Specialist tool protection and insurance company ARMD and the Independent Builders Merchant Group (IBMG), which includes RGB Building Supplies, have entered a partnership to help protect local tradespeople from the…

Number one bestselling author, Ann Cleeves, will return to Ilfracombe’s Landmark Theatre next month for a special 200-year RNLI anniversary event, and to mark the paperback publication of The Raging Storm, the latest book in her Devon series.Ann last visited the theatre in February 2022 for an event on stage with Angie Daniels, producer for The Long Call ITV series filmed in North Devon. For this year’s event; The Raging Storm, Stories From the Sea, Ann will be joined on stage by Ilfracombe RNLI crew members to share their rescue stories from the sea.Ann will also talk about the RNLI rescue of her late husband Tim, which inspired the new book. Ann said: “I’m delighted to be returning to Ilfracombe’s beautiful Landmark Theatre to celebrate the wonderful work done by the RNLI.The new Matthew Venn book, The Raging Storm, features a lifeboat rescue and I have a very personal reason for being grateful to the Institute. When we were first married, my husband was rescued after an accident at sea, and the lifeboat volunteers and crew gave us another 40 years together.”Joining Ann on stage will be Stuart Carpenter and Gillian Cole, two very experienced members of lfracombe’s lifeboat crew. Stuart joined RNLI Ilfracombe as a volunteer when he was just 16 years old. He started as a member of the shore crew, helping the boats to launch and recovery as efficiently and safely as possible.Over the past three decades, he has progressed to being a mechanic, Systems Technician and then coxswain on the all-weather lifeboat, The Barry and Peggy High Foundation. Last year he was appointed as a full-time Coxswain Mechanic at the station and featured on Saving Lives at Sea.Gillian Cole, a community physiotherapist, has been a volunteer with RNLI Ilfracombe for around 12 years. She has trained up to the level of helm of the inshore boat, navigator on the all-weather lifeboat and also is now the volunteer training co-ordinator. Gillian also provides care for rescued casualties who may be injured.The event takes place at the Landmark Theatre on Sunday March 17th at 2pm. Tickets cost £15 to include a signed copy of the Raging Storm and a £2 donation to the RNLI. For details visit www.queenstheatre-barnstaple.com/event/ann-cleeves-the-raging-storm-Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

A local volunteer in Ilfracombe has received a BEM for her work in the community. Ann Doody works tirelessly for the community and has been and is involved with so many aspects of the town.She will probably be best known for being seen on her hands and knees around the town weeding pavements and planting up flower tubs on the streets of Ilfracombe.She helped with the Ilfracombe In Bloom volunteers for years doing this work alongside other projects and good works. Ann was involved with the Hotelier Association many years ago when she ran a hotel in the town.She is always willing to help when something needs doing and this is evident in her work for Ilfracombe Rotary Club which she has been a member of since 2005. In 2011 she became the first female President of that club and is the current President having been recycled to do it all again. She continues to organise the running of St Nicholas Chapel for Ilfracombe Rotary as well as being involved with all other aspects of the club and its own community work.Other involvement has included Chair of the Tourism Association, organising the annual Ilfracombe catering exhibition, helping individuals when needed and getting involved in countless other volunteering activities around the town.Ann never asks for praise and is always keeping herself out of the limelight but has now been recognised in a well deserved Honour Award.Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

An Ilfracombe hotel has been purchased by a Southeast Asian hotel chain. The 99-bedroom Dilkhusa Hotel, which was also briefly used as a centre to house refugees, is now part of the Compass Hospitality group, making it the 21st hotel that the business operates in the United Kingdom.The company says the acquisition reflects their commitment to growth and investment in the UK’s hospitality sector. According to a press release issued by the company, The Dilkhusa was originally a private house and takes its name from Hindi meaning “House of the Happy Heart”.The hotel’s location on the Victorian seafront, close to the harbour, adds to its charm and historical significance. Compass Hospitality say they are looking to diversify the hotel business by catering to a more varied mix of guests, including corporate visitors and hosting meetings and events.A spokesman said: “This shift in strategy reflects the positive performance trends in the UK market and the hotel’s commitment to adapting to changing demands.”Compass Hospitality operates under several brands including Compass, Citrus, Citin, Ananda, and the Compass Collection which includes individually branded hotels and resorts.Their range of properties includes hotels, resorts, executive apartments and spas in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia & Sri Lanka.Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

After phenomenally critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe runs, the hugely popular ‘The Importance of Being… Earnest?’ is coming to the Queens Theatre, Barnstaple from Friday, 2 February to Sunday, 4 February 2024.The play’s debut UK tour has a cast that includes the cream of the crop of UK improv including Lucy Trodd (a founding member of Olivier Award-winning Showstopper! The Improvised Musical), Amy Cooke-Hodgeson, (a founding member of award-winning comedy hit Austentatious, who has starred in multiple UK tours, Edinburgh Fringe runs and on BBC Radio 4’s recording of the show) and Tom Bulpett (who starred in The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre in the West End).In this riotous twist on a much-loved classic the show opens to looming disaster; the actor playing Ernest in Oscar Wilde’s famed farce fails to arrive on cue. In a monumental effort to ‘save the show’, a real audience member is quickly cast in the lead role.But this impetuous recasting sets off a hilarious chain of events that, one-by-one, renders the rest of the cast unable to continue their performances.As more audience members are encouraged to step into the spotlight, led backstage for costume and make-up, impromptu auditions, the painting of portraits, the chanting of mantras; doing whatever’s needed to help the show go on, an absurd controlled madness ensues – until it feels as if there are almost as many audience members in the cast as there are in the … audience.This is a comedic masterpiece of meticulous logistics, meritoriously involved audiences and masterful stage management. The Importance of Being… Earnest? Is an exciting and hilarious experience both to watch and be part of. For more information visit queenstheatre-barnstaple.com.Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…

One of the town’s best loved private Christmas light displays is back with a bang for 2023.Aaron Lane of 16 Furze Hill Road has long been known for his extravagent festive illuminations – but promises that his latest display will be the biggest and best yet. The display is raising money for the Ilfracombe and District Lions Club and will even be turned on by town mayor Daniel Turton at their very own Christmas Switch-On event, which takes place at 6pm on Friday, December 1st.Aaron said: “This year’s display will feature more lights, more fun and possibly the best countdown of all time with a secret added surprise for you all.”Aaron also added a plea for any disused lights. He said: “If you have any disused lights, rope lights, festive figures or blow moulds, please let me know. I’d like to say a massive thank you to the Mayor Daniel Turton for agreeing to switch the lights on again this year and also to everyone who has said they are coming.It’s you lovely lot that makes me want to do the lights every year. Let’s WOW our town and amaze people by showing them what we’ve got. Happy holidays!”Local News – The Ilfracombe Magazine…