The Floral pavillion boasted a Craft, Art & Food Festival this weekend. We paid the £2 entry fee, and while the craft stalls were good (£2 lapis lazuli gem stone chipped necklace and £1.50 divine honeysuckle soap!), two cake stalls and some jam don't make a food fair.

As we left others were complaining about the lack of food stalls too. The organisers said they are hoping to attract sellers - but really charging in the meantime...

The fairs seem to be a regular event - lets hope they can attract some complementary food sellers for October - as with the quality of our farmers market and annual food festival the expectations are high for a paid entry event. As it was, the best food to be had were the american donuts on the promenade - ask for cinnamon sugar to get them fresh, hot and fragrant!

Finally - we've still got wild blackberries we're struggling to pick - so I adapted Nigella's Chocolate Raspberry pavolva today, using up some blackberries plus all the frozen egg whites I've been stashing in my freezer (easy to keep if you freeze them in sandwich bags when using recipes that only call for the yolks).

Check out Nigella's recipe (and great website) here, http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=283 To make a Blackberry version of the pavlova - or infact a boozy, blackberry filling for any cake: Whip 250ml of double cream until thick but not stiff.

Add 2 spoons of icing sugar and 2 spoons of Crème de cassis (wine red blackcurrant liquer), and gently fold through.

I piled this boozy lilac tinged cream onto the cooled pavolva base then topped with rinsed freshly picked blackberries!