British Summer Time

Well, since my last post things appear to have become more subdued but... that is merely an illusion as the work continues apace behind the scenes with the multimedia explorers. Content is coming together very nicely now and, without sounding too confident, is comfortably on target to be completed in the very near future. The last few pieces of filming are being fitted into the tours and things like title graphics, menus, sound effects and credits are about to be added as the finishing touches. It's an exciting time and one that has been anticipated since the project was first dreamed up almost two years ago. There are several excellent surprises for those who wish to hire the multimedia devices this summer and I hope you will all be delighted with the end result - I am already and I haven't seen the finished article yet!

Among the last few jobs has been a recreation of a farming scene from days gone by. It was difficult to find a picture of the scene we had in mind and impossible to do without, so we recreated the situation with the help of some farming friends and a willing young volunteer (thanks Kyle!) who donned his farmer's outfit and did a stirling act. It was all captured on film and has been added to the wonderful mixture of old and new video clips on the Braunton Explorer. See if you can spot him, he could well be in Hollywood by this time next year!

Another highly enjoyable outing recently was the walk and talk given by Richard T Bass, Historian and Battlefield Guide, about the use of Braunton Burrows for training during World War II. Richard was accompanied by some authentic 'soldiers', who lent credance to the awe-inspiring story of the men who trained there in preparation for the D-Day landings - many of whom never lived to tell the tale themselves. The walk was very well attended and viewed as a great success by everyone I spoke to. Furthermore, on Friday evening there was a celebration at Barnstaple Museum to mark the culmination of the Explore North Devon project. The project isn't finishing for good but the first phase is now complete and it was a good opportunity to gather all those who have been involved and enjoy a glass of wine together!

I was completely thrown by the lack of an hour at the weekend and, although I very much welcome British summer time I am finding it hard to adjust and to resist the temptation to spend the evening pulling up weeds in the garden at a cost to all the other essential jobs! My sincere thanks to those of you who have supported David with his London Marathon sponsorship, he really was astounded by the generous spirit with which so many people donated. He had a heart-breaking week last week when his ankle was strained and it looked as though his training, and marathon bid, were over but he has recovered remarkably well and has cautiously resumed his training in an effort to catch up. He is absolutely determined to run the marathon and so I wait with baited breath to see how he gets on - it's going to be a nerve-wracking day. I'll report after the 13th with the news.

I hope you didn't suffer too much on April Fools Day - I mercifully managed to survive without anything more foolish than usual happening to me!