The annual Fatstock Show took place on Tuesday of this week.  The sun shone and everyone was very happy with the arrangements now that the market has been regenerated.  In fact the only change was that the cows were shown outside, and very happy they were too as you can see!

2.  Party Time at Dartmouth Film Society

Nibbles and drinks before the Christmas Film "Up"

By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfil his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.

The charming Disney - Pixar film is an absolute must-see.

Films are screened at The Guildhall, Victoria Road, Dartmouth. The bar is open from 7.00pm and the films start at 7.30pm Guest tickets are available on the night for £3.50 each from “The Windjammer” Victoria Road between 7.00pm & 7.25pm only. No guest tickets will be sold on the door. For more information call Clive Osborne on: Tel. 07968 026449

3.   Sugary Green

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the national Open Spaces Society, unveiled a plaque on Sugary Green, Dartmouth  to celebrate its registration as a village green last June, and its protection from development.

When the land near Castle Cove was threatened with major development in 2009, local publisher Richard Webb formed the Friends of Sugary Green and, with help from the Open Spaces Society and in particular its case officer, Nicola Hodgson, applied to Devon County Council to register it as a green. The landowner, South Hams District Council, objected but backed down after its legal arguments were challenged.

Said Kate Ashbrook: ‘I am immensely proud to unveil this plaque which records our joint success in saving this very special and much-loved spot. I congratulate the Friends on their vision and tenacity in securing this green.

‘Sugary Green is set in an outstanding landscape, here on the beautiful south Devon coast. It has been enjoyed since at least 1945 for a wide range of informal activities, from tobogganing and ball games, to blackberrying, barbeques and astronomy. It is a magnificent asset to the community as well as to the thousands of visitors to this popular area.

5.   Small News

• Don Campbell reports: The Rotary Club of Dartmouth are organising a Traditional Carol Service with lots of popular well known Christmas Carols and all are welcome. It’s at 7.30 pm on Wed 21 Dec at St Saviour's and there will be mince pies and mulled wine afterwards.
  
   

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South Hams offer bargain 6p a day parking. If you want a cheap way to shop first thing in the morning and last thing at night South Hams District Council have a parking permit for you for just £21 for a full year.

The permit, called the South Hams Residents’ Car Park Permit, available on proof of residency means you can park in any South Hams car park for free between 4pm and 10am.  And use the Dartmouth Park and Ride entirely free for the whole day – with free travel for as many people as you have in your car – thus avoiding the normal £5 charge.

Residents using the permit once a day throughout the year in any South Hams District Council car park would be paying around 6p a day. If a resident parked in a town centre car park an hour a day at (around 90p an hour) and went to Dartmouth four or five times that would be a total of £295 a year. The permit represents around a 90 per cent discount.

Cathy Aubertin, of South Hams Environment Services, said: “The idea of this permit is to allow anyone who wants to beat the rush by shopping before the peak times up to 10am and those working people who need to dash into town after 4pm to pick up something for supper can do so with ease and park for free.”

She added: “This is all part of trying to tailor our charges to suit the pockets of our working residents. As an example in the New Year we are extending these permits, only in Kingsbridge, for a limited period, from between 3pm and 11am to allow residents to park in those times for free in town car parks while Fore Street in Kingsbridge is undergoing road works.

“The permit was incredibly popular three years ago when it was introduced over 2,000 were sold,” she said. “Now three years later they are still a bargain, at around 6p a day if you use them every day and you both live and work in South Hams.”  The permits are available by calling South Hams Customer Service on 01803 861234

Images copyright  Dave Cawley,  Andy Kyle,  & others.