B10 EVENT Woolacombe BioBlitz. Entertainment, education and activities for all.

North Devon’s Biosphere Reserve has joined forces with Coastwise North Devon and a group of dedicated partners to make Woolacombe BioBlitz the flagship event of the B10 programme, celebrating ten years of North Devon’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.Thanks to The Big Lottery Fund, Coastwise North Devon has put together this wonderful BioBlitz event in Woolacombe on Saturday 7 September 2013. Working with a group of dedicated partners including the National Trust, the Marine Biological Association and the Devon Wildlife Trust BioBlitz organisers, volunteers and visitors will spend the day surveying the natural world of Woolacombe. BioBlitz will be fun, factual and produce valuable research into the natural environment in this one small area of the North Devon Biosphere Reserve.Bioblitz Project Manager, Coastwise North Devon’s Jim Monroe says: “Planning the Bioblitz is proving to be an amazing collaboration between naturalist groups and individuals from across Devon. Working together we want to provide a fun day out for the public whilst collating important scientific data for future reference. This will be North Devon’s first BioBlitz and we hope that it will engage everyone interested in this beautiful area.” BioBlitz Base Camp will be on the Greensward in Woolacombe, above the beach, and will house the Biosphere inflatable dome classroom alongside informative displays and activities provided by the contributing partners.A full programme of public events will run throughout the day (see list below) to identify and record the plants and animals discovered. The resulting data will be submitted to national databases and form part of the pack of learning material which will be developed from the event. As a flagship event for the B10 programme BioBlitz concludes a summer of diverse entertainment, education and activities with an accessible day of fun science for all.

Woolacombe BioBlitz Saturday 7 September 2013 
Guided Activities throughout the BioBlitz - Start Times and Activity Leaders as follows

• 10.00 Sea Mammal Watch Morte Point Dave Jenkins & John Broomhead
• 10.30 Seine Netting from the beach Doug Herdson
• 10.30 Birds and their Habitats Rob Jutsum
• 11.00 Strandline Hunt Baz Payne
• 11.30 Seeking Butterflies in the Dunes Jenny Evans & Matthew Oates
• 12.00 Seashore Safari at Woolacombe Jack Sewell
• 12.30 Seashore Safari at Barricane Trudy Russell
• 12.30 Dune Plants, Lichens and Fungi Janet Lister, Bob Hodgson & Patrick Watt-Mabbot
• 13.00 Seaweed Search Esther Hughes & Sarah Hotchkiss
• 13.00 Seal Survey from Morte Point Dave Jenkins
• 13.30 Seine Netting from the Beach Doug Herdson
• 13.30 Insect Hunt Tony Barber & Richard Comont
• 14.30 Coombesgate’s Rocks &Lichens Maxine Putnam, Paul Madgett & Tony Holwill
• 15.00 Sea Mammal Watch Morte Point Dave Jenkins
• 15.00 Stream Life Pete Jolands & John Hickson
• 16.30 Sand Dunes for Beginners Pete Jollands & John Hickson

99% Proof makes its public debut in September at The Theatre, Petroc Brannams Campus.

99% Proof - The peoples' musical, is a story of love, betrayal and redemption. Through a simple act of compassion, a jobless hoodie, brings an evil boss to his knees and their salvation. The hero, we badly need today! 99% Proof is a musical about the unexpected, and what can be more so than a homeless, boy in the gutter whose sacrifice redeems an older evil man who gets is wrong. A love story, a socio political commentary and modern rags to riches tale. It is timely against what people are struggling. It's about a young man and an older man and our assumptions. It's about bad and good, and oppression and failure and humour and drunken women. It's about life as we know it now, today, here.

‘So I was writing a kind of socio political documentary, which turned into a play, and then I wrote a song, which a friend of mine said was one of the most beautiful songs he'd heard. 'Write it as a musical', so I did. 18 songs and 22 pieces of intercession later, I had to translate the melody into orchestral score’ Jenny Wilkin Shaw.
People today are struggling again, losing, facing austerity and can't pay the bills, payday loans, bank charges. You name it we struggle with it. Quiet and noisy protests are going on led by the people through Occupy. In every city, there is unrest and no more so than in London, where our story begins. It's a story about hope, and doing what is right, for without those two things we are nothing.
‘I looked all over the place for someone with the instinct and talent and of course the discipline and time to work out arrangement and harmony, and I found the Jedi Knight of all these things, Alan. J. Welch. When he sees a key board, his fingers and his soul find it. It's like an extension of him. Week in, week out for months I went through at least two seasons to Alan's and over coffee the melodies were translated’ Jenny Wilkin Shaw

• A new Musical in 2 Acts - Written by Jennifer Wilkin Shaw
• Book, lyrics, melody Jennifer Wilkin Shaw
• Arrangements, orchestral score by Alan Welch

99% Proof makes its public debut in September at The Theatre, Petroc Brannams Campus. 
Tickets: Price - £10 Ticket on sale now from: www.undergroundtickets.net - North Devon Theatres box offices
Shows: Friday 13th September 19:30 /Saturday 14th September 14:00/Saturday 14th September 19:30

 

Synopsis: London, 2012; against a backdrop of unrest, austerity measures, homelessness and gathering protest, Judin Job is propelled onto our stage. He has lost his family, has no job, no friends and life is desolate. Turning to the Social Services for help, Guard and Go Bells make it worse. Through oppression and taunts, his life begins to spiral out of control. He is told that his only prospects are ‘Murder’ and he is tormented because of his religion, ‘the only star you’ll ever win is stuck to your chest with a jagged pin’, in the form of a yellow star of David. Bills are unpaid and he ends up on the streets under a tarpaulin with his steady but hapless roommate C.J. But, life has a habit of reversing fortune, and just when he is literally singing for his supper, he begins to fall in love, finds unlikely friends and his beautiful voice is spotted by a scout. He rises. On the other side of the city, another fortune reverses. As Guard enters a bar, he gets into a fight and one misplaced action gets him caught up in a fight which leads to him to striking a man and being sent down for murder. Who will help Guard in his moment of desolation? Everyone he knows turns away.  In an act of grace and mercy, which will leave you reeling, it is Judin, the Jewish boy from the gutter, wearing the Star of David of oppression with the jagged pin, who helps. ‘How can it be?’

Cast: 

• Alex Rushton and Angela Elswood, known as 'Rushwood', play the two leads, Judin and Astro.
•  Jack Ince and Elizabeth Daleigh Hayton, who are exciting and natural on the stage play the baddies, Guard and Bells. 
• Boo Hart, who has real emotional presence on the stage plays Capability 
• Nathan Maynard plays C.J, the hapless room mate
• Alex Martin, is born to her humerous part of Ms Wackovski 
• Alicia Fotheringham and Louella Gaskell play Mother and Dr Boot with a sweet tenderness and skill. 
• Jorden Shevells, came late to the cast and his great voice is underused, but he adds a strong male presence to many scenes and has some gripping solos. 
• Ilana Wilson and Zack Hazell are the chorus and gives a reality and beauty to the piece.

99% Proof - The peoples' musical, is a story of love, betrayal and redemption. The Theatre, Petroc Brannams Campus, Barnstaple Friday 13th September – Saturday 14th September 2013

SUMMER BRIGHTS & BUTTERFLY BUSHES

While some of the birds have gone into hiding as they get ready for their Summer moult I have turned my attention to the other countryside critters. My garden is full of Summer bright spots since the Hydrangea, Hebe and Buddleia have begun flowering. Hydrangea are particularly stunning flowering bushes and come in a variety of colours, but their colours seem totally dependent on the alkali or acidity of the soil. The Mop Heads in my garden tend to be blue and I noticed the one cutting I have in a pot with normal compost is pink even though the parent plant is blue. The wonder of the Hydrangea, Hebe and Buddleia is that they attract all the bees and butterflies. The Buddelia is aptly named the Butterfly Bush and today mine have been awash with Small Whites, Red Admirals and Peacocks.You can see more photos from My Garden Today on Flickr

 

 

All photos copyright Pat Adams