My Honiton - by Wendy Van der Plank, of The Beehive

Wendy van der Plank, when she was helping at The Zandra Rhodes Fashion show and talk for the Honiton Admiral Nurse fundraiser at The Beehive. (Image: Vernon Whitlock)

Please introduce yourself...

I’m Wendy, Honiton is my nearest town and I work at The Beehive programming and promoting a mad variety of events there for the good folk of Honiton and beyond.

What is your favourite memory associated with Honiton?

Scoffing yummy food with my boys in the original Honey Bees café before it became a bookies, then later, meeting loads of lovely characters when bombarding them with info about upcoming events on the High Street!

What do you like most about Honiton?

The people. I meet so many characters and I work with a bunch of them too! Our volunteers here are just fab and a great laugh.

I also love the little green spaces in the town and the tiny alleyways. Roderick Butler’s garden is brilliant, take a peek through his railings and you will see a different funny sculpture on his lawn- I saw Nessie there recently!

What is your favourite shop in Honiton?

Ooh tricky one- Wine World has to be top of the list, love the chaps in there and never had a duff bottle despite my small budget! The customer service and banter is excellent and they kindly display my posters. Love the Jollybee’s Kitchen on the corner of Silver Street, just delicious nosh and the staff are always very smiley. Adore the back garden and the tranquillity in Toast too. RKL tools is also a firm favourite, love it, you can get almost anything in there!

How have you seen Honiton develop throughout the years?

The High street has evolved over the years and I have never seen so many coffee shops pop up. How can so many people drink so much coffee? It is lovely and unusual to see so many small independent shops and I really hope folk will continue to support them, so that they thrive.

What is your favourite building in Honiton?

What a question? The Beehive of course! It’s not really about the building, it’s the people and all those that come here. We’re a friendly bunch and I hope that everyone feels welcome when they come here.

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