WHEN Torrington fire fighter Del Anderson told his bride-to-be Emma Sutton that he wanted her to be his "princess in a castle" he meant just that.

The couple are to be married on August 21 inside the replica medieval castle that has been built on the town's Commons by the Torrington Cavaliers charity group.

The 100-ft long structure is the latest in 40 years of charity bonfires built by the Cavaliers and the following Saturday after the wedding it will be razed to the ground in a spectacular display watched by thousands.

Del, 44, a local printer and part-time DJ, and Emma, 34, a full-time mum, have been together for the past two years. When planning their wedding they decided the castle was the venue for them.

"We wanted to show support to the Cavaliers, who do a fantastic job for charity and thought this might help to raise awareness," said Del.

Emma's daughter Maria will be a bridesmaid and her son Josh an usher. Del's daughter Dione will also be a bridesmaid. They will have some 60 guests at the ceremony on the Commons.

It will be a full wedding service, conducted by Methodist Minister the Rev Graham Slingo, although the legal side will have been carried out in the local Register Office a week in advance.

"Initially, I thought they wanted a blessing. But they want the full wedding experience," said Mr Slingo. "It will be the full religious ceremony with the exchange of rings and formal promises in the structure on the Commons."

Emma will wear a traditional bridal gown, but Del is keeping his outfit secret until the big day. Mr Slingo will be contributing the fee for the service to the Cavaliers' bonfire charity fund, which is raising money for the Children's Hospice South West and the North Devon Cancer Care Centre Trust.

The wedding will take place at 11am, after which the guests will go to a reception at The Torrington Arms.

That afternoon the Commons will become the venue for the Cavaliers' pre-bonfire fun day, their way of saying thank-you to the community and oth-ers who have supported their efforts.

Open to all, the free afternoon will include a range of activities and entertainments with family fun in mind, followed by an evening of live music.

A plague of rare black rats have been seen in Torrington. But don’t worry, these rats are harmless!

The Torrington Cavaliers have been presented with a hundred hand-made black rats by the First Torrington Scout Group. The rats will help to add realism to the Cavaliers latest charity bonfire - a full-size medieval castle that’s currently under construction on Torrington Common.

Scout Leader Peter Ashton said “We were delighted to get involved in their latest project. When we were thinking about what we could do, someone suggested that you couldn’t have a medieval castle without rats. So rats it was!”

Cavalier Steve Young said “It was an unusual offer from them, but the rats are fantastic. We try to engage the community in all of our projects, and however small the contribution, we are always very grateful.”

Steve added “Our castle is nearly complete, and it’s the finishing touches like the rats, that will make it even more special and realistic.”

The Torrington Cavaliers have spent the last two years building the castle, which will be burnt to the ground on Saturday 28th August. The event, which will include a massive firework display, hopes raise thousands of pounds for the Children’s Hospice South West and the North Devon Cancer Care Centre Trust.

On the evening of Sunday 18th July 2010 our Chairman, Chris Stacey, who lives closest to the bonfire was called to the bonfire because a report of black smoke billowing from the rear of the castle.

On arrival the castle fencing had been breached and a burnt and melted coat was found in the area behind the TARDIS at the rear of the fire. Luckily it did nothing more than scorch some pannelling.

It was blatently obvious this was a mindless act and not an accident.

we are now stepping up our security by installing our CCTV system to monitor the whole site and the bonfire itself, the Police will keep an eye for us and we will have a rota to stay on site and prevent this happening again. It would be a sad day if the bonfire is burnt before the event because some monies raised are going to support the children who use the Childrens Hospice South west at Fremington.

Please follow the links below to view the maps of car parking etc.. and a program of events.

Map
Map & Programme

The castle is now nearly completed and is looking grand!

Here are some more photos of the nearly completed bonfire. There are several of the internal of the fire and the preparation of the moat that will surround it.

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Slideshow

BONFIRE TICKETS (28th AUGUST)

Our entrance tickets to the bonfire are now on sale on line. Please visit our shop, then browse & buy, or they can be purchased from many shops in torrington (Mole & Haggis, M&V Ferry, Tattersalls Property management to name a few, and at TIC`s (Tourist information centres) throughout North Devon.

In addition to our free car parks indicated in the programs the Town Council have very kindly granted FREE parking in all Torringtons public Carparks for the day.

You can now visit Torrington earlier in the day and visit one or more of our attractions and have lunch in a pub or restaurant.

We thank Councillor Geoff Lee and the Town Council for granting the free parking. This will be a great benefit to Torrington.

Children of East the Water Primary School, Bideford offered to make some shields to decorate our spectacular Castle Bonfire. The came to see us last week to present them. We are absolutely delighted with their work and I will post photos of them actually on the castle soon.

THANK YOU!

Our latest photos:

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Slideshow

Also our Advertising boards from local Businesses:

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Slideshow

We have been sponsored by a national organisation and a local buildings maintenance company. We are really delighted that they have chosen to support our major bonfire event this year. All the Cavaliers THANK YOU both for your kind support.

The GMB Union have sponsored us £3000 which will go towards the funding of the spectacular fireworks display which will be the best we have ever had.

Please visit their website www.gmb.org.uk

ALSO:

Westcountry Maintenance Services Ltd (WMS) have sponsored os £1500 this will fund the PA system for the evening.

Please visit thier website: www.wms.gb.com