The pictures in this week’s paper say it all.
What an absolutely incredible couple of days in Withernsea! The town has not seen the like in years, and the organisers of the Blue Light Weekend deserve to be hugely congratulated for their sterling efforts in the past few months that more than paid off.
Any panic about the weather proved, thankfully, to be unfounded – barring a couple of showers and a bit of wind that threatened to blow our Gazette stall halfway to the Netherlands, the conditions were set fair, which, considering what the weather’s been like in the past few weeks, was amazing… and some would say it was simply meant to be.
We had such fun on the stall, chatting to people and giving away our lovely goody bags – it was utterly manic at times, as we just hadn’t anticipated the level of interest in the raffles that the Blue Light Weekend had organised, for the Tiger Moth flight but especially the helicopter ride. Para Dave’s idea to sell beer mats and spread them out on the beach before having the Royal Navy Raiders pluck out three winners… absolute genius. Far, far better and more engaging than pulling some scraps of paper out of a hat!
We haven’t had time to count the money the Gazette stall raised, nor to announce the name of our bear, so please, er, bear with us and we’ll reveal all next week. It’s been all hands to the pump on this week’s special edition and I’d like to once again thank the amazing Gazette team in the office and the photographers who’ve helped put this all together. Thanks so much to Rebecca and Zoe for helping out on the stall. I dread to think what sort of taffles I’d have got myself in had I been on my own!
There is often talk about legacy after events such as these and, boy, what a legacy this one will leave. It has such potential to grow, and the organisers certainly aren’t resting on their laurels in this respect – they’ve barely slept and they’re already in meetings discussing 2024’s event. Watch this space for news about the date, and more developments.
Talking of sleep… I think I’m off to bed right after I send this paper to press…
