Festival-itis!

This week I’ve mainly been working hard to promote two community events ‒ the Honiton Sausage & Cider Festival on May 3 and the Ottery St Mary Food & Families Festival on June 14.

The fabulous Exeter Food & Drink Festival, which I’ve had nothing to do with (!) is already underway this weekend. I’m hoping to drop in on Sunday to sample the delights of the South West’s finest fare and see some our finest chefs show off their cookery skills.

There is such a great community spirit in Devon. People work hard to support each other’s businesses and to celebrate the very best in their neighbourhood.

At the Sausage & Cider Festival a local producer is creating a Devon Freewheelers banger, in honour of the charity that the festival is supporting. Personally I can’t wait to sample the many locally produced zyders whilst being serenaded by the Wurzels. Yes, the Wurzels. We know how to party…

As Devon Freewheelers is my charity of the year, I’ve been helping out with PR for the event. Our local paper, the Midweek Herald has been amazing in its support both of the charity and the festival. I hope we’ll be seeing quite a few members of the press next weekend when Honiton really lets its hair down!

OFFFJust under six miles west of Honiton, the Ottery St Mary Food & Families Festival had its inaugural outing last year. I chanced upon the festival when I popped into the town on a sunny June afternoon with my son, returning home with lots of lovely nibbles, including an amazing Coppa (cured pork) that Josh loved (expensive tastes, my boy) and a somewhat lighter purse.

This year I’m helping to promote the festival, pinging out press releases and media invites and negotiating a media sponsor. The response has been so positive. Devon media folk do like to celebrate along with the community! I might even be supplying a busker or two if I can persuade the Coppa lover to take to the streets of the festival with his two band members.

Now, does that make me a manager, and do I deserve a cut of their takings?

And now for something completely different – skydiving?

News last year that I had been commissioned to write a first person article about gliding made my friends fall about with laughter, as they all know about my fear of flying. What would they make of the call I received today from Devon Life magazine mentioning the word ‘skydiving’? I have to admit to a moment of general clamminess. My brain went into overdrive wondering if there was any way on earth that I could possibly throw myself out of a plane (without the aid of sedatives, see my recent Blog).  

Luckily it transpired that having to experience the ‘thrill’ of skydiving was unlikely to be a requirement on this occasion. This particular article is likely to be about the charity work carried out by my local skydiving club, which is laudable. I know a little about this already as one of my neighbours has Multiple Sclerosis and did a sponsored tandem jump last year. She loved the experience, whereas I was more than happy simply to hand over sponsorship money whilst keeping my own feet firmly on the ground!

So watch this space for further news. If I’m offered the chance of a jump, I can tell you now I’m 99.9999999% sure I’ll turn it down….