The annual lunch of the Dawlish Ladies Guild was held at the Langstone Cliff Hotel this year - and afterwards featured a Victorian melodrama.

The play, 'Unhand Me Squire', was performed by the guild's drama group.

Narrated by Helen Physick and Marianne Gibson and produced by Maggie West, with other parts played by Carol Tamlyn and Barbara Jennings, the performance was dedicated to the memory of Marian Wannell, a longstanding former member of the guild and drama group.

A spokesperson for Dawlish Ladies Guild said: "[The play] told the story of the shy and modest Fanny (Gill Vooght), the noble, handsome Percival (Sharon Hustler) and the wicked Sir Jasper (Jean Kohl).

"Fanny loved Percival but he was so tongue-tied he could not tell her he loved her in return. So, Sir Jasper saw his chance and got Percival exiled to the South Seas. But Fanny still rejected his advances and only wanted to care for her ageing and sick granny (Pat Crawley).

"The scheming Sir Jasper tried to bribe Fanny's trusting and innocent parents (Ann Say and Hazel Hayday) but still Fanny rejected him. He then tried to evict them from their home. Then one May morning as the village maidens were dancing round the maypole Percival appeared, looking prosperous and more handsome than ever.

"To the dismay of Fanny, he introduced his wife, a Polynesian princess whose father owns five goldmines. This shocked Fanny who decided that perhaps Sir Jasper wasn't so bad after all and promptly agreed to marry him!"

If you would like to join the guild, it meets on the second Thursday of the month at 2pm in the Riverside Centre, Brook St, Dawlish. Visitors are also welcome.

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