Carnival Week comes to a close

Dawlish Carnival Committee can feel proud that all their hard work paid off and we all enjoyed a wonderful week of events. The Parade on Friday was one of the best with gaily decorated floats,and walkers in fancy dress.. I felt it was better having it on a seperate evening to the Air Show. Not such a long day for the children

 

 Sat saw the Dog Show on the Lawn to round off the week.What a variety of dogs we have in the district all proudly displayed by their owners.The rain held off and didn,t spoil any of the events.

 

We still have lots of visitors in the week leading to the Bank Holiday The Fair has arrived in Town. Thursday sees a fun day at Dawlish Warren with Family Entertainment in the afternoon and it is all free.

 

The 10th Anniversary of the Fireworks Spectacular will be approx 9-15pm in the evening. 

A big thank you to all who have sponsered and supported these events. 

 

Dawlish Air Show

What a wonderful day we had at Dawlish watching the air show Thousands of people turned out to watch. As Dawlish Town Councillors we  entertained  the visiting V I Ps. These included Lord and Lady Devon from Powderham Castle The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayores of Exeter, Councillor  Sylvia Russell the Chairman of Teignbridge Council and her husband Bill. The Mayor and Mayoress of Dawlish and various visiting Mayor's and sponsorrs of the Air Show .

 

We had a few showers during the afternoon but the sun was so warm we soon dried out. The fly past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight had to be called off due to high winds but everything else went ahead. 

 

We watched  a search and rescue demonstration by Exam Lifeboat and the Sea King helicopter which play a very important role in our everyday lives here living on the coast. There were demonstrations by various helicopters and low flying aircraft 

 

The highlight of the afternoon was the display by the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows Their display was fantastic with new maneuvers for this season.

 

At the conclusion of their display they did a formation fly past with the Vulcan bomber and dedicated it to the past Chairman of the Carnival Brian Heath  who started the air shows when he was Chairman and worked extremely hard to get it all together. Brian sadly died early in the year. It was very emotional.

 

 The Vulcan did a short display  and dedicated a fly past to all the soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

 This is the last Vulcan bomber flying and has been restored by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust and public donations

Dawlish Carnival

The weather has been kind so far for the Dawlish Carnival. On Sunday the opening was blessed with good weather. The programme of events began with the arrival of the Queen and her attendants travelling in the carnival float.

 

The parade this year was led by Peter Cross our very own Mr England who is the English Rugby Team mascot The afternoon's entertainment was started by The Red Sparrows who do a spoof of the Red Arrows and the air battle with the Red Baron and Snoopy.

 

The fabulous Wakefield Majorettes gave another of their wonderful displays plus the Junior Field gunner teams. The Annual Carnival Songs of Praise evening was held in the marquee to end a very pleasant day

 

Tuesday saw the line up of the Senior Pram Race fancy dress. There was a  large  number of entrants it was good to see the effort put into this event

 

On a more sober note we see more bodies of our soldiers killed in Afghanistan. More heartbreak for families of fathers sons and brothers our thoughts and prayers go out to them. It is good to see they are being honoured by the special Elizabeth medal and we hope the families and the wounded soldiers that we hear so little about will have the help and support they need and deserve

News from Dawlish Warren

Its August and Dawlish Warren is full with Summer visitors Families in tents caravans and lodges all enjoying a break The weather so far hasn't been very kind but the sun is shining now. Last Friday we spent the afternoon at Dawlish Warren listening to  the band playing and all the events organized by Teignbridge District Council . It was a great day enjoyed by everyone. and free. 

There does feel a touch of Autumn in the air in the mornings and the swallows are congregating on the telephone wires. No doubt thinking of their long flight ahead to warmer climes

Wimbledon has past, along with Royal Ascot. The football season is upon us. We will all be pleased to see the end of the cricket season judging by the performance of the England team against the Australians, enough said there.

 

We have had a busy few weeks.hence no news on my Blog We have had a family wedding, also family visiting from Australia.My husband and I  had the honour of attending the Royal Garden Party along with the Chairman of Teignbridge Council and her husband. It was a wonderful day one we shall remember We walked around the gardens and enjoyed a wonderful tea. I have to say I  admire the Queen and the work she does. She spent 2 hours chatting to quests and it was hot.

 

The next big event in Dawlish is the Carnival Aug 15th - Aug 22nd This year will be tinged with sadness due to the death of Brian Heath who has been the Carnival Chairman for years

We have the Carnival Air Show along with the world famous Red Arrows performing on Thursday Aug 20th.Events are planned for every day and the Carnival procession is Friday Aug 21st. We are all hoping for good weather

 

  

May Day

It was good to see the May Day celebratons revived Dawlish joined in the celebrations with the children from a local school dancing around the May Pole on the Lawn. The sun was shining and everyone joined in the fun.  

Another ancient custom is Morris dancing which took place at vatious locations. around the County.

 

We still have a cold wind but the weather was fine. The wind will stay in the north or north east until June 21st if local observations are to be believed. That was the direction of the wind  on March 21st which is the Spring equinox.

Looking to nature again the oak trees are in leaf before the ash. Oak before the ash will be only a splash. Ash before the oak will mean a darned good soak. So we should be in for a dry Summer if these observations are to be true

 

The new Lifeguard station has arrived at Dawlish Warren in preperation for the influx of Summer visitors. It is good to know the swimmers will be in safe hands. If we do have a good Summer, which it needed this year  our visitors will be under thw watchful eye of the RNLI lifeguards. All are very highly trained

 

The visitors with their camper vans were taking advantage of the offer by Teignbridge District Council to spend a night at Dawlish Warren car park free.

 

Dawlish Warren beach again has received the Blue Flag for the cleanliness of the water and the beach.

 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone The weather is set fair for a few days, still a chilly wind but bright and sunny. Everyone in the Tourist trade are looking for a busy weekend. The railways are being their usual helpful selves and delaying journeys and working on the line.

 

Hundreds of public sector workers set to get £250 for travelling to work in the snow. This is an over the top waste of taxpayers money at this time of wage freezer's and job cuts.

 

Teignmouth I see is in the top ten for offences on the railway lines not a record to be proud of. It could get worse with the upsurge of young people in the area. They could be hit by a train, electrocuted, or caught in the rails. Apparently there is easy access from the bridges. The advice when catching a train is stand well back behind the yellow lines. 

 

Credit Card Fraud It has come to my knowledge this week the amount of fraud committed by cloning bank cards. What happened to the safety of the chip and pin which we were all told about when this was launched. 

Garages and restaurants are easy targets. Cash points can also be fixed with cameras please be alert. 

It can be very traumatic if it happens to you. Banks have a good record of refunding the money but is still a hassel Check accounts regually and inform the banks immediately

 

The gardens are stil looking very colourful. Grow your own veg is very popular. Allotments are being snapped up all over the Country. It is surprising what can be grown in a small area also in troughs and tubs. We are growing potatoes in compost bags.  Put compost in the bottom add a couple of potatoes which are already sprouting put on a layer of compost and as the leaves appear, gradually fill with compost. Happy garedening 

 

I hope you all enjoy the break whatever you are doing. Our Sunday will be Church for the morning service and lunch with the family.

 

Through the wonders of technoligy I spent a very pleasant half hour watching and listening to my grandaughter in Brisbane Australia playing her violin it was wonderful.  

 

 

Glorious Devon

Devon is looking glorious we have put the clocks forward to British Summer time. The gardens are a blaze of colour with daffodils tulips and all the spring flowering bulbs, plus all the trees in blossom. The weather is set fair and hopefully the cold wind will disappear.

Checking the figures from the Tourist board the bookings are up for this year. The holiday camps are all gearing up for a bumper year. The visitors are choosing to stay in this country instead of holidaying abroad.

 

Dawlish has been named as one of the only six  Towns in the entire Country to achieve a prestigious five star rating in the biannual Clean Britain Awards officially making it one of the cleanest towns in Britain. Run by the British Cleaning Council, the awards celebrate the cleanest and tidiest towns and cities across the UK. . Thank you to the excellent staff at Teignbridge for all their hard work.

 

I was pleased to see Gordon Brown had a change of heart and will celebrate the D.Day.anniversary Perhaps he has read my fellow councillors Blog