Lobsters!

One of the surprise hits of the last Ffiesta was 'Hunt the Lobster'.

The hotel was very accommodating about our request to scatter approximately 100 small plastic crustaceans about the place and many of the staff gave us helpful suggestions about where to put them (actually on re-reading that it sounds as if they were being impolite, but they were genuinely engaged with the lobster spotting)  The chap in charge of the cleaners could be heard explaining that they shouldn't be moved and I think the lady on the reception desk grew quite attached to Burnie.  Mind you he is quite cuddly!

Ffiesta goers got quite enthusiastic about the hunt and I believe there was a bit of sabotage going on with lobsters being moved and hidden elsewhere.  In fact quite a number of them went missing altogether..tut, tut!  If you want a genuine Swindon lobster you will be able to buy a signed one this year,  but those taking part in the game are not domesticated and will not make good pets, - if you handle them they may bite! (or something).

The non Ffiesta guests at the De Vere however were rather bemused by the plethora of small plastic lobsters.  Well, actually I suppose it's fair to say that they were bemused by more than just the lobsters -  the shrine to President for Life Formby drew a few puzzled stares and we had quite an audience for March of the Danvers and Space Invaders, but the lobsters in particular seemed to attract attention, perhaps because it began to feel as if you couldn't escape them...everywhere you went there was likely to be a lobster with its name on a big brown label, like a displaced evacuee.  Maybe that's why so many went missing, people felt sorry for them and wanted to give them a good home - was the label  a bit too reminiscent of Paddington and 'Please take care of this bear'?  Anyway, I can assure you that they are well looked after and already have a good home here with me.

They are back again this year, and they have all been renamed and relabelled, just in case anybody had committed the list of about 100 names and the corresponding numbers to memory!  We are dispensing with the quiz element of the hunt though - mist poeple seemed to ignore that bit.