Bridport Hat Festival: now it's time to put on our thinking caps

After our first foray into Bridport Hat Festival, at which Mr Grigg and I rather boringly wore our trusty Panamas purchased from a little shop in the delightful small town of Salento, high in the Colombian Andes, it's now time to put on our thinking caps.

In 2019, we need a mass entry from Lush Places that really captures the spirit of our lively little community.

We've managed to miss Bridport's wonderful celebration of all things hats ever since it began nine years ago. But next year, we'll delay our holiday not only for the Melplash Show (my favourite day of the West Dorset year) but also the hat festival.

On Saturday, we ventured into my kind of town, found a place to park and wandered up the street. Everyone, but everyone, was wearing hats. Even the dogs.

There were market stall holders in hats.

Siblings in hats.

Friends in hats.

If you weren't wearing a hat, you stood out like a naked, sore thumb.

There were television presenters in silly hats, men, women and children in upside down tree hats, battleship hats, fruit hats, flower hats, steampunk hats, stovepipe hats - with real steam coming out of the top - and Trump hats.

There were locals, visitors and foreigners, all in hats.

"Well," this chap said, "it is the hat feztival."

To get a true reflection of the array of hats, take a look at the pictures in my local newspaper, The Bridport and Lyme Regis News.

Stunning, are they not?

My favourite is the one that reveals the inside of that well-known West Dorset's landmark, Colmers Hill.

As a notice on the mayor's hat said: "This is not my normal size. Bridport doesn't do normal."

A huge thanks goes out to all those involved in organising such a brilliant event. And to Roger Snook from T Snook Hatters and Outfitters for running with the idea in the first place.

Let's hope lots of money was raised for the chosen charities, Brain Tumour Research and the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust.

That's about it.

Love Maddie x