Archive for September, 2006
Are you open minded, outgoing, versatile and gagging to try fresh and exciting new recipes, only to find that what you actually bag, ingredient wise, at the supermarket, is stale, monosyllabic salad; fruit that has been manhandled roughly around the shelves, and root vegetables that, flavour-wise, have been refrigerated to death. Well then this is the blog for you.
By shared knowledge and your interest, let’s aim to create a free information exchange geared up for growing our own great tasting food. At a fraction of the price of any Asda-style supermar-cartell!
Of course you could always subscribe to one of those seductive glossy monthlies! Only to find that after lots of finger and thumbing – most of it was in your (and their) heads – secondary information is never as good as that contributed by people who do the growing, make their own mistakes, learn from it and share the path to success, slugs and all.
Let’s make no bones about it, gardening and allotments for pleasure and produce is on the increase. Local authorities around the country are under pressure to provide more available sites to be used by young, old and mid-lifers, to strut their funky stuff and shake their green booties down to the ground. Growing everything from Ashmeadskernas Apples to Zebra Skin tomatoes, and then taking them home and cooking ‘em.
Nuff said, other than…
This life/work balance thing is not just restricted to MPs and PMs. It’s something that we all need to give ourselves permission to redress. Get the balance right and go for it. It may be football, hiking, macrame, kick-boxing, or indeed, if growing does if for you, them let’s ‘get it on’. Right here in the Peoples Republic of South Devon. We want to hear from real people in surreal cyberspace. Here’s your chance to make your mark, share some brilliant ideas and all learn from each other. Just what is capable by keen enthusiasts to horticulture is the south of Devon.
Posted by Sir Clivjhao
Picture by Mmlle Le Mur
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September 21st, 2006
The organiser of the Emergence Festival has unfortunately had to cancel this year’s event because of problems with the proposed site and licensing.
Due to complaints, the landowner felt the need to significantly reduce the numbers allowed to the festival therefore making it unviable this time around.
However. all those involved are still really excited about the collaboration and both Niki of Aeon and Tim of Airfusion have said they will remain on board for any future project.
The myspace is to stay in place and people will still be able to log on and keep up with details of what is happening over the winter. Anyone wishing to contact either J Robertson, Niki or Tim can do so through the myspace or by emailing to emergencefestival@hotmail.co.uk
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September 20th, 2006
You’d think that someone who goes by the moniker of Cptn would have a better grasp of what the heck goes on out on the waves.
All I know is the pirates at the Cherub Inn couldn’t have timed their onslaught better as the Tall Ships Youth Trust sailed into the riverside port, giving them an authentic backdrop. Selling balloons and a coin collection, these people raised lucre for an as yet unknown charity.
Posted by Cptn
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September 19th, 2006
Those Aeon people don’t rest on their laurels. Barely recovered from the hangover after their successful festival on the moor, these music minded mavericks are all set to for yet another MAJOR EVENT.
It’s called Emergence and will be headlined by former Faithless fella Nemo Jones and his new band. So far confirmed for the Aeon indie stage are David Sanders, Daniel Rachel with his new band, Evi Vine, Livid, Civillian plus lots more bands for the main stage.
This autumn Emergence is a collaboration between J Robertson, Airfusion and Aeon and will take place in Scorriton between October 27-29.
Posted by Cptn
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September 18th, 2006
You can’t swing a beast from Bodmin without hitting at least three PR people, so it comes as a surprise that a Devon Renaissance survey has shown that businesses in Devon feel there is a lack of marketing people, sales people and those that can draw up a business plan - anyone see the problem with that last one? I’m no Dragon, but that seems kinda fundamental.
But what’s this Devon Renaissance anyway, a boom in art and culture? No, but it could be. Devon Renaissance is a combination of cash and expertise that can help give a hand up to businesses in rural Devon. To see if you’re eligible for their kind of support, check the flow-chart, I’m sure it’s not as bad as it sounds.
Posted by Cptn
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September 17th, 2006
And we at the People’s Republic of South Devon like to promote the outdoors life (sure we’re holed up in darkened rooms searching for the best stories we can find, but that doesn’t mean you guys can’t go out and have a good time in the fresh air, right?)
That’s why we like howies - the clothes have got that skater dude adventure thing going on, and if you sniff the catalogue closely enough you can smell the wilds, which means you don’t even have to venture further than your darkened room to suck up the experience. And we like their refreshing honesty, of course.
But what’s even more ace is that these guys are out there putting their money where their mouth is - namely in an art competition. And the art-think competition for spring next year has £1,000 up for grabs (twice normal because the autumn comp must have been a bit rubbish - so you’re in with a chance).
And all you have to do is make the howies people think - and for spring the brief is to make them think about climate change. Any media will do. So pick your style and off you go.
Easy as riding a bike, as they say.
Posted by Cptn
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September 16th, 2006
You may not have noticed but we at the People’s Republic of South Devon are quite keen on unsung heroes - in fact we were in the process of writing an aria for them but decided that would kinda defeat the point. Instead we’ll tell you about those people in rural communities who ‘join in’.
According to the flyer for the Community Council of Devon promoting their conference in Branscombe, October 18, at £25 a pop (bursaries available): “The countryside contains the highest proportion of community based groups and rural people are 50% more likely to volunteer.
“This conference focuses on the ways in which our towns and villages depend on volunteers, for the quality of life, and by managing and providing many services and facilities. We want to celebrate the public spirit that keeps our communities active, and look at the areas where modern life is making it difficult to find or retain volunteers.
- How do community organisations find volunteers and trustees
- How do they keep them in the face of work pressures and social change
- How can we stop the increasing burden of regulation from putting people off
- Are happy, successful communities the ones with lots of active volunteers
“What kind of support do rural communities need from agencies and each other?”
Well that’s quite enough of that.
Posted by Cptn
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September 15th, 2006
According to Saturday’s Evening Herald, people with disabilities in Plymouth are being nobbled by the cobbles on the city’s historic Barbican.
They want a special ‘lane’ installed around the plaza because the cobbles make it uncomfortable to use a wheelchair and are ‘treacherous for people on crutches’.
Which is all very well, but many disabled students in the People’s Republic have a more immediate concern. They’re worried about how they’ll pay for books, equipment and transport when they start college this month.
Studies have shown that families with disabled children have lower average incomes than other families, which is why the charity Contact A Family has issued a factsheet called Educational Maintenance Allowance.
Available both online and in print, the factsheet sets out everything young disabled students need to know about the EMA, including who is eligible for the benefit, which courses qualify and the deadline for applications.
Students who meet the criteria could be eligible for up to an extra £30 a week towards day to day costs, plus additional bonus payments.
The factsheet is free and available on 0808 808 3555, or from the charity’s website at www.cafamily.org.uk.
Now all we have to do is rip up all those old cobbles. Who’s with us?! Er, anyone?
Posted by Thin White Duke
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September 15th, 2006
The last children’s theatre I went to was Puss in Boots, featuring the Marquis of Carabras.‘Who knows what a marquis is?’ asked the fella on stage.
‘It’s a big tent!’ shouted one of the audience.
‘No, that’s q-u-e- e. This is q- u- i- s,’ the man on stage told him.
I think the show was for seven year olds.
Thankfully that wasn’t Exeter’s own Theatre Alibi.
The Northcott-based group create shows for adults and children, but it’s the work for children and with schools that has gained them special notoriety, and the next production How to Hug Trees is set to open in Stokehill Junior School, Exeter, on Monday.
The first public performance is in Lyric Hammersmith at the end of the month
‘The shows sell out very quickly,’ said Nikki Sved, artistic director since the mid 90s (pictured). ‘We’ve got a strong reputation with schools and we’re over-subscribed with our school tours.’
And that success leaks through into their public performances, with a 90 per cent bums-on-seats ratio that would have almost all other theatre companies drooling into the footlights. The reason for this is a reputation built primarily on the quality of the writing.
‘It’s important to have that shared experience of adults and children enjoying the work, not just have it as something the adults endure for the sake of the kids,’ said The Sved (my name for her, not yours).
‘It’s creating that mixture of light and profound.
‘And there’s a type of theatricality – there needs to be an element of the impossible in the shows. In this show there’s a forest, fires, a flood and a chair comes to life. And we don’t talk down to the children.
‘There’s a lot of work that has a very narrow view of what will engage children.
‘But we don’t ignore that it’s for children, either.’
There’s also an attention to detail in the shows which usually take six to eight months to put together and have an element of collaboration that is rare in any field.
‘We treat the music like a film score,’ said Nikki, who views this show as a silent movie, with broad brush strokes of character.
How to Hug Trees sees a farmer sell up, embrace the alternative lifestyle of living in the forest, while the pie-eating baddie, well, stuffs himself silly and we wait for his comeuppance. Not the message-down-the-throat theatre that you might have expected.
Alibi have been building on their success since the early 80s and now their touring and reputation have cemented them as a must-see theatre group, that they back up with thorough educational material but mostly accessible theatre.
‘There’s a huge diversity in where we go. For many children a visit from Theatre Alibi to their school, is their first experience of theatre, whether they are in a large school in the city or a tiny village school,’ she said.
‘When a teacher tells us that someone couldn’t sleep the night before because they were so excited about you coming, you can’t help but remember why you’re doing it.’
The show will be touring schools from Monday, September 18, and opens to the public on Saturday, September 30 at the Lyric Studio Hammersmith. It will be performing at the Barn Theatre, Dartington on October 7; The Barbican Theatre Plymouth on Saturday, November 4; Exeter Phoenix Friday and Saturday November 10 and 11; and around Exeter schools in the evening (01392 211080) between November 13 and 24.
Posted by Cptn
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September 14th, 2006
Buy a hat, put it on and then take it off (if you already have a hat, ignore the first part). Why? Because the Plymouth and South West Co-operative Society (Co-op) is switching over to completely renewable energy to power all its stores in the south west, that’s why.
The green energy will come from small scale hydro and wind generators, landfill gases and biomass.
It’s only fair to mention the company that will provide all this green energy: Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern.
Now all of you put your hats back on and ask, ‘Why do you need to sign a special deal to get green energy? Surely it should come as standard.’
Rather you should opt out of common sense (using renewable green energy you numbskull) and this opt-out box should read - yes, I don’t want to use energy from renewable sources and I am prepared for my energy to run out anyday now.*
*your details may be passed to third parties.
The Co-op’s deal starts October 1.
Posted by Cptn
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September 13th, 2006
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