Ottery St Mary is a very happening place, so it seems! I’ve been providing ‘Ottery PR’ for Otter Nurseries and Robin Rea at Rusty Pig for a couple of years now, as well as supporting the Volunteer Inn. I also handle the occasional bit of PR for the spicy Samosa Lady, Tina Chauhan-Challis.
My newest OSM client is Tickety-Boo. This is a fantastic project to revitalise the old bakery in the heart of the town with a coffee shop, playzone and events room.
Tickety-Boo is coming together fast, so it’s a bit of a rollercoaster ride at the moment. I’m overseeing the new website, setting up social media, sorting out photography, working on posters, sourcing balloons and helping to organise the opening event on August 13th. Phew!
Ottery businesses
What impresses me about all these Ottery businesses is their commitment not only to their own business but other local businesses too, as well as the community. They seem to have grasped the fact that if people work together for the good of a community, everyone wins. Otter Nurseries was headline sponsor for the Ottery Food & Families Festival and offers fundraising parking for the Tar Barrels. Rusty Pig, Samosa Lady and Volunteer Inn support the Carnival Committee that organises the Tar Barrels each year, as well as being involved in the food festival.
The ethos behind Tickety-Boo is to give the local community something really good to enjoy. No fried food here, everything is to be home-cooked by the talented chef, Dave using locally sourced ingredients. The playzone has been hand-built and the party room murals painstakingly painted by hand. The coffee shop also has a bespoke-made feel. There’s a lot of time and effort going into this.
It’s a privilege to work with such a vibrant community. The community Facebook page ‘Ottery Matters’ is always ablaze with opinions, grumbles, lost dogs (and once a donkey), concerns and celebrations. It’s one of the most engaged pages I’ve seen, and very entertaining to read.
I’m looking forward to the launch of Tickety-Boo and the opportunity for more Ottery PR!