AI is a remarkable tool. Look at this old photograph from the village’s archive – it’s clearly the Dolphin. It’s very atmospheric, but obviously from another age. Below it is the same image having been processed by AI – the work of a couple of keyboard clicks. Now it almost looks like a photograph taken yesterday. Perhaps the only real clue is the struggle the software had with the donkey’s head ! He was probably moving as the original exposure was made.
AI enhanced of the Dolphin Inn
You can see more (as yet) unmodified old photos of the village here
Kingston Local History Society Christmas Party will take place in the Reading Room on Thursday 4th December 2025 starting at 7pm.
The format again will be an informal buffet supper for which we are inviting offers of food contributions please from members.
KLHS will provide complimentary prosecco at the start of the evening.
Thereafter we will have wine available throughout the evening asking for £3 per glass or £12 per bottle with profits going towards KLHS funds. [ Will the card reader be operational by then or should we still say please bring cash?] [ We still have no facility for card payments so please bring cash. ]
We will also provide basic free soft drinks in the form of water and squash but please bring your own if you would prefer anything more to your personal choice.
Beer will be available from The Dolphin.
Please feel free to bring your own bottles of wine if you prefer to do so.
The plan would be a simple buffet supper possibly but not necessarily suitable for a knife and fork leaving that to personal preference followed by a cheese board and desserts. Last year everyone excelled themselves with a delicious range of different food contributions so if you want to suggest the same as what you brought last year that seemed to be very successful. We will be aiming for overall food contributions along the following lines:-
Earlier this year we invited Kingston residents to submit stories that had been handed down to them of family members’ experiences of World War 2.. As the invitation said ‘These experiences don’t have to have any direct connection to Kingston.. the link will be that they are stories known to people living in our community now..‘
We have created a new page on this site called ‘Research Projects’, where you can find the stories received so far. We hope that this page will also be where future local history research projects appear.
Carol Beard, who conceived this project, intends that these stories will be made available in a printed collection at some point in the future. In the meantime we would urge villagers to submit their stories to Carol if they haven’t already done so.
30 members were able to enjoy a fascinating and informative tour of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth on what was the last of this season’s KLHS organised outings. The group was led by tour guide Lt Cdr Nichola Aldridge who, shared her impressive knowledge of the workings and history of the site.
Among many highlights was the story of the standards of individual commanders – traditionally hung after the death of the individual and left undisturbed, gradually to rot away. Other nuggets of information were the naval origins of a ‘square meal’ – from the square wooden plates used by a gun crew, and ‘on the fiddle’ which referred to the edge of a plate that a sailor might have greedily over-filled.
Kingston Local History Society 