Monthly Archives: December 2025

Beatles’ autographs and Four Weddings hat up for auction

Autographs of members of The Beatles and a hat from the 1994 film Four Weddings and A Funeral are among the music and film memorabilia due to go under the hammer in Exeter next week.The hat worn by American actress Andie MacDowell in the box office hit was given to a local resident who had worked on the set, said Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood auction house.The Beatles' autographs - signatures of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison,…

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Woman sentenced for fail-to-stop collision in Bridgwater

Woman sentenced for fail-to-stop collision in Bridgwater

A woman has been sentenced after she failed to stop following a collision which killed an 85-year-old.Jane Hill, from Bridgwater, previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when she appeared in court in October.At Taunton Crown Court, on Tuesday 25 November, the judge said she "did not have the courage to do the right thing," and sentenced Hill to six months in prison, suspended for two years, banned her from driving for three years and ordered…

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The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right. EP review

The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right. EP review

  LISA O’NEILL 11-12-2024 © Jill Furmanovsky EP review Lisa O’Neill The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right (Rough Trade Records) 6 track DL EP  out now 12 inch vinyl edition out 20 Feb 2026 Our Score As LTW compiles it’s ‘Albums Of The Year’ this fails to qualify as it’s an EP – 6 songs lasting 32 minutes – but it is the most striking, sobering and brilliant collection of songs released this year. ‘I’m rich in…

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Will Smeed: Somerset opening batter signs extension to 2027

Will Smeed: Somerset opening batter signs extension to 2027

Somerset batter Will Smeed has signed a contract extension to remain at the club until the end of the 2027 season.The 24-year-old starred during Somerset's six-wicket victory over Hampshire in September's T20 Blast final at Edgbaston, smashing 94 off just 58 balls to claim the player of the match award as his club picked up their third Blast title.The club also confirmed Smeed will be available for both red-ball and white-ball cricket after he amended his contract to…

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Poole Quay Hotel redevelopment permission set to be revoked

Poole Quay Hotel redevelopment permission set to be revoked

Planning permission to demolish a hotel is set to be revoked after developers failed to fulfil their planning obligations.MHA Burleigh Poole was granted permission in 2023 to replace Poole Quay Hotel, in Poole, with commercial units, flats and a new hotel, subject to a Section 106 agreement that required it to contribute to local services.But in March 2024, the hotel closed suddenly and the firm went into liquidation.A planning committee at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) has…

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Pope Leo wraps up Lebanon visit with prayers at site of Beirut port blast | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Capping off symbolic three-day visit, the Pontiff urged Lebanese unity and the pursuit of peace and justice.Pope Leo XIV has offered prayers at the site of the 2020 Beirut port blast, one of the final stops in his three-day visit to Lebanon.The Catholic leader prayed silently and lit a lamp on Tuesday morning at a monument to the more than 220 people that were killed and 6,500 injured in the explosion. The United States-born pontiff has urged peaceful coexistence…

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Bad Sam: Trauma – Album Review

Bad Sam: Trauma – Album Review

Bad Sam – Trauma (Property Of The Lost Records) LP | DL available here Out now  The third album from Newport’s Bad Sam sees them leaning heavily into the sonic blueprint of Lard. Humour and indignation underpin their energetic hybrid punk attack on the absurd says Nathan Brown. Bad Sam appeared some time around 2012 with a great debut album Working Class Holocaust in 2013 (re-released by Urinal Vinyl a few years later). I saw them in 2014…

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Novice rower from Devon prepares for Atlantic Ocean challenge

Novice rower from Devon prepares for Atlantic Ocean challenge

Clare O'ReilleyClare O'Reilley is taking part in The World's Toughest Row alongside two other womenA woman with a fear of deep water is preparing to row across the Atlantic Ocean after being encouraged by someone she knows who has completed the challenge twice.Clare O'Reilly, 46, from Devon had never rowed before starting to train for The World's Toughest Row, which she will do alongside Rosie Tong, 26, and Mel Jarman, 33.The Row with the Flow crew will be…

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Graduate wins national award for innovation to detect water contamination

An innovation designed by a University of Exeter graduate to detect contaminated water and save lives has won a prestigious national award.   The FluoroGlow device is designed to detect Cryptosporidium in water – a parasite that can cause severe illness and even death, especially in children and vulnerable people. Previously, it has been difficult to detect without slow laboratory-based tests, but FluoroGlow aims to change that by providing rapid and reliable results directly at the water source.   Currently…

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Devon theatre school seeks new home to store historic costumes

Devon theatre school seeks new home to store historic costumes

A theatre school in Devon is looking for a new space to store several decades' worth of costumes after a leak in its roof. Willow Tree Dance and Theatre Arts School, based in Tiverton, said the building it currently stored the items in including handmade clothing, wigs and accessories had a leak. The school hosts about 274 pupils aged 18 months and upwards and said it hosts at least three shows a year. It added thanks to its…

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‘Dog soft play centre opens’ and ‘longest NHS strike continues’

‘Dog soft play centre opens’ and ‘longest NHS strike continues’

Somerset Soft Play for DogsA soft play centre for dogs has opened in SomersetHere's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.Our pick of local website storiesA 106-year-old newsagents in Burnham-on-Sea, which has been run by the same family for over century, has closed, Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News reports.A thief who plagued a Greggs branch and stole from Home Bargains has been sentenced, the Swindon…

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Gustaffson: Low Four Studio, Manchester

Gustaffson: Low Four Studio, Manchester

GustaffsonLow Four Studio, Manchester21st November 2025 Gustaffson play the first of two intimate gigs (the other in London) following the release of their acclaimed new single, Dance To The Algorithm… The nights have well and truly drawn in, and you can tell the festive season is quickly approaching by the volume of traffic heading into Manchester city centre. Whether it’s people travelling/attending early office dos, the Christmas Markets or one of the many gigs that’s happening, it’s busy……

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