Clovelly Lectures: " Does the United Kingdom have a future and what can be done to preserve it? "

Clovelly Lectures runs a lecture forum on World Affairs, International Relations, Security & Defence and Science & Technology. The venue of this Forum is Clovelly on the stunning coastline of North Devon; a soft background to ask hard questions.

It seeks to provide a global positioning of British relationships and influences, with an emphasis on and analysis of Government policy and its direct impact on British lives.

Now in its 5th year, Clovelly Lectures has found in Devon a responsive audience. There is a curiosity and interest in listening and discussing matters that affect our lives in a fast, changing and confusing economic and political world. The attendance at these lectures has been enthusiastic and overwhelming.

Our latest Lecture coming up on Saturday 14th May 2016 looks at;

‘Does the United Kingdom have a future and what can be done to preserve it?’ a hot topic of debate with the EU referendum in June.

Former Attorney General and Present Chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee Dominic Grieve QC MP is speaking at Clovelly. Appointed to the opposition front bench in 1999 as spokesman on Constitutional affairs and moved to the Home affairs team covering criminal justice in 2001 before being made shadow Attorney General by Michael Howard in 2003. In 2008 he was made shadow Home Secretary and shadow Justice Secretary in 2009. After the General Election of 2010 he was appointed a Privy Councillor and Attorney General holding that office until July 2014. Mr Grieve is currently a member of the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House of Commons. His work in Parliament on civil liberties and the Rule of Law was recognised by two awards - Parliamentarian of the Year in 2005 and in 2014 by a Lifetime Achievement award from Liberty. He has specialised on issues relating to Law and Order, civil liberties and international affairs as well as having an interest in environmental issues. In 2015 he was appointed Chairman of the "Parliamentary Committee for Security and Intelligence."  

Clovelly Lectures 

" Does the United Kingdom have a future and what can be done to preserve it? " 

Speaker Dominic Grieve QC MP 

Saturday 14th May, at Clovelly Visitor Centre EX39 5TA. 

For times and prices visit http://www.clovelly.co.uk/clovelly-events 

For further information, tickets or to subscribe to mailing list, please contact clovellylectures11@gmail.com or call Clovelly Estate Office Tel: 01237 431200

The Queen’s 90th Birthday Cruise with Northam Lodge

This year the MS Oldenburg will be hosting a special Birthday Cruise organised by Northam Lodge, to celebrate The Queen’s 90th birthday. This will take place on Friday June 24th and will depart from Bideford Quay at 7.30pm. Boarding will take place as from 6.45pm and the cruise lasts for about 2 hours. The Alan Lewis All Stars Jazz Band will be providing the entertainment, no doubt including some rousing patriotic music.

Tickets cost £15.00 per person and please contact Mark or Fiona on 01237 477238 or email info@northamlodge.co.uk  or  TAP HERE for more information

Northam Lodge is a Devon charity for providing services for people with learning difficulties and their carers

Riverfly volunteers ready for another busy season on the River Torridge

A volunteer project which is keeping a close check on the health of one of North Devon's best-loved rivers is about to begin another season.

The River Torridge in North Devon is the focus of a project which has brought together 50 local volunteers whose job it is to take regular samples of its water between April to September. The samples are then analysed to look for signs of life in the shape of invertebrates - water-living mini-beasts - known as riverflies.

The work of the volunteers is providing an important regular check on the river's health. The volunteers collect their samples at points along the watercourse. Their efforts, which began in 2014, is allowing a better assessment of the Torridge's water quality and is acting as an early-warning system with which to detect pollution incidents. Data collected by the volunteers is also being shared with the Environment Agency and will help to direct future land management locally.

Izzy Moser from the charity Devon Wildlife Trust, which is overseeing the project, says:

'It's fantastic to see communities coming together to protect local streams and rivers which are so valuable to us all. Our network of volunteers is one of best Riverfly networks in the country. Last year they collected more than 290 samples, about 12% of all the national data.'

The initiative is named 'Riverfly' after the water-living invertebrates that spend a large part of their lifecycle in rivers and still waters as larvae, before emerging in their masses as short-lived adult flies. Since riverflies are very sensitive to changes in habitat and water quality, they are good biological indicators for overall river health. Riverflies are also a vital link in the aquatic and land-based food chain, providing a food source for many fish, birds, insects and mammals.

Understanding local water quality is seen as vital for the futures of protected local species such as the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. North Devon has the only remaining populations of these mussels in southern England and through the Biffa Award funded 'Restoring Freshwater Mussel Rivers in England', Devon Wildlife Trust's Izzy Moser has also been working on the River Torridge with a number of volunteers to survey and improve conditions for the aquatic animals.

2016 is the third year of the Torridge Riverfly Partnership which was set up by the North Devon Biosphere and Devon Wildlife Trust. Riverfly monitoring is a great way to get your hands dirty, enjoy nature and collect valuable data to better understand the health of the watercourse. Izzy Moser says: 'This year, we are hoping to recruit more volunteers and perhaps extend the scheme into the River Taw catchment. We are also planning to deliver a training event to support new volunteers with the survey programme. If people are interested they can contact Matt Edworthy by email at biosphere-mailbox@devon.gov.uk or by phone on 01271 388647.'

The Riverfly project has been supported with funds from the North Devon Fisheries Local Action Group and Torridge District Council.

 Riverfly volunteers taking samples from the River Torridge in 2014: