HAVING seen it through thick and thin, a husband and wife team are to say goodbye to the pub that they have been custodians of the past several years, but not before one final soirée in aid of a pair of local causes.

James and Anita Gilbert have presided over the Sandygate Inn, Kingsteignton, since 2017, initally as managers before taking up the tenancy and becoming true publicans.

‘We became managers in November of 2017, I remember it because it was one of our local’s 80th birthday – I had never been behind the bar before, never pulled a pint – it was quite something!’ James said.

Alongside its atmosphere, stellar selection of drinks and quality food, the Sandygate Inn is revered for yet another reason: its long-standing tradition of hosting live music events in aid of charity; a tradition that James and Anita keenly kept up and are keener still to see carried on by whomever takes the reins following their departure.

‘April 1 is our last hurrah’ James said.

‘I didn’t want to plan something, I like to go off the cuff.

‘We had a couple come in last week, and they are muscians.

‘They asked about doing some gigs and so it evolved from that really’ he added.

And so, on Saturday, April 1, in what will be their last service at the Sandygate, James and Anita, before the couple bow out to spend more time with their family, will be pulling their final pints and raising money for two of Kingsteignton’s sports groups: the football club and the judo club.

‘It is a little bit sad’ Anita said.

‘I have been here for seven years, but it is the right time for us, we need to see the grandchildren.

‘I will miss it dreadfully’ she added.

Originally hailing from Canada, James, who is a former primary school teacher, having taught at, rather fittingly, Canada Hill Primary School, Ogwell, for many years, describes his time as landlord as a positive one.

‘The pub is pretty much back on its feet, we went through some hard times to be sure, with covid of course, the brewery was very good to us, I can’t say enough good things about Heavitree.

‘It is nice to leave on a high, it is going to be sad to go, we have some really good locals and we have a lot of banter and some good laughs.

‘It has been an experience to be sure .

‘I have worked with people since 1982, in a number of jobs and I thought I had a pretty good handle on people, but until I came into the pub business I saw a whole different side.

‘And it is really nice, for better of worse, I would say the overall expericne has been positive, there have been some times where have had to bar people and so on, but those were few and far between.

‘We even have our own ghost, affectionetly named Roy, he likes changing radio stations and making pints fall of tables!’

Under the stewardship of James and Anita, charity events at the Sandygate Inn have drummed up more than £15,000 for various charities, including the Daisy Garland Charity and

‘Look after our pub’ James said.

‘Although we have been here a relatively short time, five years, it feels very personal and keeping the charity bits going can only be a good thing.’