Lucky Local Life

September 14, 2015 by Ray Morgan

Lucky local life

I just had one of those perfect Leigh on Sea weekends. I know I've talked about how good it is to get away - to London, or Margate for example - but sometimes you just need to immerse yourself in the fantastic things that go on in our little town.

Saturday was the first ever Buzzlefest, a festival solely for children in Leigh Library Gardens. I went with my best pal's little boy, who has just turned 2. As we walked in (through a sparkly rainbow curtain which frankly could have entertained kids for a whole afternoon by itself), we saw that the Library Gardens had been transformed. Trees wore giant satin dresses. Hand crafted birds and butterflies hung from branches, blowing in the wind. Bubbles appeared out of nowhere. There were blow-up dinosaurs hanging out under low branches. One tree had great big googly eyes. There were different zones; movement and dance, storytelling, music, and 'chillout'. You could tell it had all been created by people who had passion, vision, and a great sense of fun.We sat in a tent and experienced some very enthusiastic storytelling, and then attended a baby gym, dance classes, and lots of running up and down the grassy hill in the lower field. It was great. I hope they continue to put this festival on in future years - it captures exactly the ethos of everything that Leigh is about: community spirit, and fun. Top marks to the Buzzlefest team!

After that, I changed gear completely and went for a wine tasting evening at Vino Vero on Leigh Road. Definitely glad I did this *after* being in a park full of kids. It was so nice! If you've never been, VV do 'wine flights' on a theme. This month's theme is Californian wines, and you can pick a variety of options. I chose the 'white flight' which means three 50ml glasses of a variety of Californian whites, and it cost just £6. I learned that I loved Chardonnay - something I thought I didn't like because of the bad rap it gets (thanks Footballers' Wives). Then you can pick off the menu of other wines - all Californian - for a 'pay as you go' price. It is such a reasonable way of finding out what wines you like, and also includes things like sherries and madeiras if that's your bag. You can order cheese boards, olives and nuts, which go perfectly with the wines, and the lovely owners of VV tell you about the grapes as you slurp away. I highly recommend it for a fun night out where you learn something, and it's not about chucking wine down your neck to get merry. And of course, you can then buy bottles to take home. Which we all did. Hooray!

On Sunday, I visited Poco Gelato as some friends of mine has donated a serious glut of greengages from their garden. Poco gamely accepted the fruit and turned it into a frankly outrageously tasty ice cream. Greengage and Sour Cream was the flavour, and we picked up a pint to give back to the greengage providers. It was so delicious. While picking up the ice cream I thought about what a great thing Poco are doing. Not only are they a fantastic independent in Leigh - you know I love that - they're genuinely doing something different. Everything is organic, and beautifully made. I have eaten a lot of their ice creams, believe me, and I've never been disappointed. The flavours actually taste like the flavours they're supposed to be: through good ingredients, not fake flavourings. Kids love it because they have a toppings bar where they can pick various things like hundreds and thousands, nuts, marshmallows and sauces. I say kids love it, I mean me. I often make my ice cream highly camp by liberally applying hundreds and thousands. If you've not been yet, go! And don't be thinking it's just a summer game. They do coffee and hot waffles, and whatever the weather, there'll be something there to tempt you.

I then ventured into Southend for a gig at the Railway. They had Adnam's Ghost Ship ale on tap, and a super line up of bands. Dark Globes and the Hillmisters, both local bands, performed brilliant sets (90s shoegaze with Ian Curtis vocals anyone?) ahead of staggering Totnes psych-folk band The Diamond Family Archive. The room upstairs at the Railway was packed, with many people from the local arts scenes, all standing together to enjoy the music. It felt like the perfect end to one of those local weekends where you think: I am so, so lucky to live here.

SIDE NOTE: In a rare moment of relaxation on Sunday, I sat on my sofa cross legged to read the Guardian, and my favourite pair of jeans ripped. A massive tear down a seam. Maybe this is the universe telling me to lay off the wine, cheese, ice cream, and ale? Oh well. You only live once, eh?

My top 5 Poco flavours:

1. Sea salted caramel
2. Cherry sorbetto
3. Roasted banana
4. Orange and fennel seed
5. NEW IN: Greengage and sour cream!