ONE of the most important events in Great Britain?s history will be commemorated in Okehampton today (Thursday) and tomorrow as the town hosts a programme of celebratory events. Lord Nelson?s fleet won the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805. Tonight, there is a chance for residents in the Okehampton area to watch the classic film, The Master and the Mariner in the Charter Hall to get them in the spirit of celebrations being held on Friday. Trafalgar Day starts with a special Trafalgar Breakfast in the Plume of Feathers, Okehampton, from 8am. And during the evening, a special beacon built by members of Okehampton Young Farmers? Club will be lit at South Down, Meldon, at precisely 7.18pm. Derek Godfrey-Brown, one of the organisers of the Trafalgar Day celebrations, said: ?It?s part of a national chain of beacons, hence the fact it has to be lit at that time. The first one is being lit by the Queen at Portsmouth Dockyard, adjacent to HMS Victory, at 6.45pm. They then go all along the south coast and get to us at 7.18pm.? During Friday evening, members of the public are invited to a celebration barbecue at Meldon Village Hall in conjunction with ODAT (Okehampton and Dartmoor Against Turbines), which starts at 8pm. And in Okehampton, Wren Trust will be staging a nautical presentation in Red Lion Yard, starting at 7pm. Plenty of smoke and drama is predicted for the play, which features children from Okehampton Primary School. Featured in the play are two boats which were seen in Okehampton during the carnival procession last week, which will be going to battle during the performance! The event also forms part of the Baring Gould Festival, which continues with the folk club in the Charter Hall at 8pm.
