The Ilfracombe Magazine - August 2020 edition

The

Ilfracombe August 2020

SHOP LOCAL & HELP THE ECONOMY P20

Local photographer Justin Swain captures the stunning moment Comet Neowise passes over Lantern Hill

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Don’t suffer in silence P10 - Support for those anxious about coming out of lockdown

Live, Love, Local

P20 - How shopping local can help repair Ilfracombe’s economy

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P4 - A Special Word From The Editor P18 - The View P28 - Puzzle Page P29 - Wordsearch P30 - Puzzle Solutions In every home, every month FREE call 07736465549 email theilfracombemagazine@outlook.com

4

A special word from the editor

I didn’t plan it (so please don’t judge me!) but I just so happened to have a quick pint in my local, The Thatch, on the very day it re-opened. I had by no means been chomping at the bit to get back in the pub, and I’m grateful that Ilfracombe hasn’t witnessed the rowdy scenes of ‘up country’ (local parlance, of course, for any town or city bigger in size than Barnstaple and located beyond Tiverton) since drinking establishments have welcomed back customers.

But I have to say it did feel like an important step towards normality, to simply be able to walk past that beer garden and stop in for a quick pint, just because a friend fortuitously happened to be there. It made me yearn for a time when social interactions weren’t meticulously planned, having to consider households, bubbles, distance and adequate hand-sanitizer or face-covering. We have all been through so much, yet sadly much more patience is needed. It is wonderful to see the town begin to open up again, like a flower in early spring. While just a couple of months ago, we would look with suspicion at someone who wasn’t ‘local’ in the queue for Tesco, now

they are a welcome sight as visitors pour in to help our town recover. However, there is still a delicate balance to be struck, and vigilance is needed if those months of lockdown are not to be in vein. Hats off to all the local businesses who have worked so hard to maintain the safety of their customers, both from Ilfracombe and further afield. Let’s do all we can to help them, while still trying to enjoy some normalcy where we can. I was part of the Ilfracombe Round Table team who organised the town’s first-ever drive-in cinema last month, and it was a pleasure to see people

actually coming together again for a social event (albeit socially-distanced).

Events are what we do best in this town, but the times we’re living in make them difficult to countenance, so it was heart-warming to be part of the sense of community everyone shared by simply enjoying a movie together in their cars. As is always the case, don’t get hung up on the things which still frustrate us, revel in the pleasures that can still be found in our wonderful town, for there are many!

Leo

The Ilfracombe Magazine

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10

don’t suffer in silence - help at hand for p

For many people across the country, the past few months have been an incredibly difficult time with the COVID-19 pandemic creating a range of pressures and concerns. You might be experiencing job losses and financial worries, be missing loved ones or feeling very isolated.

As lockdown eases, many people are also experiencing anxiety about entering the ‘new normal’, and being around more people again.

Many of us have mixed feelings and remain concerned about the impact of the virus on our lives. Perhaps the virus is not your primary concern, maybe you are worried about going back to pre-COVID social situations, such as visiting a restaurant or a pub. All of these situations are examples of what can lead to an increase in common mental health problems such as anxiety, low mood or depression which can greatly

impact on your day-to daylife and leave you feeling exhausted or worried. We would urge people to seek help from TALKWORKS if they need support. Part of Devon Partnership NHS Trust, TALKWORKS is a free, confidential NHS talking therapy service dedicated to helping people improve their mental wellbeing. They are here to help individuals who may be struggling to cope, feeling low, anxious, stressed

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r people anxious about ‘leaving lockdown’ 11

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or just not quite themselves.

Chris Silman, TALKWORKS Clinical Team Manager for North Devon, says: “There is a real emphasis on taking care of our physical health at this time, but it can mean that people are struggling more with low mood, stress or anxiety. At TALKWORKS, we have adapted our services, meaning we are now offering talking therapies and practical help with your mental wellbeing through online platforms and over the phone.”

Sue Pike, TALKWORKS Service Manager adds: “Last year we saw almost 19,000 people across

Devon. This year we expect to treat even more people.

However in common with other NHS services, we have seen fewer people coming forward to get help and treatment since lockdown and social distancing was introduced. It’s important that those who are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing know that the NHS is still open as usual and that TALKWORKS in North Devon can help you or anybody you know that is struggling. We are able to offer an initial appointment very quickly.”

We all did our bit to pro-

tect the NHS by staying at home, but now is the time to look after ourselves, too.

Call TALKWORKS today on 0300 555 3344 or self-refer online at www.talkworks. dpt.nhs.uk.Take the first step to improving your life and feeling like ‘yourself’ again.

Devon Partnership NHS Trust provides mental health and learning disability services across Devon, excluding Plymouth. It employs around 3,500 staff and is currently rated as ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission. www.dpt.nhs.uk

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12

changes to recycling with new blue box

All households in Ilfracombe will soon receive a new, blue recycling box so they can separate their glass from the rest of their recycling. It comes after a successful trial of the boxes in Yelland and hugely positive support from the wider population to help our recycling crews by separating glass throughout the pandemic. The trial involved around 800 homes and the outcomes were: the crew finished an hour earlier than usual due to not having to separate the glass at the kerbside, no glass-related injuries were reported on that round

since the beginning of the trial, there have been less problems with plastic being blown out of overflowing recycling boxes. To help with short staffing throughout lockdown, the council asked residents to separate glass into any suitable containers they had to help speed up collections. The crews were overwhelmed by the public support for this but reported they had problems tipping the glass from the containers put out.

By giving everyone a proper recycling box, tipping the glass into the recycling trucks is much easier and safer. Ilfracombe council-

lor and Lead Member for The Environment Netti Pearson says: “We’ve been overwhelmed both by the positive response in the trial area and the support for our staff we’ve had from everyone across North Devon throughout the pandemic.

Separating glass has made a huge difference to our rounds and has made us more efficient which will really help us in the future as North Devon grows and demands on our services increase. Thank you everyone for getting behind this change.” The new boxes will be delivered in August and September.

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14

work continues at historic iron age fort

A new access gate has been installed at Hillsborough Local Nature Reserve in Ilfracombe to help with the on-going management of this nationally important iron age promontory fort.

Historic England granted scheduled monument consent for the work and gave part funding for the gate, in partnership with North Devon Council and North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s (AONB) Coastal Heritage Project. The access gate will allow machinery into the nature reserve bringing larger areas under positive management than is currently done by hand. This will improve the condition of the monument and help the council to achieve some of

it’s environmental biodiversity objectives. Leader of North Devon Council, Councillor David Worden, says: “This new gateway and access will make such a difference to our work at the nature reserve and hill fort site. Until now, we have been unable to manage the reserve as well as we would like because we have never been able to get a tractor and baler through the existing narrow gate at Hillsborough Park Road.

Now we can access the site easily, we can take regular cuts over the summer, keeping scrub at bay, and baling the grass and bracken. This will allow native plants to thrive, bringing a valuable source of nectar for our pollinators.”

Joe Penfold, Heritage Officer for North Devon Coast AONB said: “Hillsborough is a key natural and cultural heritage site in the North Devon Coast AONB and we’re delighted to have supported work to improve it. As well as bringing biodiversity benefits, the new access point will make it much easier to protect the remains of Hillsborough’s iron-age hillfort. Mechanical access means that the dense carpet of scrub that obscures and damages the earthworks can be managed effectively over the long-term. We’d like to thank all those involved: North Devon Council staff, the contractors and of course the local volunteers for their hard work.”

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The view with COMBEBIRD

Witnessing the mechanical magic of a lifeboat launch is a truly authentic part of living in Ilfracombe. At some point or another, all of us will have seen the enormous caterpillar tracks hauling the even bigger ship from its house and into the ocean. Most of the time it’s training for the local volunteers, but as the summer approaches its important we remember exactly what that training is for. Those brave lifeboatmen and women save lives on a weekly basis in the tourist season - and with visitors now flocking to North Devon it’s likely they will have their hand full, again. But it’s not always tourists, locals get in trouble at sea too - so do yourself a favour and stay safe.

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20

shop local AND help repair our economy

With non-essential retail businesses and the majority of the hospitality industry now open once again, North Devon Council is urging residents to help the local economy recover by giving their support to North Devon’s businesses.

The council is asking the public to continue giving local businesses the heart-warming support seen throughout lockdown, with the launch of its ‘Live Love Local’ campaign. The campaign aims to encourage residents to shop, buy and eat locally, thereby injecting money into the local economy to help it recover from the damage caused during the coronavirus pandemic. This includes making lifestyle choices

that will help protect the natural environment in North Devon; taking advantage of the shops, restaurants and leisure facilities on our doorstep reduces the impact on our environment. In order to help raise the profile of the campaign, the council is asking businesses and residents to use the hashtag #LiveLoveLocal in any social media posts involving local shops, bars, restaurants and leisure facilities.

Councillor Malcolm Prowse, Lead Member for Economic Development and Regeneration at North Devon Council, said: “It has always been really important for people to ‘buy local’ whenever possible to support the local economy and environment, but never more so than now as more of our businesses start to re-emerge from lockdown and valiantly work to repair the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Shopping, eating and buying locally will be vital to that recovery so we urge our residents to get behind our ‘Live Love Local’ campaign and support local businesses wherever they can. It will be crucial to the successful recovery of North Devon that we continue to follow government guidelines to ensure we do not risk a resurgence of coronavirus cases. But we must also provide reassurance that it is safe to come back and enjoy retail and hospitality.”

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