Chatty Cafe Table Starting at The Bell on 28 January

Have you heard of the Chatty Cafe Scheme? It's a simple idea (all the best ones are, right?) Pubs, cafes and other venues choose a regular time each week to allocate a table, hosted by a friendly volunteer, to be their Chatter and Natter table. Anyone who fancies a sit down with a cuppa to chat to others can join. It's amazing how a quick natter and contact with others can provide a refreshing break to brighten a day, especially in these winter months! We thought it was a great idea, so we'll be running our very own Chatty Cafe table every Saturday from 12.30 to 2.30pm.

It follows on from running our over 55 lunches with Healthy Ageing North Devon last summer, which was aimed at encouraging people back out and about after all the Covid lockdowns. It worked well, but we noticed most of the people who came along did so with friends or family, so those who didn't have someone to come out with were not as comfortable engaging with the idea. The Chatty Cafe Scheme focuses on making the table open to all and adds to it by having a friendly volunteer host the table to welcome everyone and help break the ice.

We will run a special light refreshments menu so you can enjoy a tea, coffee, sandwich or slice of cake for just £5 whilst you natter away! We'll be a warm space too, so if you would just like to be somewhere cosy with company for a couple of hours, then that is fine - there's no obligation to buy.

Our first Chatty Cafe will be on Saturday 28 January from 12.30pm, with the table hosted by Fiona and Sam. We'd love to see you there and will be running the tables every week from then on. So do pop along and join us, we have a good sized car park and are dog-friendly throughout the pub if you would like to bring your 4-legged friend too!