Contact Baxters on 01803 39000 or click here to see their gallery.

It was with a mixture of sadness and happiness that the parishes of Dartmouth and Dittisham said farewell to the Revd Michael Macey on Sunday. After three and a half years as Curate, he and his wife Emma are off to Westminster Abbey where Michael has been appointed Minor Canon.

Amongst his many leaving gifts was a beautiful, hand stitched and embroidered cope, made by the parish embroiderers Sue, Joan, Edwina and Josie with panels depicting places of significance in his life so far. It was presented to Michael at the beginning of his last Eucharist service in the town, which was attended by over 200 people, a sure mark of the affection and respect which he has developed in his time here.

We wish them both every success and happiness for the future.

Cafe Alf Resco was once again host to a Fund Raiser, this time for the Stoke Fleming Primary School.  An amazing £8,000 was raised.  Dartmouth dot TV donated a web site worth £125.00 that included absolutely everything including photography. Needless to say it went to a good home!  If you want a low cost website click here.

The second Candlelit Dartmouth event will be held on the 12th and 13th December.

Last year’s event proved to be absolutely magical with processions of beautiful handmade willow and paper lanterns winding through the narrow streets of Dartmouth. Saturday 1st November will see a workshop at the Community College with lanterns being made with materials kindly donated by Dartmouth Town Council.

This year the procession will take place from 6pm on Friday 12th December culminating in the greeting of Santa as he arrives from the river. Stilt-walkers, musicians and fairies will also accompany the parade. There will be late night shopping, a market in the Avenue Gardens, musicians and carol singing at the Bandstand. The park and ride will be free of charge and will run until late.

On Saturday there will be two markets – in The Avenue Gardens and in the Old Market alongside the Farmer's Market. There will also be entertainers such as a Samba band parading the streets and some of the shops will have special offers. Dartmouth has great mix of shops and galleries for doing your Christmas shopping and you’re sure to find something different. Parking will be free of charge on this day and again there will be free park and ride.

Raffle tickets for fund-raising of the event are being sold with a first prize of a Jeroboam of Vintage Champagne. Prizes will be drawn at the Candlelit knees-up – a great party on Sat 13th December featuring Sax Appeal at the Guildhall. For more info click here.

The Dartmouth Players and the Dartmouth School of Performing Arts are joining forces for this year’s pantomime production of Sleeping Beauty at the Flavel Theatre in December. Once again lyrics and music are by Norman Cork. “The Dartmouth Players are one of the very few local drama groups in the country who have an effective creative team capable of producing and performing good quality original work. This unique approach is one we will be taking into our eightieth year in 2009 so watch this space!”

'Sleeping Beauty' runs between 28th and 31st December. Tickets on sale from the Flavel box office (01803) 839530

Chris Jones from the Marina Hotel reports: I have a Cloudy Bay dinner at Wildfire Bistro on Wednesday 19th November.

Cloudy Bay is an iconic NZ wine that has a huge following. It is very rare and most establishments only have a small allocation to sell. We have been chosen to host a Cloudy Bay dinner at Wildfire. This is in conjunction with the arrival in November of our new wine list. We are proud to be listing five Cloudy Bay wines on the new list. The event will be hosted by Bruce Nancarrow (Wine Estates Brand Manager) and Nick Sarsfield (Moet Hennessy UK). I have approximately 40 covers to sell.

The price is £75 per person to include canapés, four courses and coffee. A different Cloudy Bay wine will be served with the canapés and each of the four courses.  You can see the fantastic menu by clicking here, and Cloudy Bay's web site by clicking here.

• Nothing much this week, apart from the sunny days and the beautiful weather!
   

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