like the Rose in Babbacombe. So can’t cry for their loss. The Globe in Babbacombe. I used to live just a couple of doors away and I remember as a young teenager throwing a bucket of water over a rowing couple who had just left The Globe. They came back the next night, but I had gone to see my boyfriend in Leicester. Parents were not pleased.

“Also at the 400 were Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch – have I got that right? The Casa Marina (Peter Foreman) and then on to the Shiphay Manor Club. I was there the night of the murder.”

You’re right, Glynis. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich played at The 400 Club on February 22 1966. They also appeared in Torquay on March 7 1966 and July 17 1966. At least one of these was at the Princess Theatre, with the Walker Brothers.   The group had eight top 10 hits, including a UK number one single in 1968 with The Legend of Xanadu, in which Dave Dee famously cracked a whip. Dave Dee died in January 2009 at the age of 65, so here’s a bit of a tribute: The Legend of Xanadu from Top of the Pops in 1968.

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Divine Dartmoor Walks: A modern masterpiece and a tragic legend – Jay’s Grave and the Giant’s Chair

Gillian Adams — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:24:28 +0000

There might have been giants! Or there may once have been a 20ft sculpture called Giant’s Chair. This six mile Dartmoor walk takes in the site of the soon to be former modern masterpiece as well as a tragic legend, an ancient cross and the Bronze age settlement of Grimspound.

The day started at Jay’s Grave with a legend. The story of Kitty Jay is one of the more well known ones on Dartmoor and local award-winning musician Seth Lakeman even wrote a song about it.

In brief the legend says that in the late 18th century unmarried farm girl Kitty Jay became pregnant and after being left with no home and no reputation she committed suicide. In those days suicide victims were buried at crossroads to ensure that their restless souls didn’t wander and disturb the living. Every day fresh flowers are left on the grave and no-one knows who leaves them there.

There were plenty of flowers and even coins on Jay’s Grave (SX 732799), as I paid my respects and started on the footpath behind it towards Giant’s Chair.

After 0.6 of a mile Giant’s Chair (SX 733799) isn’t difficult to miss (unless you get here and it’s already been taken down). The 20ft sculpture was made from local oak by Henry Bruce in 2006. It was in a beautiful location overlooking the west Webburn valley. It’s also on private land so please be respectful if you take a closer look.

After taking my fill of photos I carried on along the footpath until I reached a gate and crossed a small road and through another gate, back on to moorland.

Here I ignored the signpost and kept left on a track which took me through a marshy area where lots of dragonflies and damsel flies kept me entertained while I tried to get some good shots with my zoom lens.

If you keep following this track on and then diagonally left it will take you on to the top of Hamel Down where you can join up with the Two Moors Way. This is the easier option, but I decided to follow the line of boundary stones up the ridge, so I found an animal path that took me right and over to Berry Pound (SX 713803) – the remains of a pre-historic enclosure.

After enjoying the view from Berry Pound I headed up the ridge and found Blue Jug boundary stone (SX 708803). This is at the head of the east Webburn river and is quite a boggy area so it might be prudent take the easier route if the weather has been wet.

These boundary stones mark the edges of the old Natsworthy estate and a little further on is the Grey Wethers boundary stone. Carry on up and you’ll meet a path.

Go left for a visit to Broad Barrow (SX 706799), one of the largest barrows on the moor, which is marked with a 19th century stone inscribed Broad Burrow.

Two Moors Way runs through this barrow and if you look towards the cairn on Hameldown Tor you’ll see it as the left path – the right being the one you just walked.

Follow the Two Moors Way along and on the left you’ll spot the remains of Hamel Down Cross (SX 704801). It is inscribed HC (Hamel Down Cross), DS (Duke of Somerest) and 1854.

Head towards Hameldown Tor (SX 703806) and admire the cairn, trig station and views. From here you have a steep descent to Grimspound (SX 700809) – a well-known Bronze age settlement of around four acres containing about 24 hut circles. The pound is large enough to go in and have a wander around with the dramatic backdrop of Hookney Tor opposite.

Heading away from Grimspound the path splits into two so take the left one. This will take you to Heathercombe and down through the tranquil forest, ending up at the small road and gate which will take you back past the Giant’s Chair and then to Jay’s Grave.

Thinking of going on this walk? Check out the Giant’s Chair video!

• Want to take this walk with you? Use our option. Or download it to your phone to check on the way.

Watch Seth Lakeman’s song Kitty Jay

View East Dartmoor: Giant’s Chair and Grimspound in a larger map

• When walking on Dartmoor please ensure you take the right equipment with you, eg, waterproof, walking boots, water, a map, plus your common sense.

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Many hands make art work: Teignmouth art and community centre needs volunteers

PRSD — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:24:30 +0000

Teignmouth’s new art and community centre at the Old Swanson’s Garage in Northumberland Place, Teignmouth, is nearing completion and you can help with the final push – volunteers are needed for two more days to get things ready for the planned opening to coincide with the opening of the TRAIL Gallery Exhibition on Sunday, August 8.

The TAAG team has designated Thursday, July 28 and Wednesday, August 5 as days to finish the gallery off, and they hope as many people as possible help wield a paint brush, cut some wood, draw, move furniture, make coffee, or do anything else that will help get on with the job.

A spokesperson for TAAG said: “Someone will be there from 9am until late so you can just pop along, although it would be useful if you could let us know if you are coming.

“We look forward to seeing you on the 28th and 5th.”

The group is also having a table top sale in aid of TAAG funds on Wednesday, August 4, between 10am and 1pm.

“We would be grateful for any time anyone can give to help us to run it, any donations of items people don’t want and, of course, people to buy things,” said the spokesperson.

For more information, call Liz on 01626 775585 or Roger on 01626 879944 or you can email info@teignmoutharts.org.uk

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Not Bad For A Girl: Hot weather and cool gigs, Katie Marie on her latest tour of Germany

PRSD — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:44:32 +0000

Guten tag peeps! wie geht’s? Yep you guessed it, I’m in Germany and as always I’m having oodles of fun

I had a gig with Nicky Swann last Wednesday at the wonderful Windjammer in Dartmouth. Then I had to shoot off home and grab a minuscule amount of sleep (minuscule being all of 15mins lol), grab my stuff and head off to Stansted Airport, rock n roll ay?!

The weather here is *amazingly* hot and I have vowed never to complain about it not being hot enough at home ever again! Most days it’s been nearly 40 degrees (or in the high 30s) and the air is warm too and very, very still. The first night I was here I had both windows open in my room as it was so ridiculously warm. Funny thing was when I put my hand outside the night breeze was actually warmer than inside the house! Mad.

The day after I arrived we had to do a mammoth drive from Stuttgart to Rostock (which is in the North of Germany). It took us about 11 and-a-half hours to get there and the heat was so intense we had to have every window in the car open (even when we were on the Autobahn travelling at a ga-zillion miles an hour!). My gig that evening was at Rostock CSD with Elli and we had loads of fun. It was the first chance for me to properly try my lovely new Logarhythm Stomp Box through a big phat PA rigg and it sounded mighty fine indeed. Here’s a vid the Lisa took on her iPhone:

Elli and I also had to play a couple of songs in a nightclub after the CSD (kind of like an after show party) and then we all once again had to try and grab as much sleep as poss before heading off to Frankfurt the next morning!

I’ve never visited Frankfurt before so I was really looking forward to seeing it, as well as doing my gig at the Frankfurt CSD. There were quite a lot of peeps there and the VIP backstage area was very cool indeedy. I had my own little room complete with tables, chair, towels and a mirror (oh and a fan, I mean the spinney type not the music-loving type ). In the main area backstage we had our own bar with free drink and also free food and a big fridge that was full of tubs of fruit and yoghurt (I could get used to this!). All the other acts that were playing were using backing trax and it was mostly dance music, so I had no idea what people were going to think of this Brit girl only armed with an acoustic guitar.

Thankfully it all went really well and the Frankfurt peeps seemed to enjoy it. On after me was Snap (yep, that band from the 90s that did Rhythm is a Dancer and suchlike) and also Jimi Somerville (who many of my friends asked ‘is he still alive?!’ lol).

After a wunderbar time in Frankfurt we headed back to our base in Stuttgart. My next gig was at a venue that is very close to my heart indeed, The Kellarbar in Laupheim. This was one of the first ever places I gigged at when I started playing in Germany two years ago and the people there are so amazing As always we had lots of fun and I think they’ll be one or two vids on Youtube very soon, but in the meantime here’s one of my favs from my last visit:

So today I’ve got a day off and then it’s back to work tomorrow! I’m gigging with Elli at another one of my fav venues which is Cafe D’Art in Neu-Ulm. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but it’s suppose to be raining tomorrow and I’m sooooo looking forward to it!! lol

Anyways hope all’s good back in blighty Bis dann!

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South West Water Bills – what’s your opinion? Fill in the survey

PRSD — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:31:08 +0000

Torbay MP Adrian Sanders has joined fellow South West Lib Dem MPs in promoting a survey to gather local residents’ views on the disproportionate water rates paid in the south west.

The previous Government commissioned a report on water bills and how inequalities across the UK could be corrected. The recommendations of the report are currently being reviewed by the water regulator OFWAT to determine how best to tackle the problem.

While Ofwat is looking at the technical measures surrounding the various options available, it has not yet sought the views of the public and Adrian is keen to ensure all local people can have their input into the process.

Adrian told the PRSD: “We are getting to the end of a very long process in rectifying the historic water bill injustice, but we still need to keep up the pressure to make sure that it is not forgotten by Government. Ensuring Ofwat is aware of how important this is to the public is crucial.”

If you would like to take the Water Bills Survey, you can find it on Adrian’s website.

(Image: Drop by johnonolan used under a Creative Commons licence)

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Protect people from the ‘ever increasing threat of flooding’. Chair job and committee role on offer

PRSD — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:51:59 +0000

Defra and the Environment Agency are looking for people living in Devon (and Cornwall) who can help in the prevention and management of (and these are their words) ‘the ever increasing risk of flooding to communities in the South West’.

There is a vacancy for a new chair on the South West Regional Flood Defence Committee, responsible for deciding on the Environment Agency’s annual programme of flood defence improvement and maintenance work.

The committee is made up of Local Authority members and Defra representatives to oversee the delivery of a multi million pound programme of work. It meets four times a year at the Environment Agency offices in Exeter and Bodmin.

Richard Cresswell, Environment Agency regional director, told the PRSD: ‘This committee plays a critical role in delivering our strategic aims in relation to flood risk. We are now looking for a new chairman who can lead the committee, protect communities, and deliver a major programme of work.’

The chair’s remuneration is currently set at £17,503 and is based on a time commitment of five days per month (we reckon you multiply it by four to get the approximate pro rata).

As a seasoned chair and leader, the successful candidate will need the skills that will bring different voices and opinions together to create successful partnerships and ensure this important work is done.

‘This is highly satisfying work that will help protect thousands of lives and businesses, and an outstanding opportunity for a person of very high calibre,’ said Richard.

There is also a vacancy for an additional committee member, with a conservation portfolio, to join the flood risk management committee. Committee members are non-salaried but can claim travel expenses and, in some cases, subsistence and financial loss allowance.

All candidates should live or work in the Environment Agency’s South West region.

Further information on both vacancies can be obtained from the Environment Agency’s website or by calling Sarah Harding, External Relations Officer, Environment Agency South West Region at sarah.harding@environment-agency.gov.uk or 01392 442184.

The closing date for applications is Thursday, August 5 with appointees taking up their posts in October 2010. Interviews will take place first week of September.

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