27/02/2012 Inside Out South West


27/02/2012

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The campaign to save the Palace. I am asked Hammersmith and this is

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It is reassuring that there are places that look after unwanted,

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abandoned and injured animals. These are tough times for Animal

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shelters across the south-west. North Devon in October last year.

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It is the end of a dream. These horses are being moved from an

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animal sanctuary after its owners were evicted for falling behind

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with their mortgage. The worst times are going to bed and getting

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up in the morning because it is the last thing and the first thing I

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think half. I get very emotional about it. It got to the point where

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it was mortgage, vet Bill, mortgage, pay bill, it was the mortgage that

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suffered. They are 374 animals here but paying for them is becoming

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difficult. The century had been in financial trouble since the

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beginning. As Debbie admitted. have been living hand-to-mouth for

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five years. Animal charities are bottom of the pile. Even at that

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stage, Debbie thought her refuge had a future. A year on on a cold

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October morning, it is all over. She has been locked out of the

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sanctuary where some animals still remain. The whole thing is

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diabolical. I turned up here this morning and the company have told

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me that my other animals have been removed. I have no idea where they

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have gone. I am not allowed on the property to load up my horses.

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Debbie is deficit -- desperate to see her beloved animals safely off

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the side. They are my animals. any more. I am going to find out

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where they are. I will sue the pants off you lot. Why are you so

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in compassionate. I have been going through hell. Can you move your car

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out of the way? Debbie has to leave not knowing the animal's fate.

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You'd better make sure not a single hair is harmed on their head.

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all of the horses were found a home. Five months on and they're the only

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has her dogs for company. She has learnt some tough lessons. Try not

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to have negative thoughts and trying not to feel better and not

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to feel resentful. In all honesty, a bit naive. There are a lot of

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people who are compassionate and want to do it but they are probably

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the wrong people to run an animal charity. Debbie's aunt ran an

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animal shelter in her native Jersey. When space got too tight, she sold

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up and joined Debbie at the Devon century. So many people say they

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want to open an animal sanctuary. It is hard and heartbreaking when

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it goes wrong. Today, the Devon sanctuary stands empty. Up for

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auction. The proceeds are unlikely to cover the debts. It was big

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plans. It was a cafe, open to the public, everything I wanted. I

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bought fencing to go around, fences, slides for children and a chalet to

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have a cafe. My money went. I managed to spend �100,000 in a year.

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Rose also snared -- spent much of her pension on food and bedding for

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the animals. A situation she now realises couldn't last for ever.

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had to be kicked. The bank had to come in, they had to do that to

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talk me into realising that it was all heart and no money. It was the

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best thing that could have happened for the animals. Thankfully, some

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Sanctuary's are surviving. Davey -- Debbie and Rose's horses ended up

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350 miles away in Norfolk. Wendy Valentine stepped in to help.

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are some of the horses and ponies that came from Devon. They arrived

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at by 1 o'clock on a Sunday morning. They are doing really well and stay

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together as an established her as. Who knows where they may have been.

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It is home to 2000 animals. Wendy employees 90 staff and it is one of

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the biggest Sanctuary's in the country. You have to make people

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believe in what you are doing and have a good administration. Without

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that, you haven't got the rest of it because you think people are

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going to fund you and it rarely happens. Wendy employees 13 people

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in admin and believes Sanctuary's can only survive by being run like

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businesses. It is only because we have the administration that we

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have been able to survive. There is so many well-meaning people that

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want to set up a sanctuary because it is a nice idea but you have to

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have that knowledge and the mind set to carry the whole thing

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through. Back in North Devon, Rose is happy looking after her cats.

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She now fundraisers for other Sanctuary's. It is hard times and

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people are finding it very hard to keep that animals. Animal

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Sanctuary's are needed. I would like to say that they are not, but

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they are. They do need help. Treat any animal sanctuary like a

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business. Still have the element of compassion as well. It is very

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difficult. In the south-west, we are happy to live next to some

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great places for wildlife. This winter, Nick visited one that is

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not only a beauty spot, it is a vital food resource for some of our

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most endangered animals. It is on the doorstep of our biggest city.

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The beauty over a tranquil, flowing river. This gem is not what it

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seemed. The river isn't that tranquil at all. It is full of

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birdlife. This is an illustration of the amazing tolerance of nature.

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It has to be the noisiest place I have ever birdwatcher to stop the

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traffic noise doesn't bother them. The critical thing is there is a

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habitat for them to go about their business in. This place is doing

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reasonably well for birds. Goal -- girls a paddle away for worms.

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These turn stones are sifting through seaweed. These are using

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their long bills to get -- to get down into the mud. They can pull

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out juicier worms. Key to everything is the stuff that lines

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estuaries like this and I am talking about mud. It is everywhere

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here and it is a habitat to countless different species of worm,

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crustacean and molluscs. They are fed upon by thousands of different

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species of wild file. -- the wild fowl.

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Two-times a day washing more nutrients for those worms and

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molluscs to feed on. There is something like 40

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different bird species that come here every winter. They can take

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out different animals from the various layers of the mud. These

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shelduck are doing a characteristic sweeping movement. It is a classic

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winter site. There are abundant shellfish on the rocks and in the

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water and these crows are being clever. They are dropping their

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shellfish onto the rocks to smash them open. Then, it is time to tuck

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in. This estuary is one great takeaway for all birds. The hand of

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man has had a huge impact here and not all of it is good.

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Unfortunately estuaries are not just of interests for wildlife.

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Humans like them as well. With this large source of water and flat land

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surrounding them, they are ripe for industrialisation and development

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and that is the biggest threat. It has been heavily developed. It has

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road and rail and a supermarket and dual-carriageway on the old marshes

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to the north. This is Blagdon Meadows, a relatively dry, grassy

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Nature Reserve today. What I am working on -- walking on his

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reclaimed. Thousands of tons of the river channel were dumped here. We

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have gained a great meadow but lost a much rarer estuarine habitat. Mud

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that is essential for these birds in winter to feed on and to gain

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strength so they can go on to their breeding sites. The mud is a

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valuable commercial resource. These bait diggers are taking up lugworms

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for fishing. The worms are valuable. They told estate would get �16 for

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a pound of the worms. It is difficult to be sure what impact

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these activities are happening on the birds of our local estuaries.

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Habitat loss and the loss of food is certain to be a factor. Barbara

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and Roger Swain Fen hadn't bird counts here. They found it declines

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in a wintering migrant birds and that tends to be the same across

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most of our Severn estuaries. has been a massive decline over

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that time. It is difficult to pin down a reason that has been a major

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decline of many species. It has been exacerbated here by the

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encroachment of development and extra activity and disturbance of

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the area. It adds extra pressure on this area. The Plimmer was a home

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to redshank and now there is 150. Much of the decline is due to

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climatic factors. As the water comes in, the worms come up and it

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is then that they are eaten by the It is not all bad news. There has

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been some effort made to undo the damage we have done too many of

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these habitats. All we are trying to do is move the EC back to the

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outside. This sea wall was built in the 19th century to keep the water

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out and create dry fields. At one stage, this was a cricket pitch.

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With the marsh dry, it turned to grass. 50 years ago the National

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Trust put these gates into the sea wall here. At high tide, it will

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allow the saltwater to pass through into this area on the other side of

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the sea wall, creating one of the rarest habitats in Britain today

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which is Saltmarsh. At low tide, I went with Dr David Dixon to check

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on progress. This is a good example of a salt marsh plant. This is the

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glass wart and if you burn this, with sand, you can make a high-

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quality glass. This is another plant we are seeing here. Sea beet.

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This is the ancestor of beetroot, Chard, sugarbeet, a whole range of

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commercial species. We have two good indicators of salt marsh.

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is a salt marsh but the cracks show you that it is not flooding enough.

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It is only flooding at extreme high water, spring tides. To fully

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fulfil its potential, it needs to be more wet. Close, but no cigar.

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Absolutely. Sadly even this precious place isn't free from dogs.

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Halfway through talking, one ran right across the marsh. Walkers now

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seem to be running the dogs along the lagoon edge. Despite all these

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problems, it is developing as a bird roost. As the tide comes in,

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curlews fly into rest. These little ponds of freshwater are the perfect

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place wash the salt from your feathers body before the tides roll

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in. When the water is in, you know I am staying well away from the

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roost but it is a privilege to be able to get this close to the local

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birdlife on the river. You can look out over the lagoon edge and pick

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up the locally rarer green shank. Only a few of these compare to the

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redshank. This is a real rarity, a spotted sandpiper. You have to be

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an expert to tell it from a common sandpiper. This is probably an

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American vagrant blown off course. It doesn't matter if you don't know

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your birds, you can't put a name to the actual bird, just enjoy them.

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They are doing cool things right now. The big issue is places like

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this remain and I respect it for that. Without this, the birds would

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have nowhere else to go. A lot of these birds are amber listed so

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there are some conservation concerns. It is a case of long let

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this place remain. Long let the Plym remain, haven for some of our

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most threatened and beautiful Our town and city halls come in all

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shapes, sizes and state of repair. Many councils face the dilemma over

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what to do with important but crumbling civic buildings that are

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too costly to repair. David Stafford has been to South Devon to

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Oldway Mansion in Paignton. It is a little bit of Versailles by this

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seaside. It is a remarkable building with a romantic past,

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building local historian, Paul Hawthorne, has been campaigning to

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preserve. My first memory is being taken in the gardens aged five on a

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school outing. Ever since, I have Crowning the Empress Josephine.

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original. The centrepiece of his Soon the council workers will be

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gone, the plan is to turn it into a luxury hotel. Paying guests will

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admire the mansion that was built by American travelling actor and

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prolific inventor, Isaac Singer. Acting was his main love so we went

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from place to place, trying to invent things, sell the ideas on

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and use that money to form his acting company and survive as an

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actor. He used his skills to develop a new machine and patented

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that. It was his most successful invention. The company is the

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world's first true multinational company and by the time he comes to

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Paignton here in 1872, he is already one of the richest men

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There is a Singer sewing machine in every home in the world. They were

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the personal computers of their day. Isaac told his architect to build

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me a wigwam and make it a big wigwam at that. He had his lawyer

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knock on every door in the neighbourhood and bought out some

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15 people, buying their back gardens, orchards and having all

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these plots put together. There are a couple of ladies that lived here

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for a long time and refused to sell so the great entrance to the state

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that he wanted to build never The house Isaac built looked very

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different to today's, with its huge conservatory, stables and grand

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carriage entrance. What he wanted was the inhabitants of Paignton to

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be able to look up and see their benevolent friend on the hill

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looking down on them. Even his horses had a luxury exercise yard

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and stables called the Rotunda. Blimey! That is extraordinary.

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was built as part of his original wigwam and it was a horse riding

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and exercise pavilion by day. The children would be able to come in

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here and exercise the horses and then by night, there was a polished

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wooden floor that could be laid and this was used for dancing and

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entertaining by the family. great showman and benefactor barely

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lived long enough to enjoy his house. Dying in 1875. Isaac left

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behind a $13 million fortune and 24 children. Sorting that lot out took

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time and it wasn't until 20 years later that Paris, son number three,

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Paris Singer gives the house a complete makeover inside and out

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and brings in the foremost designers of the day and the garden

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designers to landscape the house As if to prove that money can't buy

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you love, even this magnificent estate was not enough to persuade

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the passion of Paris's life to be his wife. I am in love. In love?

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With a sewing machine? No, the man who makes them, Paris Singer. The

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He had an affair with Isadora Duncan, the avant-garde American

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dancer. She came to Oldway but despite Paris's devotion, she

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wouldn't stay. Paris brought her here to his version of Versailles

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in order to woo her into being the charms of Devon and Paignton were

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not for her. The problem Isadora found was that Paris was older than

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her, his lifestyle was that of an Edwardian millionaire spent long in

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interminable meals, days in the He tried very hard, he tried

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everything he could to woo her but she decided she didn't want to

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marry him. They parted after that. After the Second World War, the

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Rotunda briefly became a film studio where John Mann's lifelong

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love of film and cinemas began as a schoolboy with a holiday job.

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was put up by the film studios. We put up the sound reflecting panels

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on the ceiling. We took the balcony down. I made myself a nuisance and

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was allowed to be the clapper loader. I used to wash the vehicles.

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Generally dogsbody, would make dozens of cups of tea. Did any of

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the big stars of the day come? one and he later became Doctor Who.

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William Hartnell? Also the sergeant in Carry on sergeant film. William

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Hartnell, the first doctor who made his first film here. The only

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As the Great War menaced Europe, the affair between Paris and

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Isadora was doomed. Paris turned their house into a hospital for

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casualties from the trenches. The grand rooms were converted into

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wards and 5000 men were treated here. Paris never came back to

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Oldway. Poor health, high taxes and the end of his affair with Isadora

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drove him away. The sadness that the relationship broke up and saw

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him move on to other projects in Nowadays, it is bowling which

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arouses passions at Oldway. It is where local clubs have their greens.

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The building's future has aroused feelings also after years of

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discussions, Torbay Council has decided its best chance of survival

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This is why. Repairing the outbuildings and patching the old

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house will cost millions. We are on solid floors here so it is safe.

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With �11 million of cuts to its budget coming up, the council says

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leasing Oldway to a private partner We have major services like

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children's services, adult social care, both of those items alone

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represent in excess of 60 % of our budget. We have 40 million left to

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do everything else. A hotel for Oldway was not our first choice. We

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looked at many schemes, we spoke to the National Trust to see if they

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would be interested. Unfortunately, they weren't interested. Probably

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because of the costs involved. everyone is happy about the hotel

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plan or about the homes being built in the grounds to fund the work.

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Developer, Akron, has cut the number of houses and flats and says

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In a way, the history of Oldways is coming full circle. Once upon a

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time, Paris Singer wanted to turn his Versailles by the sea into a

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hotel. Paul Hawthorne says its rescue can't come too soon. We are

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getting to a critical point where investment must come in if we are

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to preserve the house and grounds for the future. Hoteliers would

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start to see that the building reintegrating with the town,

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becoming a beacon again and becoming a great provider of

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At the end of the day, this house is a fusion of American dreams,

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aspirations and money and English warmth and hospitality. The finest

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example of what can be done in that It's seen plenty of life. Crucial

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public affairs, steamy private affairs, theatrical performances,

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ministrations and celebrations. Now the curtain is set to rise on the

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