We couldn’t squeeze another person in!

WHAT a busy week it has been - so busy that I haven’t been able to take part in a specific summertime activity this week, but I’ve been to as many of the Lifeboat Week events as I could fit in.

I know that some people were scepticle about the Red Arrows flying in on the first day of Lifeboat Week - thinking there wouldn’t be enough people in the town yet, but I’m not sure we could squeeze many more in. The perfect weather has left the beach packed every day - I just hope the sunshine stays until Regatta and Carnival Week (August 6th to 13th).

The Red Arrows display was a resounding success and is hoped to have raised a record-breaking collection for the RNLI.

I enjoyed the display from the Lister Community Room on the new Marine Parade shelters. The Lyme Regis branc of Cancer Research UK, of which I am a member, was one of the first local organisations to book out the room and we hosted a champagne and strawberries and cream reception in scorching sunshine, raising £255, of which we donated £50 to the RNLI.

I put my baking skills to the test to make special Red Arrows cupcakes for the occassion - they only took me four and half hours to ice!

Whilst my family sipped champagne all afternoon I was working hard, covering events in my new patch, Colyton. When I came back to Lyme, dad was busy comparing celebrity chef Mark Hix’s cooking demonstration on the Slipway, which raised a further £200 for Lifeboat Week.

Mark’s crab dishes were delicious and were washed down with special cocktails (a rather boozy afternoon for the Evans family!) at the Hix Oyster and Fish House in Lister Gardens afterwards. If you haven’t done so already, sipping a Hix Fix on the restaurant’s terrace on a sunny day is an absolute summertime must!

APOLOGIES for missing out the illuminated boats when listing the top Lifeboat Week events in last week’s column. This spectacular event was last held in 2007 and returns this Sunday with what is set to be the biggest display yet.

The lit-up boats will tour the harbour at 9pm - a very attractive event and a excellent way to end the week. Unfortunately I will miss the last weekend of Lifeboat Week, including my favourite event, the bathtub race on Saturday, as I’m going to the Camp Bestival music festival at Lulworth Castle.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week!

RED ARROWS APPETISERS: Pictured with my

Red Arrows cupcakes on Saturday afternoon

Crash landing!

THIS dramatic scene has been catching the eyes of many over the past few days, but don’t be too alarmed - if a Spitfire had really crashed into the Marine Theatre, I’m sure you would have already read about it on the front page!

This impressive model WWII plane is a publicity stunt, attracting attention for the Shanty Theatre Company’s production of The Mysterious and Fantastical Wartime Tale of the Salty Socks of Dunkirk, which opened on Wednesday and will run at the Marine Theatre until September 4th.

My dad and I spotted the Spitfire on one of our early morning walks along the seafront and it gave us quite a shock - I think dad was hoping for a top story!

WELL DONE to Barry Trott and his team of town council gardeners for doing such an outstanding job in Langmoor and Lister gardens this year.

The floral display marking the 150th anniversary of lifeboats in the town is particularly eye-catching. I walked to the end of the Cobb earlier this week and thought it stood out brilliantly, even from so far away.

The baskets in Broad Street are also looking great and staff at the Royal Lion have obviously put a lot of effort into their attractive floral displays.

Lyme Regis is certainly blooming for summer!

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