November Highlights. A celebration of North Devon Coast and Countryside events

It's lighting up time, literally and usually by now we'll have switched on the heating and settled down in front of a cosy fire to watch Strictly and X Factor and soon it'll be I'm a Celebrity and we could be stuck indoors till next Spring!! The good news is there are plenty of fun events this month to lure you away from the telly. The Northern Devon Nature Improvement Area are holding some free courses for woodland owners wishing to learn how to fell and extract small amounts of timber for personal use or sale using a variety of techniques. Remember, remember the 5th November when the North Devon skies will be lighting up for Guy Fawkes Night and there are a number of  organised Bonfire and Fireworks Parties around the region including a big fun night of boogying and bopping, fireworks and fun at the Big Sheep including a special toddler firework display earlier in the evening. Novemeber is also a time to celebrate the humble herring. Clovelly was once a major centre for herring fishing and their annual Herring Festival is held to promote these tasty, nutritious 'Silver Darlings' and support carefully managed fishing as carried out by our local fishermen. The village once depended on the harvest of herring, which are caught in superb condition for a short season off its coast. Records go back over 400 years and in 1749, there were a hundred herring boats in the port. When fishing was good, 9000 herring could be landed at one time. Those days of massive catches are long gone and there remain just two herring fishermen who still employ sustainable fishing methods using drift nets and long lines. Kids can enjoy the North Devon A.O.N.B. event-themed, free craft activities, there will be Shanty singers, street entertainment, local food and craft stalls, flax making and a photographic exhibition of Clovelly herring fishing and Kipperland will make sure this is a "smoking" fun day out for all the family.

4th November FREE courses ‘All things wood-fuel’ this Autumn with Northern Devon NIA. With ever rising populations of the non-native grey squirrel, damage to young trees through bark stripping is at epidemic proportions in North Devon. If you have young trees or are hoping for regenerating seedling in your wood to have a chance of establishing this course is a must. View details
5th November Guy Fawke's Fire Works Party at the Big Sheep. Bonfire and burgers - Fireworks and Fun - Boogying and Bopping! Special Toddler Firework display earlier in the evening at 6pm Doors open at 5pm Junior Fireworks - 6pm Bonfire Lit at 7pm Main Fireworks at 7.45pm Indoor Playground closes at 9:30pm Remember, remember the 5th of November - Bonfire and…
12th November North Devon Arts Broomhill Arts Hotel 8pm. A talk by Michael Brennand-Wood,an innovative and inspiring artist working in textiles. Free to NDA members, guests £5
14th and 15th November Beaford Arts The Common will be performed in Dolton on Friday 14 November and Hatherleigh on Saturday 15 November. Tickets are free but limited so booking is essential.  Details as follows:
Dolton Village Hall, Friday 14 November 2014 at 7.30 pm Tickets FREE but must be reserved via Beaford Arts, www.beaford-arts.org.uk, telephone 01769 572573, collect from The Royal Oak, Dolton
Hatherleigh Community Centre, Saturday 15 November 2014 at 7.30 pm Tickets FREE but must be reserved via Beaford Arts, www.beaford-arts.org.uk, telephone 01769 572573, collect from Hatherleigh Community Centre
16th November Clovelly Herring Festival. Maritime historian and writer, Mike Smylie, will return with his 'Kipperland' exhibition, which is devoted to the history of the herring. He will also be turning herring into delicious and delicate-tasting kippers and bloaters in his smokehouse. There will also be net making, flax processing and a curragh on show provided by 'Flaxland'. There'll be a wide variety of herring dishes in the quay kitchens, cookery demonstrations, live shanty singers, street entertainment, other local food and craft stalls, a photographic exhibition of Clovelly herring fishing and A.O.N.B. event-themed, free craft activities. To see the 'Silver Darling' menu at the Red Lion Harbour Restaurant, please click here http://www.clovelly.co.uk/red-lion-hotel-harbour-restaurant Standard admission charges include all entertainment.
27th November FREE courses ‘All things wood-fuel’ this Autumn with Northern Devon NIA. Learn how to fell and extract small amounts of timber for personal use or sale using techniques including a compact tractor, small crane and extraction using horses. Practical solutions for everyday woodland owner problems are all high on the agenda. For the less mechanized or equestrian amongst you there will be practical coppicing advice including the use of tools. View details
27th November Ilfracombe High Street Lighting of the Lights. The lights ceremony with a parade, music, stalls and late night shopping. www.visitilfracombe.co.uk
 For more North Devon Events see Local Press: What's On North Devon Gazette - North Devon Journal  

 Herring Boats are coming. Picarooner and a Coracle. Photo Clovelly Herring Festival 2013 P. Adams (all rights reserved) 
Check out more pics and post Catching the Essence of Clovelly

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 North Devon Tourist Information Centres
Barnstaple Tourist Information Centre, North Devon Museum, The Square, Barnstaple, North Devon, EX32 9LS
Bideford Tourist Information Centre, Burton Art Gallery, Kingsley Road, Bideford, EX39 2QQ 
Braunton Tourist Information Centre The Bakehouse Centre, Caen Street, Braunton, North Devon, EX33 1AA
Combe Martin Tourist Information Centre Cross Street, Combe Martin, North Devon, EX34 ODH 
Holsworthy Visitor Information Centre: The Memorial Hall, Holsworthy, 
Torrington Tourist Information Centre, Castle Hill, South Street, Torrington   
lfracombe Tourist Information Centre The Landmark Theatre, The Seafront, Ilfracombe, North Devon, EX34 9BX
Lynton Tourist Information Centre Lynton Town Hall, Lee Road, Lynton, North Devon, EX35 6HT T
South Molton Tourist Information  1 East Street, South Molton, Devon, EX36 3BU 
Woolacombe Tourist Information Centre The Esplanade, Woolacombe, North Devon, EX34 7DL 
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 To add an event go to North Devon Focus Coast & Country Chronicle Community Calendar 

Exciting Beaford Arts Performance Developed in North Devon

Earlier this year five writers came to north Devon to explore what the rural environment means to its people. They got to know old farming families, incomers and returnees. They met rural life in mugs of tea at farmhouse kitchen tables, on windswept hills, under rusting barn roofs and from backies on a farmer's quad bike. These encounters and conversations fed the writing of The Common, a performance work of five dialogues about life and land. Two performers (Charlotte Melia and Martin Hyder) play ten characters examining their relationships with each other and the landscape which connects them with life itself. Rural arts organisation and cultural ambassadors for North Devon's Biosphere Reserve, Beaford Arts initiated this project. "In north Devon, we’ve always known the value of our land.” says Mark Wallace, Director of Beaford Arts “Now, as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and as one of Natural England’s Nature Improvement Areas, we’re increasingly under the national and international spotlight. But it’s the rural communities, living with the land for generations, who made this landscape. This new show is about the values we still hold in common - about the voices which should still be heard." One of the five writers, Inua Ellams, came to north Devon to research the project. "It was a job of listening, of conversations that were heart breaking, overwhelming, passionate and multilayered. When it came to writing, I didn't know where to start, but an idea crystallised after I met a farmer, his wife and two sons." "They told stories and anecdotes to illustrate how complicated a process it would be. How there are some aspects of the land that simply cannot be valued, that are (by that definition) priceless. He referred to us as townies, and he and his colleagues as country folk. He did not like townies. As a black African I'm used to prejudice, I found it refreshing, dare I say thrilling, to be prejudiced because of where I lived rather than the colour of my skin. As we talked and I asked the right questions, he began to relax and slowly 'you townies' became 'those townies'. We 'othered' them so we could point and laugh." Talking about her part in the development process, another of the writing team, Charlotte Josephine explains "The piece I wrote was mainly inspired by meeting photographer Rosie Anderson. I read her charming ‘personal post on a place called home’ on her website on the train down and knew we’d be friends. Her passionate post about the closing of Hatherleigh Market really struck a chord with me. It’s heartbreaking when we sacrifice tradition, community and culture for financial gain." 

 Photo: Writer Hattie Naylor with Dolton farmer John Lock

The Common will be performed in Dolton on Friday 14 November and Hatherleigh on Saturday 15 November. Tickets are free but limited so booking is essential.  Details below:

Dolton Village Hall, Friday 14 November 2014 at 7.30 pm Tickets FREE but must be reserved via Beaford Arts, www.beaford-arts.org.uk, telephone 01769 572573, collect from The Royal Oak, Dolton
Hatherleigh Community Centre, Saturday 15 November 2014 at 7.30 pm Tickets FREE but must be reserved via Beaford Arts, www.beaford-arts.org.uk, telephone 01769 572573, collect from Hatherleigh Community Centre

 "What is our rural landscape worth to us?" - five conversations - one play - The Common  Beaford Arts and China Plate present The Common.  

Beaford Arts www.beaford-arts.org.uk 

China Plate www.chinaplatetheatre.com

Ben Howard releases his new album, I Forget Where We Were

I Forget Where We Were was produced by Ben’s drummer Chris Bond at Start Point Farm Studios in Devon, and follows the huge success of his million selling, Mercury Prize nominated debut album, Every Kingdom, in 2011. In 2013, Ben capped a fantastic two years, by picking up two Brit Awards for British Breakthrough and British Solo Male Artist. A dark, dramatic return, I Forget Where We Were was recorded almost completely live, and its rawness matches the emotion of Ben’s words and vocal. It’s a bold, uncompromising listen and an incredibly assured body of work by one of Britain’s most successful young musicians of recent years.

‘I Forget Where We Were’ Tracklisting: 
Small Things
Rivers In Your Mouth
I Forget Where We Were
In Dreams
She Treats Me Well
Time Is Dancing
Evergreen
End Of The Affair
Conrad
All Is Now Harmed

Since the announcement of Ben’s new record, with the sprawling eight minute introduction of End of the Affair, both parts of his upcoming UK and Irish tour sold-out in under two hours.

Ben Howard Live UK & Ireland:
3rd December – The Apollo, Manchester SOLD OUT
4th December – Civic, Wolverhampton SOLD OUT
6th December – Usher Hall, Edinburgh SOLD OUT
7th December – Olympia, Dublin SOLD OUT
10th December – Brixton Academy, London SOLD OUT
11th December – Brixton Academy, London SOLD OUT

www.benhowardmusic.co.uk

Ben Howard releases his new album, I Forget Where We Were, on the 20th October 2014 through Island Records. It is preceded with a single of the same title on the 13th October. 

I Forrget Where We Were - Ben Howard available on iTunes
End of the Affair - I Forget Where We Were available on iTunes