Free tickets are now available to book online for this event, taking place on Friday, 2nd October, at Bay Church, Sands Road, Paignton, 2:30-5:30pm. To book your tickets, visit our Eventbrite page. Or, if you're struggling to book via Eventbrite, please email [email protected] or call us on 01803 212638, and we'll help you from there. Please note, if you're a nominee: We will be inviting finalists separately next week (who will also be announced next week), as we've reserved tickets especially for you and your guests. Stallholders…

Winter is coming…and so too are all things Christmassy. Already appearing in shops and inboxes, it’s scary how quickly it’ll soon be upon us, so that begs the question: what are you doing in the lead-up to the festivities? With friends, family and/or colleagues? If you don’t mind, I have an event coming up on 21st November to suggest that happens to be dedicated to a good cause… Taking place at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, on Saturday 21st November, 7pm-midnight, will be The Snow Ball – our now third fundraising ball, offering a night of fine dining, fun, and, well, as it’ll be (still too early to say “t’is…”) the season, festivities, complete with Christmas decorations our very kind venue hosts will be putting up a week early, with us in mind!

There’s still time to nominate an amazing child or young person making a difference in Torbay — with the deadline now extended to Tuesday 22 September. The Children & Young People Awards are returning as part of this year’s Powered by Youth event on Saturday 26 September, celebrating the brilliant children and young people who live, learn, create and contribute across Torbay. Nominations are open to recognise young people who are making a difference in their communities, supporting others, achieving something special, showing creativity, overcoming challenges, or simply being someone who deserves a bit of recognition.

Since last writing on here, Brixham has held many brilliant events all in just 3 months and all only happened due to incredible volunteers giving up their time so freely, so huge thanks to them! In June was the fantastic Trawler Event for Fishermen’s Mission. In July was our fantastic Ceilidh fundraiser event for our charity ‘Torbay Communities’ at the Scala Hall – huge thanks to everyone who came and to Stargazy Pie and Caller for putting on such great entertainment, Blue Bossa live music on Sax, guitar and mic played in the beautiful Battery Gardens – think deckchairs, blankets and sea views amongst the trees, while being musically entertained by the lovely Paul and Phil, 2 of the many wonderful volunteers doing amazing work keeping the Battery Gardens looking so stunning all year round.

It is a busy old time at Torbay Communities (when isn’t it?) We have just closed the nominations for the Torbay Community Champion Awards, and the judges are whittling down the entries before making their final decisions on Friday, September 18th. And thanks to you, the judges once again have their work cut out for them, with around 100 entries across nine categories and as in previous years, the standard is high. But whilst there will be overall winners, each and every one of those nominations represents recognition, and all should be proud of having made the list.

I want to tell you a story and what a long saga it has been, but it proves that people should never give up! Back in 2019 Torbay Council put the monastery at the top of Berry Drive up for sale, so I contacted the local Clifton & Maidenway Community Partnership about saving it for the community.  We had a small local community picnic in the woods by the monastery and initially had interest from an Arts charity in the South-East. Then Covid hit in early 2020 and everything stopped. Finding out anything about the monastery from then on was impossible.

And just like that, it’s now Autumn. A particularly warm, sunny Summer has been and gone, and now the final stretch of the year is within sight. With that in mind, here’s something for you to mull over – do you know anyone in Torbay, who has gone above and beyond to help other people out? There are nomination deadlines for not one, but two awards coming up very soon, recognising efforts of anyone who gives their time to support fellow…Bayians? Bayites?...Bayples? Whatever you wish to call anyone who lives in the Bay or is a regular presence, and for that matter, whatever the role, be it a volunteer, a kind neighbour, an unpaid carer, a team or group, there’s plenty of categories in either of these two awards you can nominate them for.

“Where are we going next, Jo?” I’m not sure when we began, but I know who started me on this winding path; the incorrigible Eve, who loves an adventure. We started with a day trip to Exmouth by train and discovered the joy that it brought to the lives of those who came. A beautiful train trip is one thing, but add a bunch of friends old and new, lunch out and laughing together, and the magic happens naturally. This year we have branched into coach trips, and today we’ve had a day out at Buckfast Abbey and Widecombe-in-the-Moor, and I am still buzzing with delight.

When did children stop playing out? It is a date that is difficult to pinpoint but appears to have been a gradual decline that began back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and now decades later the far-reaching effects are manifesting themselves in young people’s lives. Until the 1980’s children regularly played in the streets and fields around their homes, often disappearing for the whole day only venturing back when the light began to fail or hunger pangs struck. Only now are experts beginning to recognise the far-reaching effects of a lack of play on a child’s development, something I had not personally thought about until…

"Feeling hot, hot, hot…", as well as being a line from a song by The Merrymen, (and one that most of you of a certain age are now singing in your head), it is also how most of us are feeling right now. At least this was true at time of writing, by the time this gets printed next week, we will probably be shivering in our jumpers looking out at torrential rain… We love to complain about the weather though, don’t we? We are either tired of being too hot or too cold, it either never stops raining or we desperately need it to rain more.

Another week, and hundreds more reasons to celebrate volunteers and volunteering. A quick look back at the events that took place across the Bay in the first ten days of August a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that hundreds of people volunteered to help deliver them. Take the Babbacombe Fayre, which featured more than 120 stalls, all staffed by people from the Rotary, Lions, and various representative charities. Let’s assume that each had a minimum of two people and you already have 240 volunteers...add to that number the marshals, organisers and other essential volunteers and you will be pushing more than 300.

What a wonderful summer we've been enjoying here in Torbay! We've been incredibly lucky with the sunshine, and it's a great reminder of how fortunate we are to live in such a beautiful coastal community. From our stunning beaches and scenic walks to the funfair, sailing events, the circus and ice creams, alongside the buzz of holidaymakers making happy memories… But summer isn't just for visitors—it's for us locals too. It's the perfect time to reconnect with neighbours, enjoy a picnic, fire up the barbecue and build the friendships that make our communities stronger.

Alan Milburn’s interim report, Young People and Work, is not a comfortable read. It paints a stark picture of the growing number of 16–24-year-olds in England who are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), highlighting complex social challenges and the systemic failures of successive governments that have led us here. It is sobering; it is overwhelming. But the report also offers hope. Milburn writes: “the reason to be optimistic is young people themselves”. If you’re willing to look, there are plenty of examples of that here in Torbay.

Torbay Communities works across Torbay to reduce isolation and loneliness. Sadly, thousands of people in Torbay become isolated. Torbay Communities aim is to make loneliness a thing of the past. We couldn’t achieve positive change without Good Neighbours. These are people that gift their time and skills to help others. There are so many ways to help. This could be shopping, picking up prescriptions, telephone befriending or visiting lonely people at home. And goodness it makes a difference. Ann is in her nineties. She seldom leaves her house. Her daughter lives abroad and her remaining friends also struggle to visit her.

As I sit and reflect about the journey of life and people who have been, and are precious to me, I can’t help but be deeply stirred emotionally by the loss of those who are no longer with us, others who are fighting a courageous battle against cancer, and those in remission and doing well in their recovery. As a Peer Development Coordinator with Torbay Communities, it feels like a privilege to be part of the Torbay Open Door – MacMillan Cancer Support Project. In the first phase of this project, we learned that people found it challenging to find the support they needed at the time in their life when they needed it most.

I was 9 years old, in the heat wave of 1976 and remember it well for the community spirit, for those who lived through it, the great heat wave of 1976 was about far more than soaring temperatures and endless sunshine. It was a summer that seemed to slow time itself, bringing people out from behind their front doors and reminding communities of the simple value of friendship, kindness and neighbourliness. Weeks passed without meaningful rain, lawns turned golden brown, rivers shrank, and gardens struggled beneath cloudless skies.  Yet amid the drought and discomfort, something rather wonderful happened.

Regular listeners to the weekly Community Champions Show on Torbay Radio* will know that prostate cancer and testing for it are causes that are close to my heart. Despite mounting pressure for testing over several decades, it remains something of a lottery around the country, with doctors able to refuse a test, despite a law that says you can ask for one. Only two weeks ago, Radio Four broadcaster Ed Stourton died from it and a few weeks before, another broadcaster, Dermot Monaghan. Both had been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer, meaning it had spread.

Call Handler 12hrs per week Primarily home based, but must be within 30 miles radius of Torbay The Torbay Community Helpline was established to respond to the Covid pandemic. In recent years the Helpline has provided help and support to over 20,000 vulnerable individuals in the Bay with the support of 1,700 volunteers in the community and over 60 voluntary sector organisations. The Helpline has become a ‘front door’ to the support services that are available in Torbay. Following consultation, the Torbay Health and Wellbeing Voluntary Sector Network decided to retain the Helpline to provide Covid-related, cost of living crisis and wider support.

Many of you will remember the Baton of Hope, which visited Torbay last September. It was a powerful and moving day, giving people who had been bereaved by suicide the opportunity to carry the baton and share their stories. The event brought people together, encouraged open conversations about mental health, and highlighted the importance of hope and support.  The legacy of the Baton of Hope will continue in many ways, helping to strengthen suicide prevention across our local community. A number of initiatives are already in progress, a peer support group will begin meeting at Oldway School, Paignton, from September, with the exact date to be confirmed. 

We live in a world riven by ‘isms’ and social media appears to be exacerbating them all. Hiding behind freedom of speech, there are those who seek to stir up hatred where there is none and create factions and tribes that seem hellbent on ruining our communities. We are all familiar with chauvinism, racism, sexism, antisemitism, ableism, to name but a few and the steps being taken to eradicate them altogether, but the most pernicious of them all is ageism that trickles down all levels of society, and yet it remains the least challenged form of discrimination.

Today, in this super-hot weather, I spent some time with Chris Smith who is the new Chairperson of the Hele, Barton, Watcombe and the Willows Community Partnership. We were at the Yellow Frog café at Combe Pafford School. The café is fantastic and students are supported by a great staff team to serve delicious food. The skills the young people learn will become an amazing springboard for communication, confidence and employment that transforms lives. Across Torbay people regularly get together for Community Partnership meetings. They are a great opportunity for people to come together in their locality and raise issues affecting us.

Staying active is key to living a longer, healthier independent life. Full stop. And yet the myth continues that you should do less as you get older. For years we were led to believe that retirement was a time to put your feet up, kick back and enjoy a well-earned and much-deserved rest, but that would be advice you follow at your peril. Instead of doing less as you get older, you should aim to do more; you just have to adapt to ensure you remain physically active in ways appropriate to your level of fitness and general health.

Summer has officially arrived across Chelston, Cockington and Livermead, and the next couple of months are packed with events, activities and community happenings for all ages. From outdoor theatre to family fun days and creative meet‑ups, there’s no shortage of ways to make the most of the season right on our doorstep. The Grand Hotel is kicking things off in style with A Night at the Oscars Murder Mystery on Saturday 11 July, promising glamour, intrigue and plenty of laughs. The hotel will also host a feel‑good favourite later in the season, with the…

Within hours of launching the 2026 Community Champion Awards, we had our first nomination for an unsung hero. Result. Over the next few weeks, we expect many more, each celebrating the efforts of someone who has gone the extra mile for their community, adding to the more than 300 we have already celebrated and thanked over the last two years. The Community Champion Awards are now in their third year and every nomination, every name put forward, is a winner in someone’s eyes; otherwise, they wouldn’t bother filling in the form.

Hello everyone. As summer arrives earlier each year, temperature records of 35.1°C were broken again in May and we’re experiencing a red health heat alert as I write this, I wonder what the rest of this summer will bring? Climate change and the threat to biodiversity are huge challenges facing us all, in Torbay, across our country and around the world.  Everyone has a part to play, however influential or modest.  It starts with appreciating the amazing environment we have here in South Devon.  We are privileged to live in a wonderful marine area, a naturally inspiring Bay, with rivers and waterways.