The Mayor's Civic Evening was held at the Guildhall last Friday. After a Cava reception, around 80 locals and civic dignitaries  enjoyed a 3-course dinner prepared by Sails Restaurant and entertainment by local magician and Town Crier Lez  Ellis.  The after dinner speaker was Captain David White, Dartmouth's Harbourmaster.  A very enjoyable evening was had by all.

2.  Dart Marina Hotel & Spa helps to raise over £1,200 for Children’s Hospice South West

The Dart Marina Hotel’s General Manager, Chris Jones and Executive Head Chef, Mark Streeter spent last Friday night cooking and serving a specially made, six-course candlelit dinner for eight people at Dartmouth Rowing Club – a prize which was auctioned for £600 at the Flavel Charity Ball in Dartmouth last year to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West.  "We have been looking forward to honouring this prize for months. The winners, all local people, were able to choose where they wanted their dinner to be served and design the set menu with us, which meant they had the most mouth-watering menu with all their favourite foods. We supplied all the cutlery, crockery and linen, laid up, served and cleared away to leave a spotless kitchen. We hope all eight guests had a magical evening and we are very pleased that every penny raised from this prize has been donated to Children’s Hospice South West. It is impossible to put a price on the support this organisation gives to parents in the South West," comments Chris Jones.

The Flavel Charity Ball in Dartmouth was a sell out event, organised for 120 guests by Jenny and Phil Pichowski who were supported by Children’s Hospice South West prior to and after their daughter, Tillie’s death. The Ball raised £9281 in total. Jenny, who was a guest at the dinner on Friday night said, "It was probably the best meal we have ever had and it was a night that we will remember forever."  Chris and Mark served a butternut squash soup and then marinated crayfish, king prawn, crab and smoked salmon salad with lemon mayonnaise, followed by fillet of beef with triple cooked chips, béarnaise sauce, garlic mushroom and tomato served with seasonal vegetables and red wine jus. There were two desserts, firstly a lavender pannacotta, passion fruit coulis and lavender crisp and then an assiette of desserts including a rich white chocolate mousse, lemon tart and vanilla crème brulee served with thick Devon clotted cream. To finish; a local cheeseboard, Irish coffees and homemade petit fours.

Dart Marina also donated a prize of a weekend for four people in a riverside apartment with a meal in the River Restaurant one night and a meal in Wildfire Bistro on the other, along with four spa treatments at Dart Marina Health Spa, this prize was auctioned for £600.  For more details of what the Marina Hotel and Spa can offer click here.

3.   A poem from Kevin Pyne

4.   Blackawton and Strete family fun history day & village walk

Blackawton and Strete History group and South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are staging this event focussing on family fun & farming with a history focus on Saturday 20th March at Strete Village Hall, from 10am – 4pm. Entry is free and refreshments are available.

Discover what Blackawton & Strete History group is up to, learn about the AONBs 50th anniversary celebrations & get involved! There will be an opportunity to find out more about Blackawton and Strete History group and to learn more about the AONB’s 50th anniversary celebrations and how to get involved

Activities will include spot the difference between’ then & now’ photos & film footage. Everyone is encouraged to bring along their old photos to be scanned and to share their stories of local life to add to the collection! There will be a ‘sounds of the countryside’ quiz & entertainment by Old Fairweather the storyteller. In the afternoon Stevie Richards from Ash Tree Farm will be on hand to give advice on attracting into your garden.

At 2pm well known local archaeologist Robert Waterhouse will be leading a walk entitled ‘The hidden history of Strete’. Strete took its name from a meeting of transport routes, the end of a droveway from Dartmoor & a packhorse route taking fish from shore to market. Come & find out about those who lived & worked in this clifftop coastal village & visit a farm dating back to medieval times. Meet at the Church 2pm, return 5pm, free of charge.

5.   Small News

• The Dartmouth Music Festival has a brand new and sooo much better website, click here to see it.
   

• Zoo plea for old rope Animal keepers at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park are after good quality old rope. The conservation charity uses rope in animal dens and outdoor enclosures. Senior Head Mammal Keeper Julian Chapman explained: "We use rope to create environmental enrichment for the animals – things to play with, basically. We hang it up for primates to climb, but we also make it into balls, big knots called monkey fists, perches, ladders and use it to hang up other enrichment items. There might be individuals or businesses with old rope lying around – yacht clubs, sailing schools, fishermen, harbours, haulage firms, tree surgeons, theatres and engineers, for example. This is a great way to get rid of it and make a donation to a good cause."  Zoo keepers are looking for pieces of rope of 10 metres or more in length and of a diameter of around 1 to 2.5 centimetres – that’s a half to one inch.
  
  To find out whether your old rope is suitable, telephone (01803) 697500. Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is a registered charity. For more information click here.

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, Kevin Pyne, Andy Kyle & others.