Delderfield centenary will be marked by special day in June

PLANS to mark the centenary of Sidmouth playwright and author, Ron Delderfield on Sunday, June 24, are firming up.

On the day, Sidmouth Amateur Dramatic Society will give two performances of Sailors Beware! a Delderfield play, at 2.30pm and 4.45pm at Kennaway House, Coburg Road, where the events will take place.

Guided tours from the Triangle begin at 2pm, followed by a ride from the seafront up Peak Hill to the author’s former home in the Toastrack. Tickets for the day are �5 and will be sold from Paragon Books.

There will be cream teas in the cellar bar and visitors will be encouraged to see Sidmouth Museum’s Delderfield exhibition.

The celebrations are the brainchild of Marion Lindsey-Noble, author of Butterfly Moments, a biography of R F Delderfield, which she has updated and re-published for his centenary year.

She is also offering readers of the Sidmouth Herald the chance to win a set of his sagas. Three sets are on offer, one for each winner of three competition categories.

These are to write a poem, of no more than five verses, about Delderfield, write 500 words about him or produce a painting or drawing depicting a scene from one of his books or plays, to be no larger than A3.

Entries to be accompanied by an entry form published in today’s Sidmouth Herald.

Closing date is Tuesday, May 1, and entries should be posted to Delderfield Centenary Competition, Archant SW, Fair Oak Close, Exeter Airport Business Park, Clyst Honiton, Exeter, EX5 2UL, by that date.

Please ensure paintings are dry and protected and any poems or short stories should be typed or written clearly.

Marion, together with a team of judges, will select the three winners and their decision is final.