Elder Stubbs Festival is a lovely event, with a backdrop of the Elder Stubbs allotments which are run as an aid to recovery for people with mental health issues. I haven't visited the site before, though I know plenty of devotees who go to the Festival every year. It has something to delight everyone - the gardener, the musician, the foodie and the parent.

As other people have said, the weather doesn't matter much. We had sunny patches for eating icecream and rainy patches for sheltering in the reggae tent. We ate Taste of Tibet, just one of many many world foods on offer, and patted the ponies who were doing sterling work giving rides up and down the paths, as well as bumping into people we knew and having a good natter.

The garden itself is lovely. It has a mix of sculptures, open areas and beautiful allotments full of enviable produce. We admired swan-neck gourds, beans so plentiful their supports were snapping, and some delicious blackberries growing in the hedge. We could see allotmenteers proudly showing their families what they had been growing.

All in all very friendly, with a good mix of music, a veg show, a whole variety of stalls from political (The Green Party) to handmade jewellery or fair-trade goods, lots of food, and a welcome tea stall. I hope it made a good profit for Restore, and it certainly gave a good introduction to the allotments and Restore's work for newcomers.