There was a lovely atmosphere in Sidmouth during the Sidmouth Jazz Festival at the end of May. Four quality headline acts and a number of terrific sideshows ensured the weekend went off with a swing. I personally attended the Curtis Stigers and Mud Morganfield shows. Both were very different but nonetheless extremely entertaining. Indeed Curtis Stigers enjoyed the following day in Sidmouth and attended the Brand New Heavies show on the Saturday night.

It was good to see that the new ‘no cycling’ pavement signs have been renewed between the parish church and Blackmore Drive. I use this path regularly when walking between home and the cricket club and I have to say I’ve seen a number of near misses with people cycling along the pathway recently. Hopefully nobody coming out of Blackmore Gardens is going to be run over but it is advisable to look left and right because some cyclists take no notice of the signs!

In another public health and safety warning the recent movement of pebbles on the beach has resulted in a massive drop down onto the rocks on the seafront. At the time of writing this article there were no warning signs on the slope down to the beach. Hopefully the sea will soon move the pebbles back.

With the bicentenary events at the Cricket Club just a fortnight away now is your opportunity to grab one of the few remaining tickets from the club website. I think a number of us are going to need a long lie down (and a new liver!) after the week has finished but it will be worth it as the like of it will never be seen at the club again in our lifetimes. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that the weather plays ball. Look out for the marquee that is being erected next week.

This weekend the home game on Saturday at The Fortfield is a 2nd XI game versus Teignmouth and Shaldon. Last weekend the 2nd XI won at Shobrooke Park. The 1st XI are away at Paignton hoping to correct their form after a chastening defeat last weekend against Bradninch. The 3rd XI are at Braunton hoping to follow up on their fantastic win against Clyst St George.

Next Friday the bicentenary games commence with a game against the MCC. They are expected to field a strong side. On the Saturday the 1st XI have a home game against North Devon who are also celebrating their bicentenary this year. And on the Sunday there is a local derby at The Fortfield as Sidmouth 3rd XI entertain Sidbury. From Monday 10th there are games against Warwickshire Imps, Heffle Cuckoos, Somerset 2nd XI and Free Foresters. All very exciting and we hope to see as many people as possible joining in the celebrations.

Folk Week is only 5 weeks away and the signs are it is going to be a busy one. We have sold out of camper van spaces on the cricket ground for the first time for a number of years. We will once again be doing parking on the outfield provided that the weather plays ball. Both ourselves and the Rugby Club rely heavily on voluntary help to help with parking and thanks are due to everyone who puts themselves out each year.

Finally the fantastic work the emergency services do has been highlighted on numerous occasions over Sidmouth recently. The police helicopter and the Devon Air Ambulance have sadly had to pay a number of visits to deal with emergency situations. Fund raising for the air ambulance has been the chosen charity of this year’s Sidmouth Golf Club captain, John Jones. A couple of weeks ago he, David Bater and Lewis White played 100 holes in a day at Sidmouth! A lot of money has already been raised after they completed the task and the just giving page is still open if you’d like to contribute.