Rededication of St Clement's Church

Last Sunday evening saw the re-dedication of St Clement’s Church, Townstal by the Right Revd John Ford, Bishop of Plymouth. The service marked the completion of a project to restore and improve the mother church of Dartmouth, which was originally consecrated in the 12th century. This major undertaking, inspired by the Vicar, the Revd Simon Wright, has been seven years in the making and the church building now begins a new phase in its history, as an attractive and flexible space, with facilities to enable new forms of worship, as well other community purposes. If you would like more information on the project, or to contribute to the ongoing Appeal, please contact the Parish Office by clicking here.

2. Frankincense and myrrh

The team at Dart Marina Health Spa has added two new seasonal treatments to the list of relaxing and rejuvenating experiences on offer during November, December and the New Year. Called Christmas Delights, the first new treatment, using rose, frankincense and myrrh essential oils, is a deeply relaxing back, shoulder, neck and scalp massage developed especially to alleviate built up tension in the upper body.

“On the run up to Christmas we know that people carry stress in their shoulders and around the scalp and this can be simply but effectively eased by gentle, soothing massage with oils that are known for their calming and relaxing properties. Equally we see people who want to gather up all their energy for the party season so we’ve also come up with an uplifting and invigorating massage oil using citrus oils and precious spices,” said Lesley Dennison, Spa Manager.

Each of the treatments last for 40 minutes (£45 per treatment) and includes a complimentary sample of an Elemis product. The Dart Marina Health Spa also has the new Christmas Collection of luxurious presentation boxes of body products and candles made with 100% natural oils.  For further information please call the Health Spa on 01803 837182 or click here.

3.   Thanksgiving supper

"The Dartmouth community has every reason to celebrate the role it played in the history of the Mayflower Pilgrims and their efforts to start a new colony.” say Gary and Teri Larson, organizers of the 2009 Dartmouth Thanksgiving Dinner. The focus of the Dartmouth celebration will be a traditional Thanksgiving supper held at the Royal Castle Hotel on Thursday, 26 November. The supper will feature traditional Thanksgiving fare including pumpkin soup, roast turkey and cranberry sauce, roast and mashed potatoes, green been casserole American style, baked yams, buttermilk corn bread, brussels sprouts and carrots, sausages and gravy finished off with pecan pie with a local touch of Devon cream or Devon ice cream.

The pilgrims originally set out in 1620 for Virginia from Southampton in The Mayflower accompanied by Dutch pilgrims on The Speedwell. They stopped for some time in Dartmouth for repairs to the Speedwell. Later when they were three hundred miles off shore they turned back to Plymouth when the Speedwell started leaking badly. The overloaded Mayflower with 50 crew and over 100 passengers then set out once again.

A plaque at Bayard’s Cove in Dartmouth commemorates the pilgrims' visit to Dartmouth and you can see a list of The Mayflower Passengers in The Dartmouth Arms. Over half, mostly children, died on board or during their first harsh winter.

It was the abandonment of the Speedwell and the voyage recommencing from Plymouth that has enshrined Plymouth in the history of the Pilgrim Fathers.  However Dartmouth’s importance was such that in November 1652 a break-away group of the pilgrims established a new Dartmouth township in Massachusetts.  Dartmouth was the name given to one of the ships involved in the famous Boston tea party. It’s clear that Dartmouth has had more than one role in contributing to the nation that is now America.”

All are welcome to join in the annual event. A limited number of tickets for the dinner are available for £19.50 at the Royal Castle Hotel Reception. For reservations contact The Royal Castle Hotel on 01803-833033 by Monday 23rd November.  The photos here are from last year's successful event.

4.   Small News

• Chris Jones of the Dart Marina writes in:   Please could you give a mention next week to a Cloudy Bay Wine Dinner taking place at the Wildfire Bistro on Wednesday 25th November. It is being hosted by Cloudy Bay wine maker Tim Heath. We are nearly full and only have few places available. I am positive that Dartmouth dot TV will help us to sell the final places. Arrival drink at 7.00pm and dinner is served at 7.30pm.  
  
  On arrival Cloudy Bay Pelorus, NV:  Slow cooked chicken, ham and foie gras terrine, fig and grape chutney, apple jelly with Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, 2009 :   Fillet of Blackawton beef, oxtail farce, glazed parsnips, parsnip puree and red wine jus with Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir, 2006 :   Assiette of apple ~ Apple mousse, Granny Smith sorbet, toffee apple and bramley apple crumble : Origin coffee and petit fours with Hennessy Cognac.  All this including the drinks for £45.00. 
  
  We at Dartmouth dot TV have been to several of these events, they are simply great fun and amazing value for money!  Drop in or call 01803 837182 to book your place.
   

Why not come and visit Dartmouth?

• Self catering accommodation click here
   
• Dartmouth B and B  click here
   
• Dartmouth Hotels click here
   
• A Tourist Guide to Dartmouth click here
   
• There was no Dartmouth News last week.  What amazed us was the sheer number of people asking why they hadn't received it.  We had no idea so many in Dartmouth read it!

Images copyright Dave Cawley, Andy Kyle & others.