Tourism businesses, public health and local authorities from across the South of England have banded together in a broad partnership to produce guidance for visitors about COVID19. A ‘tourist charter’ has been devised by the group, which is based on the experiences of the Isle of Wight’s recent test and trace pilot. It gives simple advice to would-be visitors from booking ahead and reading terms and conditions, items to pack and things to avoid in light of the pandemic. To complement this, a poster has also been produced for accommodation providers, that sets out the actions to take for guests who might start displaying symptoms whilst on holiday. Councillor John Hart, Leader of Devon County Council said: “This has been a truly collaborative effort across health, business, education, environmental health, and communications, bringing together Devon, Cornwall, Torbay and Plymouth, Somerset, Dorset, Hampshire. “The team has consulted with local and national public health professionals, tourism bosses and local authority experts to produce the guidance, which has been approved by the NHS and tourism sector. “We realised early on that the tourism businesses of Devon and Cornwall were facing an identical challenge to tourism across the country and decided to take action to help. “We knew that one of the major concerns was how to balance a warm welcome with safety, so we have worked hard to create a constructive solution that can be used anywhere in the country. “The reopening of tourism and hospitality will start the process of economic recovery. It’s worth £2 billion to Devon alone, and one of our finest assets. We wish everyone well – and a good and healthy holiday.” Alistair Handyside MBE, Chair of South West Tourism Alliance said: “Ensuring that visitors, as well as our businesses know what to do is essential, and whilst there has been a deluge of guidance, clear, simple advice on positive steps to take is a priority. “We’ve been proud to support and work with the team to produce this information, and we now want to share it as widely as possible. “Our members take satisfaction in providing safe, compliant, highly regulated, accommodation and attractions, and we want visitors – but also our host communities to know that we’re good to go. “With visitors’ cooperation, we can ensure everyone has a great summer and a fabulous holiday here in the South West.” …

National and International law firm Trowers & Hamlins has promoted two lawyers from its Exeter Office Dispute Resolution and Litigation team to partnership. They form part of the 10 promotions into the partnership across the firm’s offices in London, Manchester, Exeter and Abu Dhabi. The new partners are: Tom Sampford – who advises on Travel, Tourism and Insurance claims Oliver Williams – who advises on construction disputes The new partners are also the first to benefit from the firm’s Pathways to Partnership programme. This programme required candidates for partnership to produce a personal business plan, which formed a major part of the partnership selection process, and which sets out a plan for driving performance over the year ahead. The Paths to Partnership programme included many elements from looking at law firm finance and business planning, to client care, people management and leadership. Head of the Exeter Office, Joseph Acton, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging period for everyone, but I am really pleased that during this time our Exeter Office has continued to grow. I would like to congratulate both Tom and Oliver on their well-deserved promotions. It is a testament to the considerable work that both have contributed to the firm, and it highlights their commitment to strengthening our regional presence in both the Travel and Construction sectors.” Trowers & Hamlins has had an office in Exeter since 1984, which has grown and diversified over the years to become one of the firm’s largest offices with 130 staff based in Exeter – second in size only to the firm’s London HQ.   The Exeter Daily…

50% of Brits say strawberries & cream is the first thing they associate with the tennis. An annual tradition for many, new research collated by Fresh Student Living reveals that Wimbledon fans descending upon the championships, snack their way through a mountain-sized 2 million strawberries and 7000 litres of cream in a fortnight – amounting to 190,000 portions in 14 days! Following the cancellation of most of the UK’s Summer events, this year, the fate of 28,000kg of British strawberries hangs in the balance, with Wimbledon facing almost half a million pounds in lost revenue from strawberries and cream sales alone. Arguably one of the UK’s most iconic and favourite Summer treats, ‘Strawberries & Cream’ is so iconic that one in every three people who attend Wimbledon eat the delicious combo. In 2019,191,930 portions were sold at £2.50 each, and to ensure exactly 10 berries is included in each portion, the event requires almost 2 million strawberries to meet public demand. More stand-out stats: The Strawberries Outweigh The Tennis Balls At 28,000kg, the weight of strawberries delivered to Wimbledon each year is 10x heavier than every single Slazenger tennis ball used throughout the entire event, combined. That’s over 54,000 tennis balls! 900 Tennis Courts’ Worth of Strawberries If you laid them all out flat, they’d smother Centre Court more than 900 times 538 Cream-filled Trophies The 7000 litres of cream (including vegan cream) used each year is enough to fill the Wimbledon Men’s trophy to the brim more than 538 times The searches ‘speak volumes’ In 2019, Google searches for ‘Wimbledon strawberries & cream’ in the UK jumped by 120% in June and July compared to all other months of the year combined. Save the Strawerry! Make your own strawberres and cream: With the usual Wimbledon £2.50 price tag for the Summer treat, tennis fans usually pay around two and a half times more than they would if making the same dish at home. Sole suppliers of the ‘Wimbledon strawberries’, Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent say “We are committed to the crop, which was set to peak in time for Wimbledon 2020 and we are looking at ways to delay the harvest in the hopes of finding alternative destinations for almost 30,000kg of strawberries, like supermarkets, local farm shops and independent stores”. There’s no ‘Wimbledon’ strawberries & cream fix this year but you…

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, like many other events, the Miss England contest was forced to cancel a series of events scheduled to be held between March ande June 2020.  The semi final was due to take place at Kelham Hall & Country Park on 8th June but due to social distancing and lockdown restrictions, this was not possible.  “After much deliberation I decided the best way forward was to run the contest online,” said organizer Angie Beasley. “The Miss England semifinal will now be held as a virtual event, with the judges meeting at a central location (socially distanced) on the 31st July and all contestants will connect via zoom on the day of the event.” Hoping to make the final is local contestant is Jodie O’Neill, 24, who lives in Devon. Jodie has been busy raising funds and awareness in the Beauty with a Purpose section of the contest and is sponsored by Hospital Radio Exeter! Approximately 40 contestants from across England have been invited to submit three videos to enter this year’s semifinal, which consist of an introduction, a catwalk and a talent video. The current Miss England, NHS Doctor Bhasha Mukherjee, will be making a special appearance on the livestream after working at the hospital along with other former Miss & Mr England & Miss UK winners and chats with the organisers. Plans to hold the 2020 final are dependent on circumstances but organizers hope this will be held late October. The semi final will be available to watch on a live stream which can be booked on the Miss England website.  The livestream will include exclusive interviews with the judges, entertainment and the selection of the national finalists. See this link to book your place and vote for Jodie: https://www.missengland.info/qualifiers/semi-final/#tab-livestream  Or visit  www.missengland.info The Exeter Daily…

The Big Issue Group has confirmed details of its plan for vendors’ return on Monday 6th July to selling the magazine in Exeter, with measures including the provision of extensive PPE, contactless card payment equipment and the introduction of stringent health and safety procedures in all distribution offices. The Big Issue, which offers homeless and vulnerably housed people across the UK a means by which to earn a legitimate income, took the decision to safeguard its network of vendors and the public by asking that they stop selling on streets across the whole of the UK with immediate effect on 20th March for the foreseeable future.  Following announcements by the government regarding the easing of restrictions, the organisation last week confirmed that its network of over 2,000 vendors will be back out selling the magazine across England, Scotland and Wales, for the first time in 15 weeks since lockdown. Will Adams, 29, who sells the magazine outside the O2 store at High Street in Exeter, said: “I am feeling really excited and I think it is amazing that we are going back. Really looking forward to seeing my customers and other vendors. I also want to reassure everyone that we will be safe and take every safety precaution possible. See you out there!” The Big Issue Group (TBIG) has set-out a health and safety plan of action which ensures that vendors are able to sell the magazine safely and customers are able to buy with confidence: Your local vendor might be selling in a slightly different location than normal to ensure the safety of the you, the general public and the vendor TBIG is providing vendors with PPE through generous contributions from partners and the public to their COVID-19 Appeal and donations from PPE supplier ViraxCare.All vendors will be given, face masks, visors, latex gloves and anti-bacterial gel TBIG have also provided vendors with new bags to house their magazines safely TBIG is accelerating the move to cashless payment, by securing contactless card payment equipment.  Moving as many vendors as possible to cashless payments through card readers and an existing partnership with iZettle will help to facilitate social distancing and also ensure vendors are financially included, now and in the future TBIG is doing everything it can to build stronger businesses for vendors coming out of this crisis. They are supporting vendors back to selling, with…