Lymm Festival is in full swing. It’s an annual highlight of the village calendar, now in its tenth year, and I’ve been involved a number of times in judging the literary competitions, though not this year – so I’ve had some time to enjoy one or two of the many events on offer.
These include last Thursday’s Foodfest, when the main road through the village is closed to traffic and occupied by stalls selling a wide range of food and drink, and the opening on Saturday of the excellent Sculpture Garden, a magical private garden on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal. At the latter event, I met Nigel Jay, a former BBC regional news reader, now an author, of whom more shortly.
On Sunday, upwards of a dozen gardens were opened to the public, and we took a number of friends along, including Kate Ellis. She’s pictured with me next to the skull and crossbones – it seemed like a suitable snap for two crime writers.
One of the gardens is owned by Matthew Corbett, who with his father Harry made The Sooty Show famous. Matthew (real name Peter Corbett – you can see him under the parasol in the bottom photo) has a marvellously designed small garden, again by the canal, but there was no sign of Sooty…
4 comments:
Just as well that it's not Midsomer, else there would be at least one murder!
Wish I could have spent more time at the festival but loved the bit I saw last Saturday despite the unexpected rain that left the bunting rather bedraggled and the air smelling faintly of leaf mould.
I’m not much into abstract art, to be honest, but there was enough of the stuff I do like in the local artists’ exhibition at the Village Hall to convince me that Lymm has a wealth of talent. I was particularly taken with ‘Le Petit Café, Troyes’ by Will Swindlehurst and ‘Topiary at Tatton Park’ by Jacqueline Marshall. I liked Jan Grimes’ sketchbook nudes too!
I enjoyed some of the poetry and prose in the Lymm Lines competition file, particularly ‘Forgotten’ by Penny Kimber, which had been awarded the 2nd prize for poetry. I thought the acrid power of the piece might have inspired a crime writer to produce a tale of jealousy and revenge of the whydunnit variety.
Some beautiful stuff in the calligraphy exhibition in the adjoining room but pity the calligrapher who discovers a spelling mistake halfway through!
Had a quick look at Lymm Dam before a fresh shower drove me back and thought that massive sandstone outcrop deeply riven with Nye channels might have provided a nice setting for the grisly climax to that tale of revenge, with anglers beneath umbrellas innocently fishing the green waters just a hundred yards away…
Not that I have a macabre mind or anything, you understand!
Hi Paul, many thanks for these thoughts - and I'm glad you enjoyed the Festival.
Hi Kerrie -I really ought to fictionalise the Festival one day!
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