christmas

Exeter Dunelm and customers deliver joy to Sainthill House Care Home this Christmas

Residents at Sainthill House Care Home in Exeter this week received Christmas gifts, courtesy of Dunelm’s generous colleagues and customers.

The donation was the result of the retailer’s Delivering Joy campaign, which saw Exeter shoppers purchase gifts for people in need in their local community.

First launched last year, the initiative saw almost 20,000 gifts donated UK wide in 2020, and Dunelm is on track to donate even more gifts this year.

Shoppers in Exeter were encouraged to select a gift tag in-store detailing the age, gender and interests of a recipient...

Exeter church distributes 1,300 Christmas Hampers to people in need

A church in Exeter has distributed over 1300 hampers packed full of food to people in need across the community.

Rediscover Church in Northernhay Street, Exeter, has run the hamper project every year for the last 7 years, but this is the most it has ever put together to rise to the need across Exeter but also wider Devon, with some going even to Kingsbridge, Axminster and South Molton.

The church worked with local charities and organisations to identify recipients, who, when they had the hamper delivered to their door were often overwhelmed, with some even crying at the...

Local Samaritans here to listen over the festive period

Samaritans volunteers in the Exeter, Mid and East Devon branch will be among those on hand across the country over the festive season to listen to anyone having a tough time.

Thousands of volunteers across the UK and Ireland will be working shifts for the charity to ensure its helpline is open around the clock - even on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. And that includes volunteers from across Exeter, Mid and East Devon too.

Mental health, family issues, isolation and loneliness are expected to be the top concerns - along with worries over the pandemic. Relationship...

Driving home for Christmas? National Highways lifting and completing roadworks for festive getaway

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sun, 12/19/2021 - 12:10pm
Roadworks will be lifted on motorways and major A-roads from Tuesday 21 December to help keep traffic flowing

National Highways will be working round the clock to remove more than 900 miles of roadworks ahead of the festive getaway.

This means nearly 98 per cent of motorways and major A roads will be roadworks-free in time for those travelling to see loved ones or making other journeys for Christmas.

National Highways travel-time data from the past couple of Christmases suggests next Thursday - the day before Christmas Eve - is likely to be one of the busier travel days...

12 ways to ensure your Christmas won’t cost the Earth

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sat, 12/18/2021 - 10:01pm

As you start to plan your festivities and you purchase your Christmas food and gifts. There are some simple steps we can take to make Christmas more sustainable. At this time of year, we generate more waste than any other time. One example of this is the amount of cardboard packaging we produce which is approximately 300,000 tonnes, enough to wrap the London Eye 50,000 times according to Recycle Now. We also need to consider ways we can remove avoidable plastic from our festive preparations. Including Christmas cards, decorations and gifts. Around 12 million tonnes of plastic enters our...

Brits set to splash out £500 on Christmas gifts this year, yet half don't know if they are covered under home and contents insurance

Co-op Insurance is urging people in the South West to check their home and contents insurance policies as new YouGov data* reveals that half of people in the region (49%) who celebrate Christmas don’t know if pricey presents are covered under their current policy.

Despite the widespread confusion, research from the insurer reveals that a tenth (10%) of those who celebrate Christmas will spend over £500 on gifts in their household and one in every 25 (4%) will spend over a staggering £750.

Confusion comes as big ticket items may need to be listed separately with home...

GP practices to prioritise urgent care and COVID boosters

Following the Government’s call to accelerate the Covid-19 booster vaccination programme, Devon’s GP practices have, at very short notice, reallocated much of their workforce to delivering Covid-19 vaccines over the next two weeks.

This means that GP practices will focus on urgent clinical need and vaccines, and some non-urgent appointments may be postponed until the New Year.

The Prime Minister, together with the NHS, has launched an urgent national appeal calling for people to get jabbed. It comes as the UK Chief Medical Officers have increased the UK Covid Alert Level...

How to spot a fake this Christmas with scammers on a 30% rise

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 12/16/2021 - 8:39pm

Brits warned about Christmas scammers as fraudsters are expected to rise by 30%* this Christmas.

So far in 2021, more than half of the population* has been targeted by scammers, from counterfeit online deals, to bank transfer requests, fake delivery drivers and more.

The potential surge in cons over the festive period has prompted security retailers safe.co.uk to explain how to spot a fake, after new data has revealed that 67% of people wouldn’t know how to recognise a fraud, and 71% are worried about being a victim to theft this Christmas.

The five main fakes...

The perfect way to create Christmas memories with your loved ones

Experience the magic of Christmas with a special illuminated trail perfect for friends and family at Killerton, near Exeter.

What better way to walk off festive feasts than to enjoy an enchanting walk in the fresh air with loved ones?

Christmas at Killerton, which opened last month, creates timeless memories as visitors explore a beautiful world of lights and colour at the stunning National Trust property.

Matthew Findlay, Head of UK Trails for Raymond Gubbay, said: “As the festive holiday approaches, Christmas at Killerton is the perfect place to spend an...

Research finds careful Christmas is on the cards and shoppers are stocking up early

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 12/14/2021 - 12:49pm

A careful Christmas is on the cards for nearly half the UK as people worry about possible COVID rule changes and shortages in the shops, new research* from financial services insight experts Consumer Intelligence shows.

Its nationwide study found around one in three (31%) adults say they are still being cautious while another 14% are not planning too much in case COVID rules change again in the run-up to December 25th.

The careful approach extends to buying presents and provisions early this year with nearly two out of five (37%) saying they have already stocked up. Most...

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