Word From The Editor

First things first - here’s wishing you the very best for the New Year! I hope the festive period was everything you hoped it would be (at the time of typing covid restrictions are starting to be slightly tightened so who knows what’s in store)! I’m absolutely delighted to have a real scoop for the magazine this month - an interview with none other than crime novelist Ann Cleeves. For those who don’t know of Ann’s work - where have you been? Ann is most famous for penning the Shetland and Vera books which have been turned into hugely successful television series. So why has she chosen to speak to our humble magazine? Well, not only did Ann grow up in this area, but her latest novels - the Two Rivers series - are set right here in Ilfracombe. Many of you will have seen the adaptation of her book The Long Call on ITV recently, in which our fair town looked absolutely amazing! Her next book in the series, The Heron’s Cry, is also set in the area and, to celebrate its release in paperback, Ann is heading to Ilfracombe for a very special event at the Landmark Theatre, more details on that in our special feature on pages 8 and 9. We also have another fantastic new feature this month. Ilfracombe Museum will be providing us with a wonderfully nostalgic image each month as well as some fascinating details and context with which to view it. This month it looks at the various and numerous pubs of the town from years gone by - including some fascinating information about why beer was much more readily consumed back in the 1800s (something many of us will be able to relate to with the covid lockdowns just a recent memory)! This walk down memory lane is something I have been keen to include in the magazine for some time now and I’m delighted to finally have the museum and their collective expertise on board. See you next month! Leo

The Ilfracombe Magazine