One Love Covid-19 Relief Auction May 21st in support of NHS Charities Together & Feeding America. Hosted by Billy Porter

Island Records is proud to announce the One Love Covid-19 Relief Auction in support of NHS Charities Together & Feeding America. Artists old and new, as well as friends of the label, have donated one-of-a-kind lots to raise funds for relief efforts. The event will be hosted by Emmy®, Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer and playwright Billy Porter and will be broadcast live from 6pm BST on May 21st.

To bid on the lots, you must register in advance with Island's partner Omega Auctions, further information can be found via Island Records' dedicated oneloveauction.com

Website. All lots are available to view and place bids on via an online catalogue https://bid.omegaauctions.co.uk/m/view-auctions/info/id/83 which can be found on Omega's website www.omegaauctions.co.uk.

Featured lots include:

• Amy Winehouse: A Pair of Amy Winehouse's stilettos worn by Amy & all Amy's album releases on vinyl
• Annie Lennox: Beautifully handwritten lyrics to 'Sweet Dreams', written and signed by Annie
• Bob Marley (Estate): A rare Mr Brainwash / Bob Marley print signed by Ziggy Marley
• Bon Jovi: 'Livin' On A Prayer' & 'Wanted Dead Or Alive' handwritten & signed lyrics
• Chris Blackwell: 3 Night stay for 2 guests in Studio Cottage (Gong) at exclusive Strawberry Hill Hotel, Jamaica
• Grace Jones: 2 tickets to see Grace headline Meltdown Festival, 2021
• Mumford & Sons: Signed Gentlemen of the Road Banjo made by Deering Banjos & a one-on-one virtual banjo lesson with Winston Marshall
• Nick Drake (Estate): 2 wonderful care packages. Complete Nick Drake & mother Molly Drake releases, plus rare oddities, including a photograph, signed copies of two official books & hand-written personal cards from Nick's sister Gabrielle
• Portishead: Once in a lifetime Portishead Dummy-era care package. Geoff Barrow's 'Dummy'-era Technics deck and scratch vinyl, Beth Gibbon's handwritten & signed lyric of winner's choice and a mic she used during live performances in the 90's, & Adrian Utley's first gold disc for 'Dummy', an online guitar/synth lesson & signed 'To Kill A Dead Man' poster
• Shawn Mendes: Signed guitar
• U2: Handwritten lyrics for 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' by Bono & signed 'The Joshua Tree' 30th anniversary vinyl boxset
• Osea Island: Luxury stay on a private island
• Abbey Road: A private VIP tour for 4 at the legendary Abbey Road Studios followed by breakfast

To bid on the lots, you must register in advance with Island's partner Omega Auctions, further information can be found via Island Records' dedicated oneloveauction.com

 All lots are available to view and place bids on via an online catalogue https://bid.omegaauctions.co.uk/m/view-auctions/info/id/83 which can be found on Omega's website www.omegaauctions.co.uk.

------------------
Proceeds received from the sale will be shared equally between NHS Charities Together and Feeding America. Proceeds means 100% of the hammer price raised.
------------------

About NHS Charities Together. NHS Charities Together is a membership organization representing, supporting and championing NHS Charities. There are more than 230 NHS charities across the UK and most of them focus on helping our hospitals do more. Collectively these charities give £1 million every day to the NHS so that people can stay well for longer and get better faster. These vital funds and services are above and beyond what the NHS alone can provide, touching lives and making a huge difference to millions of people when they are at their most vulnerable.

About Feeding America. For more than 35 years, Feeding America has responded to the hunger crisis in America by providing food to people in need through a nationwide network of food banks. Today, Feeding America is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization—a powerful and efficient network of 200 food banks across the country. As food insecurity rates hold steady at the highest levels ever, the Feeding America network of food banks has risen to meet the need. We feed 40 million people at risk of hunger, including 12 million children and 7 million seniors.

About Billy Porter Porter is an Emmy®, Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning actor, singer, director, composer and playwright with ground-breaking performances as Pray Tell in Pose on FX, for which he recently received and Emmy Award, as well as Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations, as well as Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway for which he won a Tony Award for Lead Actor in a Musical. Porter has also recorded several albums and acted in many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Miss Saigon, Grease, Angels in America, and The Merchant of Venice. Additional television and film credits include "American Horror Story: Apocalypse," "The Get Down," "The Humbling" and "The Broken Hearts Club," among others. Porter can be seen in the highly anticipated "Cinderella" re-make next year.

About Omega Auctions. Omega Auctions have established themselves as one of the leading auction houses worldwide for music memorabilia and vinyl records over the past decade. Previous highlights from collections have included the first recording of David Bowie, original jackets from the Beatles film Help!, George Harrison's car and items from Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

----------------

Full list of donations A-Z >

Devon Libraries Lockdown Bunting Project

One day this will all be over. When it is, we at Devon Libraries want to celebrate... and what community event would be complete without swathes of colourful bunting!? 

So, we are asking our locked-down library friends to help us create bunting flags for the library.

Whilst the libraries have been closed to the public during the Coronavirus lockdown it has been easy enough for us to engage with some of our service users online. We are currently running book groups, Lego clubs and creative challenges via library social media accounts. We are also offering free e-books and audio books, online magazines and access to music, Ancestry Library Edition, Medici.TV and online reference resources for all library members via the Devon Libraries website.

Many people rely on libraries for social interaction. For many older and isolated customers we have been a friendly voice at the end of the telephone in recent weeks. Our staff have been in regularly contact with our most vulnerable customers providing information, support and calling for a friendly chat.

However, apart from ‘phone calls to our customers; we are finding it difficult to interact with those who are not internet users. Our bunting project is a way of helping everyone feel a part of the community under lockdown and for us all to look forward to a brighter (bunting decorated) future.

How to make your bunting:We are asking contributors to make triangular flag bunting with dimensions of 5” across the top and 6” from the top to bottom. You can use any fabric, single or double layered, in any colour and sew, glue or staple depending on your level of skill!

Once the lockdown is lifted and we reopen you can deliver your bunting flags to your local library. If you are housebound just give your library a call and they will arrange for a volunteer to come and collect the flags from you.

Your local library in Devon is managed by Libraries Unlimited, the charity responsiblefor running Devon and Torbay Libraries. The Bunting Project is just one of the activities in the wide Libraries Unlimited cultural offering.For further information and full contact details for your local library please visit our web page https://www.devonlibraries.org.uk/web/arena/northamlibrary

"Taking Action for Insects". New guide encourages us all to take urgent action for insects

A local conservation charity is launching a new initiative which urges us all to play a part in reversing the failing fortunes of some of our most easily overlooked wildlife: insects.

Devon Wildlife Trust is launching a new practical pack, Your Guide to Taking Action for Insects, which will help everyone do their bit in reversing decades of decline for the UK’s struggling bees, butterflies, moths, bugs and beetles.

The colourful, 20-page, illustrated guide is available as a free download via https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/take-action-insects. It’s packed full of tips, useful info, and links to finding out more, all aimed at helping individuals and families make simple yet crucial changes to helping insects through the ways we shop, garden and run our homes.

The guide has been authored by The Wildlife Trusts working with partner organisations including Buglife, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and Garden Organic. It has been launched as part of a wider campaign called Action for Insects, which looks to reverse recent drastic population declines among insects.

A recent report published by the campaign, authored by Professor David Goulson, concluded that 41% of insect species now faced extinction around the world, while population declines were widespread across other insect species. The report also highlighted the vital part played by insects in human food production and in their support of countless other birds, mammals and plants.

Your Guide to Taking Action for Insects recognises that some insects aren’t always popular with the public when it comes to wildlife, and that this is especially true when applied to gardeners. However, it highlights the crucial roles they play in pollinating flowers and crops, controlling pests and natural recycling, plus the beauty and joy that they bring to our lives.

In a range of top tips for helping insects in people’s gardens, it gives guidance on going chemical- and peat-free, along with advice on which plants are best at combining colour, scent and attraction to bees and butterflies across the seasons. The guide stresses that all outdoor spaces, whatever their size and location, from tower block balconies to cottage gardens, can make a real difference to restoring insect numbers.

Steve Hussey, spokesperson for Devon Wildlife Trust, says:
“We’re delighted to be launching Your Guide to Taking Action for Insects. The warmer weather of spring combined with the current restrictions placed upon everyone in response to the Covid-19 virus means that people are spending more time in their gardens, yards and on their balconies. This guide provides people with advice on how to make positive changes to help insects, which will not only help mini-beasts but boost morale too! We’re asking people to make whatever outdoor space they have into a better place for insects, be it a window box, a garden or an allotment.

Our guide gives them the inspiration and the practical know-how to take a few simple steps to making a big difference to their local wildlife. Insects are one of the key building blocks of life on which we and countless other familiar species from hedgehogs to garden birds rely. If we follow the guide’s advice as gardeners, shoppers and homeowners we can turn the tide on insect declines.”

James Campbell, Garden Organic CEO says:
“Garden Organic is pleased to be supporting the Action for Insects campaign. All gardeners and growers should celebrate insects who are part of the natural chain of life. Organic gardeners also help by creating habitats and shelter, as well as providing plants to feed and support insect life”

Josie Cohen, CEO Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) says:
“Everyone has a role to play in making the world less toxic so insects can flourish. By stopping using pesticides in your home and garden, and supporting businesses working to reduce chemicals in their supply chains, you can contribute towards building a healthier and more sustainable planet for both us and our six-legged friends.”

Your Guide to Taking Action for Insects 

is available now as a free download 

via the Devon Wildlife Trust website www.devonwildlifetrust.org or www.wildlifetrusts.org/take-action-insects

 A privet hawkmoth being held by unnamed person. Photo credit Jane McIntosh

A peacock butterfly settled on a bluebell. Photo credit Janet Packham

👀👀👀 

Action for Insects is a national campaign coordinated by The Wildlife Trusts. Its aim is to reverse insect declines.  go to Tap here for more on the campaign The figure of 41% of insect species being threatened with extinction I taken from Insect Declines And Why They Matter, authored by Prof David Goulson (University of Sussex), 2019.  The report can be downloaded here