Welsh Country - Issue88 - May - Jun 19

WELCOME
Croeso Welcome
Issue 88, May - June 2019
A
s I start trying to put some
thoughts together for this
piece my mind keeps thinking
about the weather. The last few
months have been weird, weatherwise
and of course my concerns are
always with those involved in our
Welsh tourism sector and know I will
not be alone in crossing my fingers
and hoping for a repeat of last year’s
stunning summer. I’m hoping more
people will decide to forget the gamble
on a foreign holiday with possible
currency worries and that they’ll
plump for a stay-cation, to holiday
at home and perhaps on their list of
possible destinations Wales will be
at the top of their list for this year. I
have to trust that Visit Wales has got
all their plans in place and are not
just focusing their efforts on getting
people from abroad to visit our shores.
Visit Wales must be targeting the UK
and Ireland and also not forget the
people already living here in Wales to
visit another area of the country. I’m
puzzled that many people in the north
rarely visit the south and vice versa
and of course that applies west to east
as well. Forgive me for mentioning
tourism on a regular basis but most
of us are aware how vital tourism is to
the Welsh economy.
Now back to my very favourite
topic and that’s Welsh food and drink
and I’m always looking forward to
May which is when our food festival
season kicks off. I was hoping for a
break for the Spring Bank holiday, but
the reality means I’ll be working and
visiting the Cowbridge Food & Drink
Festival and also the Really Wild Food
& Countryside Festival in St Davids,
Pembrokeshire. I’m delighted to see
that Really Wild is back in a new
venue after a lull for a couple of years
as it has always been a fun family
event with an emphasis on foraging,
whilst Cowbridge grows from strength
to strength as a festival and this year
has a focus on Veganism. Both these
festivals are favourites of mine and
hopefully you might be able to get to
one of them and if you do please come
and say hello.
As we run so early it’s quite a
struggle getting in ideas for Father’s
Day as companies are still sending
me press releases about Mother’s
Day and Easter! But I’ve got some
suggestions for Dad’s Day, so please
don’t forget to use our artists and
craft makers or maybe visit one of our
lovely restaurants or eateries or even
book a weekend away. We’ve lots of
suggestions for you.
Until next time…
Kath Rhodes, Editor
kath@welshcountry.co.uk
May - Jun 2019 3