Sidmouth's weekly community café at the Dissenters Hall is set to reopen on Wednesday May 19, Covid guidelines permitting.

The café was set up last September, offering coffee and chat sessions in a safe environment 'to nourish the spirits' and provide a break from the stresses and miseries of the pandemic.

It ran successfully, with Covid precautions in place, for several weeks before having to close down when stricter restrictions were introduced in December.

Now the café's co-founder, Andie Milne, has revealed that the café will open on the first Wednesday after the next stage on the 'roadmap to recovery', May 17.

It will be bigger and better than before, with three separate areas including one for mothers and young children – the previous café was child-free.

Andie plans to reintroduce activities and entertainment such as the visits by Tilly the Owl and her handler, Nigel Palmer – you can watch a video of their last visit here.

She also wants to organise walks, picnics and keep-fit sessions.

Andie and the other Oasis Café organisers and volunteers will hold a meeting on Wednesday, May 5 to discuss preparations for reopening two weeks later.

Sidmouth Nub News will have more details after the meeting – follow us on Facebook to get the latest updates.