Sunday | Milford on Sea Food Week Diary

Shorts have had a long week, but they were still on duty for the last day. Today was an early (if what fuzzy headed), start as I arrived in the High Street at 7.30am. The local residents had done a great job in keeping the High Street clear of cars overnight, so we were immediately ready to start setting up the arriving market stalls on the village green and in the closed High Street. The first Milford on Sea Food Market opened at 10am & immediately throngs of people started to arrive. It soon became clear that in addition to the locals, large numbers of people were attending from outside the village. All of the stalls were buzzing as they presented their wares & it was great to see people so interested in the local produce available. As the day continued, the crowd just kept growing & it was not long before people could only shuffle between stalls. The village was vibrant & there was a great atmosphere everywhere. All day our squadron of raffle ticket sellers attacked visitors from every direction, obtaining any loose cash they could from unsuspecting market goers. Around midday a reader of these pages arrived & introduced himself. It was Rick, an ex-resident of Milford on Sea, who had travelled over specially from his home in Germany, he had also been joined by his sister from France. Oh yes, Milford on Sea has international appeal! Rick (who used to be called Rex, but that’s a long story), had generously bought me a large glass keg of his local German beer to enjoy. The Plonkers were now in full swing with their cider enhanced agricultural music & every hot food stall had constant queues for hours. Our local village shops had enthusiastically supported the Food Market & many had opened specially for the Sunday, so it was great to see them also doing a brisk trade. Our local restaurants, cafes and pubs also happily fed the hungry visitors, & available tables were at a premium. By mid-afternoon many of the stalls sold out of stock, as no-one had really expect the number of people who came to visit. We estimate over 5000 passed through the Food Market. Whilst feeling a bit daft in my (far too small) high visibility waistcoat, I chatted to lots of people during the day. I was particularly pleased to hear from some local B&B owners that they had some extra bookings this week from people who had just come to visit the Food Week. Some had even already rebooked having discovered the pleasures of Milford on Sea for the first time. I also discovered from Katie that the Food Market had been mentioned in the church service this morning, how good to have an endorsement in such high places. When telling my wife, I asked her if she thought the Vicar might do a quick advert for this website next week, but she didn’t reply and just wandered off muttering ‘Why did I have to be the one who was lumbered with the village idiot.’ In the late afternoon we decided it would be fun to have the local children draw the winning raffle tickets. All went well until one little lad decided the ticket he drew could be kept, as he ran back into the crowd to Mum & Dad. A few seconds later he was dragged back by his brother & sister, but he still used all the strength he had until I could prise the ticket from his hand.

As the market drew to a close, & the stalls packed up, it soon became clear that the great team effort had created a magnificent close to an exciting first Food Week. Also all of the visitors had kept the market area clear of litter, this may seem a silly point, but to me it shows a respect for our village by everybody that came. With so many visitors to the Food Market from outside of the area we hope that many will continue to return having now discovered the delights our village has to offer. Our charming little seaside village certainly eats well & knows how to throw a party, perhaps Rick Stein and Padstow should keep one eye our vibrant community, as we are looking to get on the map fine food!

As we sat in the warm sunny Sunday evening with our friends Colin & Trish, and Steve & pregnant Liz, we enjoyed Rick’s German beer & reflected on the fun we had all enjoyed during the week. My wife even liked me for a little while. It was pretty special to spend time with my Mum, many friends & neighbours. It was also heart-warming to see the whole village pull together to make everything happen, and to see the joy on people’s faces at lots of events was a complete delight. Food week has gone way beyond our expectations in terms of support and popularity, and despite us both aching in muscles we did not even know we had, it has been really rewarding to see everyone having a great time.

Today’s weight: 0 stone 0 lbs (Scales only go up to 20 stone! & have now exploded) | Off to plan Milford on Sea Diet Week now.

*Steve has done a ‘You Tube’ montage of images from the Food Market. To watch, please click the link below.

www.milfordfoodweek.org/food-market-you-tube