A five-day pottery course for all levels. Would you like to create your own set of individual pasta dishes, jazzy tazza cups or a large fish shaped plate for serving salmon and lime wedges? Ever wanted to lift the lid off a pumpkin tureen or serve salad from a ceramic lettuce?

The aim of this course is to put the fun back into food by developing your individual eye and design sense, so that you will make original pottery for the table which will be the envy of your friends. The emphasis will be on simplicity, contemporary good design and to develop making skills, either by hand building or throwing. There will be some drawing of items related to food such as fruit and vegetables found in the Coombe kitchen garden and surrounds, to inspire your ceramics. Coombe Farm Studios and Gallery are situated outside the village of Dittisham by the river Dart.

If you’d like to know more about this course or make a booking do visit their website by clicking here or give them a call 01803 722 352.

2.   Ships that pass in the night

Once again Dartmouth had two huge boats in to vist us this week.  The cruise ship Minerva, a modest 436 feet long, stopped on its round Britain cruise so that the lovely people on board could explore Dartmouth and spend money, and they did indeed spend money in several of Dartmouth's speciality shops, click here to check them out ?  Word on the street said that a few paintings went on board too, see where they got them from by clicking here?

The World's fifth largest privately owned super yacht (367 feet)  stopped in Dartmouth on Wednesday for a few hours.   Who was it who took out his colour coordinated helicopter to do a spot of shopping?  Even if you won the lottery you would struggle to keep a new helicopter like this for more than a year?

3.    Laugh? we nearly cried!

This was Wednesday evening's comedy treat at the Flavel with Patrick Monahan's brand new one hour stand up show 'My Kind of People'. His tales about his journey to find people like him - a non-drinking, non-smoking, Irish Iranian Teessider had us in stitches and what could be better than a bit of audience participation! Local heroes Alan Depledge and Pam Braakenburg joined in with gusto, even though they drew the line at breakdancing!!

If you need a bit of cheering up after all the rain, there's more comedy tomorrow night (Friday) with Dartmouth's favourite Cornishman, and resident compere at the Flavel Comedy Club, Matt Price, plus Australian storyteller Kent Valentine. Call the Flavel Box Office on 01803 839530  See The Flavel calendar by clicking here.

4.   Small News

• Do you want to learn to sail? or brush up on your skills? Dart Harbour Sea School are running the following courses next week:
  
  Start Sailing 4th August 2 days
  Experience Sail 4th August 2/3 days
  
  Call 01803 839339 to book
   

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

Images copyright Dave Cawley & others.