Exeter Lives: Bruce Henderson
Name: Bruce Henderson
And what do you do?
I work with Exeter City Football Club.
How would you describe yourself in five words?
Seen the world, love Devon.
How would you describe Exeter in five words?
A really terrific city.
What brought you to Exeter?
The football club.
Which part of Exeter is home?
I actually live in Sampford Peverell, so home in Exeter is St James’ Park, where I seem to be most of the time anyway!
What is your favourite place in Exeter?
Cathedral Green but I love Topsham.
What is your favourite Exeter event?
Definitely the Food Festival.
What was the last live performance you saw in Exeter and where did you see it?
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra at The University Great Hall. (Thank you Chris Harris-Deans).
Favourite place to eat out in or near Exeter?
That's a difficult one, The Railway at Honiton, The Lazy Toad at Brampford Speke, Petit Maison in Topsham, Coombe House in Gittisham, Harry’s, The Hour Glass, The Rusty Bike, Rendevous and Abode in town, but there is Sidwell Street with a great noodle bar [Tyepyedong] and the Lebanese-Palestinian restaurant – I think weather, company, time and budget probably dictate and apologies to those I missed out, the list is too long.
Best coffee in town?
Coffee#1 in Roman Walk (great Portuguese Custard Tarts!) or Carluccio’s.
Favourite pub?
My local is The Merriemeade in Sampford Peverell, but in town the Hour Glass takes a lot of beating and the Rusty Bike is a close competitor.
Favourite locally produced food or drink?
Great local cheeses, some super Devon wines and the fresh vegetables at the farmers' market.
Favourite shop?
Gibson’s Plaice fishmonger on Magdalen Road and Chandos Deli in Roman Walk.
Favourite shopping area?
That's very difficult to answer, as there are merits in every area and a definite buzz in several of them. I love the feel of walking along Gandy Street.
Exeter Chiefs or Exeter City?
Clearly Exeter City! Football is a passion, rugby is social for me. Mind you, I have friends at the Chiefs and Rob Baxter has shown in Argentina what a good coach he is, so well done to them.
Beach or moors?
Both, but I love the sun so beaches are in my blood.
What or where is Exeter's best kept secret?
I think the quay and the walks along there are often overlooked when people discuss the city but I also think the view over the river from parts of St Leonard's ranks very high in the UK’s great aspects.
What one change would you like to see in Exeter?
The lack of proper sports facilities in the city currently is a scandal and a blot on the name of it, it needs correcting. That said, the city council people involved in trying to do that have my respect. On a personal note, I would love to see an ice rink/ ice hockey plus basketball team in Exeter and speedway in the area somewhere would also be good.
Who is your local hero or heroine?
I don’t know about hero – hero is a big word and my heroes are people like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Pele and Mohamed Ali.
In terms of respect, I think for our city Michael Caines does superb work, especially with the Food Festival and Exeter College.
I also think the College and its current management is a wonderful asset to the city, I think our own Julian Tagg deserves huge credit for what he has done for sport in the area and our head of Football in the Community, Jamie Vittles and his team, win the awards they do for working tirelessly with over 40,000 young people per year. In this life a lot of people do a lot of great, unsung work and ordinary people show heroic courage when called.
Do you belong to any local clubs or societies?
Any club that would have me isn’t worth joining, (Groucho Marx) so locally no, other than the ‘Not the Foundation Dinner Group’, but I do belong to the very exclusive Sampford Peverell and Ashill Curry Club, a group so select I can’t even talk about it.
What are you up to next?
Probably trying to remember who is in the curry club and what my name is and why am I where I am stood! Mainly I am looking forward to a holiday in Greece.
