Two rowers from Devon will be part of six crews of brave men and women in rowing boats plus a team in a pedalo to race 2,000 miles from London around the British mainland and back to Tower Bridge to try to set a new world record.

They are competing in the world’s toughest rowing race, a 2,000 mile non-stop jaunt around Britain’s coast.

Jason McKinklay, who lives in Salcombe, Devon with wife Sarah and their children is convinced that a pair of rowers is the way to beat the record because of the crew dynamics.

Jason is an adventurer who has rowed the Atlantic. He has run no fewer than 55 marathons, including a marathon on Everest and the gruelling Marathon of the Sands in the Sahara desert. And after rowing around Britain, he hopes to complete the Bob Graham round, covering   in the Lake District in 24 hours.

Also taking part is Josh Tarr, from Churchstow, near Salcombe, Devon. He works as a sound recordist and lives with partner Helen.

Growing up near Salcombe, Josh Tarr is an avid surfer and accomplished sailor. He has also tried his hand at lots outdoor pursuits like kayaking and mountaineering. Last year he cycled alone and unassisted from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money for charity.

Crews include a four man team led by a Falklands veteran, father of a London Olympic gold winner; two women; a pair of men; four hunky young male rowers; a team of two women and two men, and team of six that includes two women and four men.

And there’s a team hoping to become the first ever to pedalo around Britain.

The first crew to beat the fastest-time record of 26 days, 21 hrs, 14 mins, will win a £100,000 bonus – making this the world’s biggest rowing prize

You can follow the race online and at www.gbrowchallenge.com

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North Devon MP Nick Harvey has welcomed a new initiative to persuade ‘dirty dog owners’ to clean up after their pets.

The Skoopit campaign, created by South Molton dog owners Paul Henderson and Tracey Lewis, uses posters and leaflets featuring images cleverly designed to shock and highlight the unpleasant consequences of irresponsible dog ownership.

The posters have already proven popular in South Molton and surrounding villages, so Paul and Tracey now hope to promote the Skoopit brand nationally with their new website.

Nick Harvey said: “The Skoopit initiative is an excellent way to tackle the problem of dog mess on North Devon’s streets – something I’m sure we’ll all have had unfortunate experience of. Not only is it unpleasant, but poses a serious health risk, particularly if it gets on to children’s hands.

“Paul and Tracey’s efforts are a brilliant example of community action going national, and I would urge everyone interested in the campaign to download materials via the Skoopit website and spread the word.”

“I am going to raise this issue with the Department of Health, highlighting Skoopit’s brilliant work so far, and ask them to take steps to address this problem on a national level.”

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The other RSC, that’s the Reduced Shakespeare Company to you, is set to cut The Bard down to size, with their The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) [revised].

Irreverent, fast paced and now with the same jokes recycled, just put in the a different order, it’s a formula that has worked – the show spent nine years in London’s West End at the Criterion Theatre.

The show drags you through all of Shakespeare’s comedies, histories and tragedies.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] is at the Exeter Northcott Theatre on Friday, May 10 at 6pm and 9pm. Tickets are £18. Pop over to the Northcott site to book.

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Dartmouth Academy is looking to create stronger connections with the community – plus there are various jobs around the site and the community that they need help with.

It hopes to build a network of volunteers who can help out with jobs as diverse as putting up displays around the community and in the academy library.

Principal Nick Hindmarsh said: “We are hoping to build up a network of community members who can help and support us in a number of different ways. The academy is receiving wonderful support from the community already, and we are hoping that we can develop this further.”

If you would like to volunteer for the Academy, contact Suzi Wooldridge on 01803 839710 to find out how you could help!

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Oxfam South West is planning to set up a collaborative project with Devon activists and community groups to explore several topics, revolving around the IF campaign (aid, taxation, transparency, and land).

Café IF is a series of café evenings at a local venue, bringing together people who want to see a world free from hunger.

They are looking for people who are willing to do some informal, creative and inspiring presentations about five main topics: food justice, aid, taxation, transparency, and land grabs.

The hope is that local people organising a local, interactive café evening will make IF accessible to a new audience, and help people engage with the topics more meaningfully and in more depth.

If talking isn’t your thing, Oxfam South West are also on the lookout for people to help with booking venues, identifying local speakers, publicising the event through networks and groups etc, and helping deliver coordinate the event too.

To find out more or to suggest a topic for an event, contact oxfamsouthwest@oxfam.org.uk

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The Beet Root Cafe in Bristol hosted the first of the four Collaborafe – evening of discussion, debate, and, let’s say, food for thought on February 20, 2013. It was an informal, creative, collaborative event that aimed at taking action about the major IF campaign points (aid, tax, land, and transparency), and aspired to make these issues more meaningful for the participants.

The evening was a huge success: an unexpected large turnout filled the room with people from disparate walks of life from professors to farmers (even a child joined in!).

The central topic for the first meeting was food justice, also key focus of the IF and GROW campaign. The two main guests were Oxfam and the local FareShare, a charity that collects and redistributes the food unused by big supermarket chains (because of damaged packaging, or because of the supermarket’s surplus provisions), delivering it for free to some of those 4 million UK citizens who struggle to buy food on a daily basis.

The audience swamped the speakers with questions, showing a real interest and a critical approach to the topic, inspiring both the organisers and the other participants to contribute with their thoughts and get involved.

To find out more or to suggest a topic for an event, contact oxfamsouthwest@oxfam.org.uk

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Lizzie Kirwan, one of the many makers who will be selling through Mosaic at their April event.

Mosaic and The Kitchen Table, two vibrant Totnes organisations, are coming together to showcase the talents of local creative folk at a Pop Up! event and everyone is invited to join them on Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13.

The launch event is being held at The Methodist Hall and the creative team behind Mosaic – Tim Long and Laura Cameron – intend to transform the hall beyond all recognition.

Tim said: ‘The most important thing to realise is that this is going to be completely different to a craft fair; it will be a temporary café-shop with stunning locally produced goods, child play area, fantastic food provided by local catering company, The Kitchen Table, real coffee, and entertainment from around the area – think sofas, twinkly lights and rugs, and you might be somewhere close!”

Mosaic intends to focus upon those talented creatives who aren’t professional makers, artists or entertainers, but have quality goods and no place to sell them.

Lizzie Kirwan, who recently started a home décor business with her mum, called Four Seasons Designs said: “Mosaic is supporting my business by selling my items for me – it means I don’t have to stand on a stall all day and can focus on creating instead, as every item I produce is completely original. I think it’s a really unique idea and I’m excited about the potential it has.”

The Pop Up! event isn’t just about arts and crafts, there will also be a large variety of goods, including clothing, plants, and books written by local authors – it’s about celebrating what’s produced locally.

Throughout both days, delicious lunches, snacks and real coffee will be available, provided by co-organisers, The Kitchen Table.

The event is free entry and will run from 11am-5pm on Friday and 10am-4pm on Saturday. For more information, visit www.mosaictotnes.org.uk  and www.thekitchentable.org.uk

IMAGE: Lizzie Kirwan, one of the many makers who will be selling through Mosaic at their April event.

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Cloudy skies have so far prevented many from catching a glimpse of comet Pan-STARRS, but it may still be possible to see it low on the western horizon during April. Otherwise, Jupiter – the king of the planets – still dominates in the western skies, although it will be sinking lower and lower as April goes by. If you added up the weights of all the eight planets in our Solar System, Jupiter would account for over 70% of the total. (The Earth would account for a mere 0.2% – we really are that small!) The photo (taken by Simon Harding) shows Jupiter’s belts (gigantic weather systems) as seen through a small telescope.

As Jupiter sinks lower in the west, Saturn starts to rise in the east. By the end of the month, it will be visible low in the eastern sky in the evenings, and it will become increasingly prominent during May. Its amazing ring system (made up of lumps of ice) will be clearly visible through a small telescope.

March was an exciting time for cosmologists, because the results of the Planck sky survey were published. We know that our Universe began in a Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago. There are three reasons for our certainty: first, the Universe is expanding; secondly, we can detect the radiation left over from the Big Bang; and thirdly, the ratios of hydrogen and helium are exactly what we would expect if the Universe began this way. Planck has provided further confirmation of our theories, and has also provided some support for the view that our Universe may be one of many.

The Torbay Astronomical Society will be meeting twice this month, at Torquay Boys’ Grammar School in Shiphay Manor Drive, from 7.30pm. Our next observing evening will be on Thursday, April 11. As the sun won’t be setting until after 8pm, the first part of the evening will be a talk from Simon Harding, who will be explaining how he takes his astro-photographs.

Two weeks later, on Thursday, April 25, Dr Paul Olver will be talking on the subject Geology and Astronomy.

Visitors and new members are always welcome. There is a £3 charge for visitors to the lecture evenings, and a £2 charge for the observational evenings. Annual membership is a mere £15 (reduced to £10 for senior citizens).

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There are local elections coming up on Thursday, May 2 – but unless you register to vote, you won’t be able to take part.

You’ve got until the April 17 deadline to register to vote.

If you’ve moved house recently and pay council tax, don’t assume you’re registered to vote. And if you’d turned 18 recently too, make sure you have your say for the first time.

The Electoral Commission is urging people to register and find out more with its campaign “It’s your vote, don’t lose it”.

You don’t want your chance to take part in democracy to just walk away – it can be pretty embarrassing – watch the video and click-through for more details.

“There’s not much time left for people to secure their vote,” said Samantha Mills, the Electoral Commission’s head of campaigns.

“We’re concerned that many people may not realise they won’t be able to vote until it’s too late.”

Apparently, those particularly at risk of missing their chance to vote are people who have moved house recently, and who mistakenly assume they are automatically registered at their new address because they pay council tax. The two processes are completely separate.

Samantha said: “We also want to make sure that people who have turned 18 since the last elections realise that this is their chance to vote for the first time.”

Local elections decide who will make up local councils, which make decisions about local priorities and where money will be spent, so making sure you take part in the voting process can be pretty important. If you’re concerned you may not be registered, or are interested in the democratic process, click-through the video to find our more.

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People who live within a 10 minute walk of Exeter Cathedral are being called to take part in a new art project that will be shown at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

The project is called This City’s Centre, and will explore the different points of view offered by the homes, streets and vistas of central Exeter to create a contemporary portrait of an English rural city.

Participants don’t need any experience at all, just a willingness to share their thoughts on the view from their window and what the city means to them. General contributions will remain anonymous, but Devon-based art collective, Blind Ditch, who are running the project, are also looking for a particular group of 20 people to work with in more depth.

If you are interested in sharing your views as part of the installation and performance email info@thiscityscentre.net for more information.

There will be an open public meeting at Exeter Phoenix at 6pm on March 21 where you can ask the Blind Ditch team more about the project and what it will involve.

All city residents are invited to upload a photograph of their window view and a thought about it to the growing gallery on the project website at www.thiscityscentre.net

Look out for the Blind Ditch team on the Exeter streets over the coming weeks as they circulate round the city gathering your views for the project.

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