ST PAUL's Church in Starcross opened its doors during the last Saturday in March to provide a venue for the Cockwood Shanty Festival.

Teignmouth & District u3a Publicity Officer, Peter Hayes, picks up the story: ‘If you came to church just after lunch hoping to have a quiet period of reflection, you were in for a surprise!

‘Our Shanty Crew, under the guise of ‘u3a – One and All’ put on an outstanding opening performance.

‘They performed a range of shanties during their 40-minute slot, encouraging visitors to join in across all age ranges.

‘Decked out in classic pirate clobber, members put on a performance to remember – great gusto, the odd dodgy lyric or two perhaps, but obviously having fun!

‘Warmest congratulations to the organisers of the festival, who provided 50 different shanty groups across seven venues over the weekend.

'Starcross will never be the same!’