Around Kingswear - December 2014
Coastwatch Capers
The Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company donated a 2 hour Picnic Cruise on the iconic Kingswear Castle Paddle Steamer to the ‘NCI Froward Point’ as a fund raiser.
At 18.30 on the balmy evening of Saturday 6th September, 128 picnickers, including the President of the National Coastwatch Institution Jon Gifford and his wife Rosemary, embarked from Dartmouth and Kingswear on a truly magical cruise.
The glassy calm sea let us be taken out to Froward Point. Many, including watch keepers, had never seen the station from this aspect! We turned north towards Dittisham into a glorious red sunset then south back to Dartmouth with a bright shining moon ahead. The steamer was immaculate and the friendly and helpful crew very enthusiastic.
This raised just under £1,300 for the Froward Point and (coming soon) Brixham Coastwatch stations.
Fire for Smoke
Musical fireworks kept a goodly crowd off the streets and out of nefarious practices in late October when Mike Goodearl (Lord Whiplash) organised a musical quiz to raise money for the Kingswear bonfire and fireworks in The Ship. The very well-supported evening raised £245 towards the village fireworks, which was a great credit to the organisers and Mike asks me to thank Colin and Heather for their usual excellent hospitality, their raffle prizes and a splendid mid-session supper.
The highest score of the evening went to Alan (Fun-guy) Payne’s team, winning them a bottle of Veuve de Vernay. Very impressive considering there was not ‘mushroom’ for them to operate. Sorry, but he asks for it, doesn’t he!
Sad Loss
November has been a sad one for many in the village because we have lost two of our valued
Mike Felton - Dart Lifeboat
people. Mike Felton was, of course, well known to many as a co- founder of Caterfoods which now employs 150 people, as an extremely generous benefactor to the village and to Dartmouth, especially the funding he gave to the Inshore Lifeboat, not to mention the part owner of The Steampacket Inn in Kingswear. To his family he was, of course, much more important than that, he was a very much loved and respected head of the family.
Tributes from the family have been most moving and of course all of us feel respect and real sympathy for their loss. Mike was 78, I am led to understand. By the time this reaches you the family will have attended Mike’s funeral and there will have been a wake at both The Ship and The Steampacket. He will be much missed by his colleagues at the Dart Inshore Lifeboat too; Mike not only funded the boat out of Caterfoods but continued to support it from 2008 to this year.
We have also lost another much respected and well-liked member, Chris Cox of Wood Lane, who died following a terrible accident at home in October. Chris’s family came from all over the world to attend his funeral and then they, and many from the village, took part in a very moving thanksgiving service at St Thomas’s, led by Rev. Ian Blyde who knew Chris from the congregation. A large number of people then repaired to the village hall for refreshments.
Our sympathies also go very warmly to Chris’s wife, Pat, and to their extended families from a number of different countries.
It’s Christmas (Nearly)
5th December will see the switching-on of the Kingswear village lights. This will be the village school children assembling outside the station for the usual ceremony, the carol singing, the count-down, the lights, the unseemly dash to the village hall for drinks and buns. I have been contacted by a tired and harassed elf who informs me that if the children are all good there could just be an appearance by Father Christmas himself. This would mean presents of course. So let’s hope the little dears do not blot their copy books.
Kingswear WI Autumn Activities
KIngswear WI
As usual members of the WI have been busy preparing for the coming festive season. Regular craft sessions have been taking place to produce items for your delectation at the Christmas Fair to be held on November 22nd.
Caroline from Social Fabric in Totnes was the October speaker where she provided further ideas and inspiration for Christmas decorations.
In November members had a special treat with a visit from artist Lisa Class who demonstrated her exquisite Chinese painting techniques and left with a promise of a further workshop for anyone in the village who has an interest - so watch this space!
Christmas will soon be upon us. The annual Christmas lunch will take place at The Weary Ploughman at Galmpton on December10th and the Christmas Party will be held at The Sarah Roope Trust Room on December 17th.
Next Year the WI celebrates its centenary, though the Kingswear Group was not formed until 1926. There will be events nationwide to mark this event and at our January meeting, members Lorna Usher and Sallie Cooper will give a talk about the WI formation and history. Fortunately the excellent village archive has a wealth of materials for research.
The WI has a varied programme and a warm welcome for guests and we encourage the women of Kingswear to come and join us (we make exceedingly good cakes!)
Parking Problems
A resident from Waterhead Creek has reported to the parish council about the problems encountered by residents in that part of the village who often have difficulty parking their own cars near to their houses. Making the problem considerably worse is the inconsiderate parking by people with yachts parking up for weeks at a time when they go on passages and to some extent by Dartmouth workers who leave their cars this side of the river to avoid paying for extended parking in Dartmouth.
At the moment, the council in Kingswear is discussing ways, which may alleviate the situation a little, possibly by extending the ‘Residents Only’ parking restrictions which apply in other areas of the village. The problem is that with parking being so limited in the village any decision made to help one part will have a knock-on consequence for other areas.
This is a thorny issue, and one which people understandably feel anxious about, so, and this is the point, if you wish to contribute towards the debate please join it by coming along to parish council meetings to have your say. The information about these meetings is, as I am sure you will know, available on the notice boards under the arch next to the post office, or up at Hillhead. If you do not make your views known and then moan about decisions being taken, well, tough really! What else can we do?
First published By The Dart December 2014
