OKEHAMPTON?S independent music store is closing as its owner seeks new adventures with his four-legged friends. Richard Appleby set up Millenium Music in the Arcade eight years ago, turning it into an institution for the town?s alternative music lovers and musicians. He has also organised the town?s popular annual Battle of the Bands competition ? and will continue to do so. Having lived in Devon for 47 years, harbouring an interest in farming, Mr Appleby has decided to start a new business delivering organic pork to doorsteps around Okehampton. He said: ?I?ve had a checkered history. I?ve been a professional musician, a theatre manager, and I ran a pannier market in Bideford. I?m a great believer that you only get one go at life and you need to get as many experiences in as you can.? He said it is not without regret that he is closing the music shop, but his pigs and the demands of a new business take up too much of his time for him to continue putting in the hours at the store. ?We?ve got lots of lovely customers who do rely on us, especially for alternative music.? Mr Appleby said he thought it important that independent shops continued to exist, to cater for customers whose tastes differed from what the big companies wanted to sell. He hoped Millenium could be resurrected by a buyer who would carry on the business. Mr Appleby?s new venture is Appleby?s Organics. He said he has always kept a few chickens, turkeys and a pig or two, but now he has more than 100 pigs on 36 acres of Soil Association-registered organic land. He said: ?The key to organic farming is animal welfare. Looking after your stock has always been the traditional way, but commercial pressures have made it difficult for many farmers.? Mr Appleby said the UK was leading the way back to organic farming, with the public demanding higher standards in animal welfare. His own farm has grown fast thanks to labour-intensive methods. ?We started with 12 Meidam gilts and a Welsh boar 12 months ago and now we?ve got over 100 pigs.? Appleby?s Organics has been leafleting in the town, and hopes to start deliveries in time for Christmas. As well as running Millenium Music, Mr Appleby has organised Okehampton?s Battle of the Bands for the last four years. ?It?s going to be even bigger and better next year. It?s going to take place over the same four weeks as last year?s and we are still looking for a headline band,? he said.
