Devonshire's East Devon magazine September October 2018

Letterbox
Adrian Sykes at Marine House
Adrian Sykes a Bristol based artist,
is set to tickle artistic taste buds
in Devon this Autumn with his
solo show from 29th September
12th October 2018 at Marine
House at Beer. With a prize-winning
reputation for his paintings which
are both inventive and alternative,
Adrian won the Young Masters Art
Prize in 2012, as well as numerous
art prizes throughout the South
West.
Well known for his quirky and
humorous paintings, Adrian has
also won both the prestigious
Bath Art Prize and Bristol Art
Prize, by always being able to
provoke a smile. Defined by his
joyous yet intriguing compositions,
his work is grounded in his deep
appreciation of remote landscapes
and his love for townscapes. Semi
- abstract in nature, it is intriguing
to hear Adrianʼs response when
asked whether his artworks are
based on real the world or if they
are completely taken from his
imagination.
“I am very much drawn to a sense
of intrigue in any work of art, from
a door slightly ajar or a curtain
blowing through an open window,
to a mysterious lone figure walking
through the woods. I like the play of
suggested narrative without being
too heavy handed with the meaning,
as I like to leave things open to
interpretation as there is no one
way to define how certain symbols
will affect our subconscious.”
As a rising star on the UK art scene,
it was no surprise that Adrianʼs
first solo show at Marine House at
Beer in 2017 was a complete sell
out. His upcoming Autumn solo
show at Marine House at Beer will
showcase 35 new works, which are
often happy and playful, but also
combine elements of challenge,
arduous travelling, restriction, and
loneliness.
www.marinehouseatbeer.co.uk
Specsavers new store
A NEW store has opened up in Honiton
while the town’s local Specsavers
undergoes a swanky refurbishment.
Honiton Specsavers store director,
Stephen Auty and his team are
delighted to welcome customers to
their new, temporary store, located at
Lace Walk, while the ambitious project
is underway work to the previous store
in the High Street will mean an even
greater array of eye health services will
be available to residents - as well as
one of the largest selections of glasses
and contact lenses. Mr Auty, says:
‘We are delighted to invest in Honiton
town centre. The refurbishment of our
Honiton High Street store demonstrates
our pledge to support the Honiton
community and surrounding areas
with the very best optometry services
including DVLA testing and glaucoma
referrals.’
www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/honiton
Greenfingers 40
years on...
Greenfingers was never part of the
original plan for Geoff and Trisha.
They arrived in a cattle transporter
from living and working on a farm
in Yorkshire after seeing a derelict
piece of land while on holiday in
Devon. Geoff and Trisha moved to
Devon with a dream after realising
the three acre farm was a possibility.
Geoff says “my Father in law was a
builder so converting the barn into
a house was right up his street. I
remember his words well as we
took the roof off ” all we need is one
week without rain “ it did not rain
for 5 months the year was 1976.
Our project to grow vegetables to
sell from a farm shop was almost
stillborn”.
“Three children under five years old,
a shop to open and vegetables and
fruit to grow - this was a very big
ask. It did not daunt us and with
September sees the premiere of
a brand new play commissioned
by Buckfast Abbey as part of their
Millennium celebrations. Produced
and presented by Unleashed
Theatre Company, ‘The Millennium
Mysteries’ is a modern take on the
medieval Yorkshire Mystery Plays
as well as cleverly incorporating
the monks very own history
over the last thousand years. The
Millennium Mysteries runs from
Wednesday 5th Sept through
to Saturday 8th Sept, nightly at
7.30pm with a matinee on the
Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets can be
purchased online at
www.buckfast.org.uk/whats-on
the optimism and enthusiasm of
youth, Tricia and I set about the task.
Now 40 years later we still meet
some of those original customers
without their support we would not
be here today.”
“The farm shop lasted ten years,
then Tesco came to town and like
a lot of other small retailers we
almost disappeared. With some good
fortune we managed to make the
change from selling food to selling
plants and Greenfingers was born”.
For more information, please visit:
www.greenfingers-gardencentre.
co.uk
‘The String Quartet’
This October, the Dorset based
‘String Quartet’ (who play for The
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)
will be performing a 90 minute recital
at the Alexandra Hotel in Lyme Regis.
The recital takes place on Friday 5th
October and the bar will be open from
7.30pm and the recital will start at
8pm prompt, with an interval halfway.
Tickets are £20 pp and can be
booked from the hotel reception on
01297 442010. Earlier this year, The
Alexandra Hotel opened new restaurant,
Ammonite. The restaurant is located
within the brand new Orangery which
been sympathetically designed to
complement its surroundings and
create a calming space from which
guests can dine and enjoy the
spectacular sea views of Lyme Bay.
The hotel also hold film & supper
nights, which are held on the second
Wednesday of every month.
www.hotelalexandra.co.uk/whats-on
hubcast
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What’s on in Devon
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