A fabulous hat festival once again ....

Phew - the rather hectic weekend has come & gone & it is a relief to just be able to get the photos downloaded & back to snooks the hatters as they will be in demand again by suppliers & news folk eager for photos ....

The BBC were the first to request photos & they were sent post haste on Saturday bbc hat festival

We were blessed with beautiful bright weather - perfect for the crowds who started arriving in Bridport from early morning to browse the vintage stalls & soak up the atmosphere ....

Special thanks to all the lovely Hat Festival folk who were so wonderfully obliging by allowing us to photograph their wonderful hats & have a chat

Myself, Andy & daughters Pat & Anastasia were on official duty for snooks the hatters  and we had a brilliant time out there photographing hats & handing out cards for the prize giving.

I was soooo thankful that I only had to find the interesting hats, photograph them & invite them to the judging rather than do any judging because there were so many wonderful creations that it was a really tough call ....

The judges were:

the opening musician again for the Hat Festival hank wangford

Carole of the hat magazine

Bridport Mayor David Rickard

and the adults hat prize

Then indoor judging late afternoon for the best handmade hats by milliners





I also loved visiting the Trade stands to see what new hats are about ...



I love the bottom right hand hat at the wegener  stand - perfect for winter & so elegant; they are also trending some rather nice equestrian style hats due to public interest in all things equestrian after the Olympics ....



I wish I lived closer & had time to do a course with these two lovely ladies of the  exeter sewing machine company - they have stunning hats & one like Kate wore; they are also so friendly & lovely - thanks ladies



The MASS photos show what a popular event it is - daughter & Andy up above a book shop & Anastasia & I up above another on the opposite side.

The sash windows were tricky (understatement) to get open more than a bit but we managed to get some photos by squeezing thru it - thank heavens we could not see ourselves ♥



I did not get to see everything I wanted as time ran out while sending photos to the BBC etc so it was a welcome time to have drinks at the lovely Venners Bar  at the bull hotel in Bridport.  It is the perfect place for a cocktail, specially prepared by the lovely barman according to what you want.

Check out our previous cocktails Venner Bar cocktails

He did a fab non-alcoholic one for mother in law, a gorgeous fruity one for me & a selection for the rest of the family party - highly recommended!

We finished off the night at a favourite place olive tree restaurant Bridport
Fortunately, they had the foresight (experience) to place our large 14 person party in the private dining room upstairs where we could unwind & be as rowdy as we liked while enjoying their fabulous food & excellent service.

With so much seafood on the menu, I stayed away from the fish as I have a shell-food allergy; I opted for the  Vegetarian Moussaka and it was absolutely delicious with a large salad.

After feeling virtuous I went all out & had White Chocolate & Amaretti Tort for pudding; heaven on a plate I tell you - pure heaven!

After the cocktails & champagne & wine, it was most definitely time to call it a night at 11pm - a wonderful time in a favourite place!

A perfect end to a wonderful day ... ... oh the hats, daughter wore my vintage hat & the younger one looked stunning too - what do you think?

Thanks for stopping by, comments are always appreciated & I return the visit if you leave your blog details.

Dee ~♥~