Devonshire May and June 18

Letterbox
YOUR NEWS TO THE EDITOR - LETTERBOX@DEVONSHIREMAGAZINE.CO.UK
Home Design Yearbook show success
The HOME DESIGN YEARBOOK
was officially launched at the South
West Home & Garden Show on
14th and 15th of April. The show
proved to be a great success, over
400 copies were given away free
to visitors who were asked to make
charity donations towards Sidmouth
Hospice Care. And congratulations
go to Westcountry Group for
winning Devonshire’s prize draw!
Devonshire magazine will also be at
the Devon County Show this year.
It’s a great opportunity to meet the
team and some of the Devonshire
magazine writers will be making
appearances at the stand over the
three days of the show. If you have
a particular favourite writer, please
see page 32 for details of the times
they’ll be appearing at our stand.
Magazines will be available at the
stand as well as the HOME DESIGN
YEARBOOK which we’ll be giving
away free, but we’ll be asking for
a donation to The Veterans Farm
Able Foundation.
If you’re a HUBCAST user, Charlotte
Fergie will be on hand to answer
any queries you may have and we’ll
be able to provide demonstrations
on this unique What’s On web and
paper based platform. It’ll certainly
be great to meet you all at the show
on the 17th, 18th and 19th of May.
- Editor
Inspiring young artists
Friends Charlie Sinclair, Emily
Traynor and Charlotte Forrer from
East Devon have started a new business
with the aim of enhancing children’s
drawings and handwriting using the
age-old process of gilding. The idea
was to produce a gift for families that
treasures a particular moment in their
child’s development. Gildoodle quickly
discovered that the biggest reward was
the boost to children’s confidence and
motivation. Emily says “The feedback
from families is very positive. The
pleasure a Gildoodle gives to the adults
shows children that their imagination
is truly celebrated.”
www.gildoodle.co.uk
ART@DARTS
Summer exhibition at Darts Farm
Darts Farm and well-known West
Country Artist Ray Balkwill have
teamed up to present an exciting
Sand Lizards can only be found in
four areas of England, one of which
is Devon. They are a particularly rare
and protected species in Britain. It
is celebrated in a new series of Royal
Mail stamps by award winning artist
Tanya Achilleos Lock.
“It’s remarkable to think that scientists
and conservationists have been able
to reintroduce extinct species into
new art venture. The award-winning
farm shop and lifestyle destination,
famed for its selection of local
areas of the UK,” says Tanya, who was
BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2012
and 2013 winning the ‘Frozen Planet’,
‘World Birds’ and ‘Animals in their
Environment’ sections. “The stamps
feature the Large Blue Butterfly, the
Osprey, Eurasian Beaver, Pool Frog,
Stinking Hawk’s Beard and the Sand
Lizard.”
www.tanyalock.com
and artisan produce, provides the
ideal hub to showcase some of the
finest West Country art. The new
venture, known as ʻART@DARTS’,
will bring together some leading
contemporary artists. The Summer
Exhibition will feature five of
the West Country’s leading artists:
Ray Balkwill, Judy Hempstead, Penelope
Timmis, Jo Vollers and Tony
Williams. Many of the paintings
on show will include local scenes
together with an eclectic mix of
subjects in various media. Books,
prints and cards will also be available.
The inaugural exhibition will
be presented in The Estuary Room,
Darts Farm, Topsham on the 1st -
3rd June. 10 am to 5 pm (4 pm on
Sunday). Admission is free.
www.dartsfarm.co.uk
Photo - James Dart and Ray Balkwill
with one of his paintings.
Devon Castle restored
An extensive project spanning eight
months to restore East Devon’s 2,500
year-old Iron Age hill fort,Woodbury
Castle is nearing completion. It is a
nationally important archaeological
site and prominent landmark owned by
Clinton Devon Estates and managed
by the Pebblebed Heaths Conservation
Trust. The site was put on Historic
England’s at Risk Register several years
ago when it became apparent that the
area was suffering, predominantly
from erosion due to a high volume of
visitors as well as damage from tree
roots and scrub growth. In 2016, the
Trust secured funding from Natural
England’s Countryside Stewardship
scheme to undertake the extensive
restoration work that will result in
its eventual removal from the at Risk
Register. Since September, contractors
have been working tirelessly to restore
the site. Kim Strawbridge, Site Manager
for the Pebblebed Heaths, explained:
“It is hugely important that we do
all we can so the monument can be
removed from the at Risk Register. We
would ask that people refrain from
walking on the repairs so it is kept in
good condition for people to enjoy in
the future”.
www.clintondevon.com
hubcast
.co.u k
Find out what’s on in Devon
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