Archive for October, 2007
Posted by Cptn
There’s still some life left in the Exeter Royal Albert Memorial Museum (that’s RAMM to you), and it will be brought to life with the play Albert and the Story of Equiano.
The story of Equiano is the kind of thing that would make Professor James Watson’s toes curl - an 18th century slave from Nigeria who becomes a renown voice in the British Abolition movement.
Olaudah Euqiano became a slave at 10, endured the transatlantic passage to the plantations of the West Indies. He was bought as a toy-boy, he served in the British Navy and was sold back to the plantations before gaining his freedom and going to London.
The one man play Albert and the Story of Euqiano was written by Jayne Newton-Chance, is directed by Sheila Snellgrove of the Barbican Theatre and will be performed by David Oddie.
The performance will be in the museum art gallery at 7pm. Free tickets are available (while they last) at the museum reception.
The play is part of Black History Month and marksthe bicentenary of the British Act of Parliament to abolish the slave trade.
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October 23rd, 2007
David and Tom kick off another excellent episode of music in this week’s Birds, Orphans and Fools. Check out the sounds that time forgot.
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October 22nd, 2007
This week Eddie Dyke has been messing around near water. Here he shares the sunset with us from the end of Mt Batten Breakwater.
If you’ve got a view you want to share, pictorial or political, send it in to info@peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk.
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October 21st, 2007
I understand there is a big rugby match on this evening, and that England and South Africa are to compete for the right to be called world champions.
This is quite a big thing for those chaps who like grappling with odd-shaped balls, and a large part of me would like to see an England victory, purely for the pleasure it would bring to my rugby-liking English friends. But it’s not that simple.
An even bigger part of me yearns for a South African victory, or more precisely, an English defeat, purely because of the hysterical, arrogant and jingoistic way large parts of the English meeja, often owned by non-Englishmen, greet any significant English sporting achievement.
The Scot in me cannae abide aw that pish. Undoubtedly, if England emerge victorious this evening, the English meeja will immediately deify the whole squad as living gods, restorers of England’s ancient right to superiority and victory, or some such offensive garbage.
And they will go on and on and on and on and on and on about it, and on and on and on.
South Africa stand between the non-English world tonight, and a fate not quite as bad as death, but nearly as disagreeable, namely the crowing of the English meeja. Come on you ‘boks, you are our only hope!
Posted by freeluncher @ Talking Liberties
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October 20th, 2007
Posted by Cptn
Respect will be shown on the pitch at Home Park today (although not too much, that, according to footy folklore would lead to a trouncing) when a Plymouth Argyle Veterans team plays a team consisting of the city’s black and minority ethnic citizens.
It’s all part of the Plymouth Respect Festival which celebrates is 10th event next weekend (October 27-28).
The Respect match is on after Argyle’s home game with Coventry City and co-incides with the FA’s own Kick it Out campaign.
The Respect Squad, was selected from 30 culturally diverse teams, who played at the Respect Football Tournament at Brickfields Sports Centre in May this year
Diversity officer PC Graeme Kirkup, who’s organising the event, told the PRSD: ‘This game will highlight the richness of Plymouth’s cultures and communities, as did the tournament earlier this year. We are demonstrating that people from different backgrounds can get on well and enjoy common agendas. We are all very proud of this event which shows community cohesion at its very best.’
For more on the Plymouth Respect festival, check out the myspace.
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October 20th, 2007
Posted by Edgy
In Prince Rupert’s Teardrop, Lisa Glass’s debut novel, the Devon landscape is a character in itself. The book features scenes set on Dartmoor, at the Hoe, and in Plymouth streets and parks. There are mentions of moors myths, and even the statue of Francis Drake makes an appearance.
At the beginning of the book, Mary’s having a good day. It’s her 58th birthday and she’s just been signed off work for mental health reasons. But the very next day her mother - Meghranoush, a 94-year-old tailor and survivor of the Armenian genocide - goes missing, and Mary is thrown into confusion, worry and paranoia as she sets out to find her. She encounters various clues: her mother’s thimble, a menacing trail of glass birds, and rumours of a sadistic serial killer who preys on the elderly.
Prince Rupert’s Teardrop puts you directly into Mary’s erratic mind. You also hear Meghranoush’s harrowing tales of survival, and you’re thrown into the thoughts of a killer at work. The language is rich and graphic, with nothing held back. As you read, you’re thoroughly absorbed but still constantly questioning - what is really going on?
Thought-provoking, unusual and an utterly engrossing psychological thriller, Prince Rupert’s Teardrop is highly recommended.
But you don’t have to take our word for it - we have three signed copies of this book from a major new talent to give away FREE! Just email info@peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk with the subject line Prince Rupert’s Teardrop.
And while you’re at it, read an interview with the author.
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October 19th, 2007
Posted by Cptn
Devon has shown its environmental credentials by having six schemes shortlisted for Regen South West’s Green Energy Awards. The breadth and scope of those shortlisted demonstrate that the environment isn’t just a political talking point, but programmes are being put in place.
Regen SW director Matthew Spencer told the PRSD: “For the first time, this year we are going to recognise the individuals who have done most to champion renewables on the ground – they are not household names, and often work behind the scenes, but we believe they deserve acclaim for their huge personal commitment and their success in delivering real solutions to climate change.â€
The winners will be announced on November 13.
And the nominees are…
Best Business Innovation
·       Treco (Devon)
·       NaturalWatt (Devon)
·       ABS Biodiesl (Bristol)
Most Proactive Local Authority
·       Cornwall County Council
·       Devon County Council
·       Dorset County Council
Best Sustainable Energy Community
·       Transition Town Totnes (Devon)
·       South Wheatley (Cornwall)
Best New Renewable Energy Scheme
·       Avonmouth Docks Wind Park (Bristol)
·       Guys Marsh Prison Biomass Scheme (Dorset)
·       River Dart Country Park Hydro scheme (Devon)
Best Housing Scheme
·       Coastline Housing – Tarn West (Cornwall)
·       Cornhill Estates – Poundbury (Dorset)
·       Cornwall Rural Housing Association (Cornwall)
South West Renewable Energy Champion
·       Tim German- Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership (Cornwall)
·       Paul Baker – Devon Association for Renewable Energy (Devon)
·       Denys Stephens – Penwith Housing Association (Cornwall)
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October 18th, 2007
Posted by Cptn
One of the team up here in the Enamel Towers of the PRSD has been having some dental trouble (our sympathies are extended) - but that’s nothing to what’s going on with the NHS dental system.
The figures (if you’re as jaundiced as us) suggest a privatisation by stealth approach to dental health - 5,212 were surveyed, and 81 per cent of the private patients said they left the NHS because their dentists stopped treating NHS patients or because they couldn’t find an NHS dentists. And over half of those not using an NHS dentist said it was because there wasn’t one near where they live.
A nerve-tingling six per cent said they do it themselves. Dentists too were surveyed, and their answers weren’t good either: more than half aren’t accepting any more NHS patients; nearly 60 per cent believe the quality of care has got worse; and over two-thirds were aware of patients declining treatment because of cost.
But the good news is that of the NHS patients surveyed 94 per cent were happy with the treatment. That’s it then - let’s extract it from the health service provision.
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October 17th, 2007
Are you ready to step back and let the little-heard gems of music from David Chatton Baker and Tom Stevenson take control? These Raiders of the Lost Art have been plundering the overlooked musical treasures for your listening enjoyment. Plug in, turn on, tune out, as someone may have said.
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Birds, Orphans and Fools on the PRSD:
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October 16th, 2007
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