News in Axminster

A defibrillator has been installed at Trinity House in memory of the late Mayor of Axminster, Anni Young.

The defibrillator, which can be used by the public in the event of a medical emergency such as a heart attack, has been installed in the entrance of the Community Waffle House in the recently revamped Trinity House.

Axminster Town Council has paid tribute to one of its former employees, George Pye, who died last month.

A statement on the town council website said: "The town council were saddened at the recent news of the passing of George Pye.

I recalled earlier how the 'big boys' kept themselves aloof from the younger kids but on Sunday mornings all ages gathered in front of what had been the old hospital's Fire Engine garage. This stood near the present Cawley and Millwey Avenues' intersection. Here there was an island of grass encircled by a concrete road and frontage to the garage. This was where, those old enough, and able to afford one, brought their motorbikes on a Sunday morning to show them off and discusss the merits of their machines.

Some of whose famous names I still recall - Royal Enfield, Matchless, BSA, AJS. They were a magnetic attraction for everyone, the youngsters in particular. Their owners' sat astride them, occasionally revving the engines or taking a quick turn around the road surrounding the green. If you were lucky, one would beckon you over to ride on his pillion seat. If this happened to you, he was your hero and his motorbike definitely the best. You boasted about it for the rest of the week, especially the speed you achieved (which you elevated every time you retold the story). In actual fact, they could never go more than 20 miles an hour around the tight corners, but no one else was to know that. "Were they?"

Axminster charity Project Food ran a holiday camp with cooking activities and a full meal for local children during the Easter Holidays.

Everyone enjoyed the week enormously and the feedback has been extremely positive, giving parents some relief as the Easter holidays can be a time of pressure for so many.

Former Axminster chef and restaurateur Gideon Hitchin will be running a pop-up dining event near Honiton next month.

The past 12 months have been especially challenging for restaurants and pubs in the Lyme Bay and East Devon area, and Gideon has responded by creating a pop-up restaurant at a wildflower farm in Stockland, near Honiton, for the whole of June.

Family business Lyme Bay Fish Shack, based at Millers Farm Shop in Kilmington, has been nominated twice in the Fishing News Awards 2021.

The awards are organised by The Fishing News, a weekly newspaper and website which has been providing the latest news, features and nostalgia from the commercial fishing industry since 1913. 

Residents of Dalwood, near Axminster, are invited to have their say on a new Neighbourhood Plan which aims to create a vibrant, active and friendly community that is a special place to live, work and visit.

Dalwood Parish Council has now submitted its Neighbourhood Plan to East Devon District Council.

Nub News editor Philip Evans continues his series looking back over his 55-year career in journalism, many years of which have been spent covering East Devon.

When I returned home to run Pulman's Weekly News for Tindle Newspapers, having failed to buy it, I had no idea I would be going back to London several years later to launch a group of free newspapers in the capital.

For the first time since December 2019, voters across Devon will go to the polls tomorrow (Thursday) in a series of local elections.

Elections will take place for all 60 seats on Devon County Council, the Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner, and for various vacant parish and town council seats, including three in Colyton.

Axminster residents will soon be able to get advice on debt, benefits, housing and a host of other issues via a live video chat with a Citizens Advice adviser.

Citizens Advice East Devon is installing video booths in food banks, job clubs and community centres across the district.