The Exeter Daily - May

An Evening at the Opera with Exeter Philharmonic Choir and soloists

Sharon Goble — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:05:59 +0000

Exeter Philharmonic Choir with tenor Rhys Batt and soprano Camilla Harris serves up a feast of much-loved arias and choruses from operas spanning four centuries, including Puccini’s La bohème, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s La traviata.

Well-known Exeter musicians Stephen Tanner and Andrew Downton will accompany the singers on piano.

The season finale at St. David’s Church in Exeter will be a comparatively intimate affair with just 200 tickets available.

The £25 ticket price includes interval drinks and canape.

Tickets available at www.exeterphilharmonic.org.uk

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Event Date

Saturday, May 18, 2024 - 7:30pm to 9:30pm

Venue

St. David’s Church, Exeter

May is Devon's Naturally Healthy Month!

News Desk — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 22:15:09 +0000

Devon’s Naturally Healthy May campaign is all about harnessing the power of nature and physical activity to improve our health and wellbeing. It’s a fantastic time to head outside and enjoy some fresh air and Spring weather.

It’s all part of Devon’s Naturally Healthy initiative, led by Active Devon and Devon County Council on behalf of the Devon Local Nature Partnership (DLNP).

It brings together a wide range of partners from health, wellbeing, community and environment sectors to encourage Devonians to be happier and healthier through increased connection to nature.

The pandemic has had a huge impact on all our lives, from children and young people to families and adults of all ages. Looking after our physical and mental health is more important than ever and there is clear evidence that being in a natural environment and connecting actively to nature is good for us.

James Szymankiewicz, North Devon GP and member of the DLNP said:

“Simply being in the natural environment is clinically proven to improve your health and wellbeing.”

“It is not a pill or potion but consider connecting with nature as a prescription. One that works and costs nothing. It is so easy to do, just take that step outside to start with.”

“The most important thing is you enjoy it. Think of it as an opportunity to invest a bit of time in looking after yourself, your family and this place we call home.”

Throughout May the Devon Local Nature Partnership will be sharing information about being Naturally Healthy and encouraging individuals to get outside safely for a walk, a cycle, some gardening, wild swimming, bird watching or other activity. Partner organisations will be organising Covid 19 safe events and activities.

Active Devon will also be hosting a Naturally Healthy Photo Competition throughout May, open to people of all ages living in Devon.

IKEA announces Exeter store opening date

Mary Youlden — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 14:50:53 +0000

Home furnishings retailer, IKEA, today announces that the doors of its new Exeter store will officially open for business on Tuesday 1st May.

IKEA has invested £80 million in the 29,000 square metre store on Newcourt Way, and will bring its extensive range of high-quality, affordable products to the south-west of England. The store will feature inspirational room sets, a crèche, restaurant, bistro, a Changing Places toilet facility* and car park with over 1,000 spaces.

The store is now going through the final stages of its recruitment process, with almost all of the 350 jobs created for the store opening filled. IKEA is committed to being a good neighbour and has worked closely with local employment agencies to ensure that job vacancies have been made available to members of the local community. Over 85 percent of co-workers appointed so far have been recruited from the Exeter and Devon area.

Nick Earle, IKEA Exeter Store Manager, said: “We know that there has been much anticipation for IKEA in Exeter and we are incredibly excited that we will open our doors to the city at the beginning of May. Along with my team, I am looking forward to celebrating with the people of Exeter in the run-up to the store’s opening, and to welcoming them into store on 1st May.

"We look forward to continue working closely with the local community to create a better everyday life for the people of Devon and wish to contribute by being a good neighbour as well as providing a great shopping experience”

The store team has already started playing an active role in the local Exeter community through its partnerships with local charities, including the Exeter Community Initiatives (ECI) Children’s Centres. Forty co-workers from the store recently came together to help transform the ECI’s Flying Start Children’s Centre with a range of new IKEA products.

IKEA Exeter will be the retailer’s most sustainable store to date in the UK and will aim to achieve 100% renewable energy. The store will have a BREEAM ‘excellent’ accreditation and incorporate a number of green technologies such as Solar PV panels on the roof, rainwater harvesting and ground source heating. IKEA Exeter will also provide six electric vehicle charging points and have electric vans available as part of its home delivery service.

IKEA Exeter will be the retailer’s 21st full sized store in the UK and 22nd in the UK and Ireland when it opens its doors at the beginning of May.

For more information, please visit www.ikea.co.uk/gb

Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s long-standing musical director prepares to hand the baton to his successor

Sharon Goble — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 15:06:56 +0000

Andrew Millington, Exeter Philharmonic Choir’s musical director for the last fourteen years, will conduct the choir for the last time next month - his farewell concert will be Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius on May 20th in collaboration with The Sinfonietta.

The Exeter-based conductor, organist and composer has been a key figure in Devon’s classical music scene since 1999 when he moved to the city to become Director of Music at Exeter Cathedral. In 2003, he stepped up to the rostrum to join Exeter Philharmonic Choir, the city’s oldest choral society.

The Choir is currently celebrating its 170th anniversary season with a series of masterworks and sell-out performances: Handel’s Messiah last autumn and Verdi’s Requiem in March. The Dream of Gerontius will again be performed at Exeter Cathedral.

Andrew Millington said: “I’ve always been involved with large choirs wherever my musical career has taken me and I’ve loved working with the dedicated members of Exeter Philharmonic Choir. We’ve done quite a lot of Elgar during my time with the Choir because my home was Malvern in Worcestershire, which is Elgar country, so I feel an affinity with his music. It’s no accident that I’m finishing with Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius.”

Howard Ionascu, Director of the Junior Academy at the Royal Academy of Music, will be taking over the role from Andrew from September.

Renaissance Villages, which creates high quality retirement developments including Exeter’s Millbrook Village, is sponsoring the May concert, along with Exeter Cookery School.

www.exephil.org.uk

Advice ahead of junior doctors' strike

News Desk — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 10:24:53 +0000

The Government has issued advice ahead of the industrial action on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 April.

Junior doctors will be striking from 8am to 5pm each day, including withdrawal of cover in A&E departments. Essential care will be provided by senior staff. You can help the NHS cope by choosing the right service and attending A&E only if it is essential.

If you have a long-term health condition or you look after someone else – including, for example, elderly people or young children – it's important that you know what to do if you need the NHS during the industrial action.

Apart from your GP or hospital, there’s a range of other primary care services that can offer help, such as your pharmacist, dentist or optician. There are also specific services provided by midwives, health visitors and specialist nurses – check you know how to contact anyone you might need to talk to.

If you need regular medication for yourself or someone you care for, be sure to get the prescription from your GP and collect the medicine from your pharmacist.

If you are pregnant, make sure you know how to contact your midwifery team if you need help or advice. If you are near your due date, check arrangements with your maternity unit.

Planned treatment and outpatient appointments

If you have a planned operation, procedure or outpatient appointment on a day when industrial action is taking place, your hospital will contact you if the appointment needs to be rearranged. If you have not been contacted by the hospital, you should check their website for additional advice. If you are still unsure what to do, contact the hospital direct.

Patients already in hospital will continue to receive normal care, with senior staff covering for junior doctors. Inpatients will be told if any changes to their planned treatment are needed because of the strike.
GPs

Your GP practice will be open and working as normal during the industrial action. GPs, however, may experience greater demand than normal over this period, so contact them early if you need advice or an appointment.
A&E

If you need emergency care, Accident and Emergency departments will be open to deal with serious and life-threatening conditions. As is always the case, only those adults and children with genuine emergency needs should go to A&E.

If you become ill with a non-urgent condition and need advice, please visit Health A-Z for information or go to your local pharmacist. For more urgent conditions that you believe you can’t take care of yourself, you should contact your GP as usual, or call 111.

For minor injuries or illness (cuts, sprains, rashes and so forth) you could visit a walk-in centre, minor injuries unit or urgent care centre if the problem can't wait for a GP appointment. Bear in mind that these services may be busy during the strike.

Adrian Harris, medical director at the RD&E, said: “As with previous junior doctor strikes, the trust has put in place detailed and robust operational and staffing contingency plans to ensure we maintain our normal high standards of patient safety during the strike next Tuesday and Wednesday.

“On these days our inpatients and emergency/ urgent patients will be cared for by a range of clinical staff including our consultant workforce, who will be covering for their junior doctor colleagues and will ensure patients receive high quality, safe care.

“However, this latest action is unprecedented in its scale because it includes emergency care and therefore the scale of the trust’s contingency measures - to maintain patient safety - is more significant than in previous strikes.

“Regrettably we have needed to postpone or avoid booking a high number of appointments, procedures and clinics over the two days of industrial action.

“We are sorry for this and I want to assure patients affected by postponements that we have reviewed their cases to minimise any clinical risk and our teams are also making every effort to rebook appointments as soon as possible.

“However, this may take time and I would like to thank the public for their patience. Any patients who have not already been contacted by the trust should attend their planned appointment on Tuesday and Wednesday as normal.”

Beautiful weekend weather ahead

Huw Oxburgh — Fri, 16 May 2014 14:46:46 +0000

The recent good weather is set to continue this weekend as forecasters predict temperatures to reach 20C across Devon.

Met Office forecasters say that the sunny weather is expected to last across the weekend and carry through into next week.

Today (Saturday) patches of cloud will accompany the sun and are expected to clear by the early evening.

Sunday will be cloudier than Saturday but again temperatures will remain high throughout the day.

Monday sees temprtetures remain high but also brings a chance of showers in the afternoon.

Light cooling breezes are expected throughout the weekend.