Thank you to Tony Mackness for this wonderful testimonial and the bottle of bubbly!
“In March we decided to market a leasehold flat that we owned in London E3 and appointed the Budleigh Salterton office of Gilbert Stephens to handle the legal aspects of the sale.
The sales process has been drawn-out due to the fact that one of the purchasers is travelling overseas and because of lengthy delays by the various parties who were requested to provide answers to questions raised by the purchasers.
Sheila Woodland and Kate Wheeler have spent untold hours chasing-up the various parties. They have both worked beyond the call of duty and under extreme pressure to agree a Completion date that was acceptable to both sides of the transaction.
They are a credit to Gilbert Stephens and I would have no hesitation in recommending the firm.”
Congratulations to Lyn Green the winner of our ‘Win a Bottle of Bubbly’ prize draw which we ran at the Mid Devon Landlord Event at Paschoe House last month.
Lyn is pictured here with Gilbert Stephen’s partner Mark Perry at our Exeter office receiving her prize.
Gilbert Stephens Solicitors were delighted to be the main sponsors of the St David’s Players production of Iolanthe. Last week, several of the Gilbert Stephens team went to watch Iolanthe and were highly impressed with the professional and talented performance. The famous comic opera by Gilbert & Sullivan was a welcome addition to our city’s dedicated provision of culture and high class entertainment. Sheena Galpin gave a stunning performance as the lead role Phyllis, a fairy banished from fairyland for falling in love with a mortal – and daring to give him a son!
The St. David’s Players were established in 1969 and have passionately embraced the arts and community ever since in their annual musical productions. This highly professional performance was worthy of the esteem of all, from the circles of the performing arts to the Exeter locals who enjoyed a night at the Barnfield Theatre for this event. Julie Besley from Gilbert Stephens commented that she “was amazed with the attention to detail in the performance of Iolanthe and particularly admired the portrayal of Phyllis.”
Bravo! to all of the cast and those working behind the scenes for months to bring us this production. We imagine that Director Emma Mills and Musical Director Malcolm Matthews are very proud of Iolanthe’s roaring success, and we very much look forward to seeing the St. David’s Players again next year!
We are very proud of Antonia D’Alessio, Cheryl Bolt and Sarah Heath from Gilbert Stephens Solicitors, as they took part in Exeter’s Great West Run 2018 on Sunday 14th October.
This annual Half Marathon is a spectacle not to be missed, with the start of the run at 9am on Sunday morning, as 2221 participants took off across our city and surrounding countryside, all heading towards the glory (and perhaps relief) of a stadium
The Gilbert Stephens Great West Run Trio did really well, with Antonia finishing with the time of 1 hour 59 minutes, Sarah in 2 hours 2 minutes and Cheryl finishing shortly after in 2 hours 24 minutes. Antonia recently wrote a blog about her training over the last few months and it’s safe to say that their dedication to their training and chosen charity, tackling period poverty, has been exemplary.
Thank you to everyone who took part in and organised this special event for Exeter, and thank you to everyone who came out to line the track and encourage our city’s runners as they raised money for causes close to their hearts.
Next year, the Great West Run will partner with charity Macmillan Cancer Support. Early bird tickets are open now – perhaps we will see even more of our team out training in the run up to next year?
When I was asked to attempt the Great West Run, I laughed.
I am not a strong runner and my technique leaves much to be desired. Ballet is definitely more the sport for me. However, I took up the challenge, so thought perhaps I’d try a few smaller 5k runs and then see how it goes. A few of us from Gilbert Stephens took up the challenge together, and we began to run at lunchtimes, running the scenic route to the Double Locks and back (unfortunately not stopping for a pint on the way – however tempting it was). This is a nice flat route and we started running it with ease, forgetting about the countless hills around Exeter! Building up miles we began to pick up a little speed on the 5ks and began mixing it up with sprints, hills and a few extra miles. Running was exhausting in the heat we had this summer and we began to try and fit our sessions in after work when it was cooler… obviously followed by an ice-cream!!
When we did our first 10k run, we felt fantastic, and proud of completing it in 56 minutes! We then moved on to an 8-miler, completing that in under 1 hour 30 minutes, and then onto 10-milers in under 1 hour 50 minutes. I hit a slight snag on one 10-miler when my knee decided to give way. I hobbled home to a frozen pack of peas. After giving my knee the rest it needed for a week I ran a couple of shorter runs to build it back up and I’ve been careful with it ever since! When I had recovered enough we began to pick up the longer runs again. We were building up speed! It’s amazing what listening to ABBA does to your motivation!
Now the race day looms ahead. We are beginning to taper our runs ahead of the big day. Eating healthy, no alcohol (including that post work glass of wine) and lots of stretching. It’s safe to say we are all very excited and a little scared for the big day!
We have decided to run this race in aid of preventing period poverty – collecting sanitary products for a charity that donates to women who cannot afford the items themselves. We have collected a fair few items so far and have already filled two boxes!
If you want to keep tabs on how we are doing, our journey towards the day and the Great West Run itself will be documented on our website and social media…
On Friday 28th of October, we attended the Older Persons Information Day in Budleigh Salterton Public Hall.
Emma Rayfield represented Gilbert Stephens Solicitors at this free event, along with over 30 other stalls providing information to our community, including the NHS, Devon Country Council and the Alzheimer’s Society.
This was the 5th Older Persons Day event to be held in town, and we celebrated by holding a prize draw. Mrs Wilcox was the lucky winner, receiving a print of a delightful, colourful painting by local artist Lorna Porter entitled ‘Exmouth Christmas Day Swim’.
We were happy to see so many attendees, and even happier to see them leaving with their free green Gilbert Stephens cotton tote bags!
This event was a fantastic opportunity for older people in the community to find out what support and advice is available to them, and to enjoy sharing refreshment and experiences with others in the process.
If you have any questions regarding legal matters and advice, please feel free to get in touch with Gilbert Stephens Solicitors –
This September we were delighted to attend the Mid Devon Landlord Event at Paschoe House in Devon. Gilbert Stephens Solicitors were represented by Partner Mark Perry, who enjoyed meeting many members of the industry while entering them into our ‘Win a Bottle of Bubbly’ prize draw.
The Mid Devon Landlord Event is an annual gathering to offer guidance and inspiration to all local property landlords. Paschoe House is a 13th Century Boutique Country House with a hotel and 5* restaurant. This elegant, timeless setting was the perfect space for an array of exhibition stands, networking opportunities and informative presentations and workshops from leading industry professionals.
We were also treated to keynote speaker of the day Amanda Lamb, the well-known presenter from A Place in the Sun and Selling Houses with Amanda Lamb.
We strongly encourage local landlords to attend this event when it comes around again in October 2019, it is a valuable resource for the development and management of rental property businesses.
Gilbert Stephens Solicitors can advise you on all aspects of landlord and tenancy law, including property and boundary matters. We offer specialist advice to landlords in relation to tenancy agreements, notices and possession proceedings.
If you would like any landlord or tenant advice, please drop us an email on or contact one of our offices on 01392 424242 to see how we can help you.
Congratulations to Millie Nex on winning the children’s quad bike, which was our raffle prize at the Honiton, Okehampton and Chagford shows this year. Liz Govier handed over the keys to Millie at our Gilbert Stephens Ottery St Mary office with her father, Richard (right) and her mother, Bindi (bottom right).
She was ever so surprised that her name had been picked out of the box and she had won the prize. She was so excited that she showed us how to cartwheel like a professional! Millie is 8 years old and goes to Honiton Primary School. She attended our stand at the Honiton Agricultural show and thoroughly enjoyed her day there!
We are happy to be supporting the latest St David’s Players’ production Iolanthe – be sure to get your tickets!
“Twenty-five years after her banishment from Fairyland for marrying a mortal, Iolanthe has been pardoned. Her son Strephon, from this illicit marriage, is in love with Phyllis and plans to marry her – but life is complicated when you’re half man, half fairy!
A warm embrace with your eternally youthful fairy mother is bound to be misconstrued by all the wrong people, with predictable results…
Follow Strephon through his negotiations with the misguided Lord Chancellor and haughty Lords as he attempts to win the hand of his true love, while his mother’s fairy friends use their magical powers to support his quest by creating havoc in the Houses of Parliament!
With satirical political comedy that’s as relevant today as it was 125 years ago, Iolanthe is a visual feast with lots of catchy songs, hilarious dialogue and a 13 piece live orchestra.”
This information does not constitute legal or financial advice and you are advised to seek the guidance of a lawyer or financial advisor to discuss your individual requirements.
