DANCING and skylarking were all part of the fun during a dinner to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Members of Liskeard’s Royal Naval Association (RNA) were joined at the Hannafore Point Hotel by 70 guests including Commanding Officer at HMS Raleigh, Captain Ellie Ablett.

The outcome of the Battle of Trafalgar, said a spokesperson for the RNA, was to establish Britain as the world’s leading maritime nation.

And while modern day reports in the press have been ‘gloomy’, Cpt Ablett assured the assembled audience that the Royal Navy is in safe hands.

‘Our principal guest spoke briefly about Nelson and then reassured the audience of the continuing high standard of the current recruits,’ the spokesperson said.

‘Despite gloomy reports in the press and media the Service was in good spirit and in safe hands.’

Dinner and speeches were followed by several toasts and a rendition of the first verse of the National Anthem, before the guests retired to ‘dance and skylark’.