It seems the North Devon Journal is waging a campaign to close the Bradworthy Carnival. The Carnival day itself was a success, entry numbers were down but the bucket collection was the same as most years. To read the write up the following week, however, you would think no one turned up at all. Creating an entry involves a lot of work, commitment and money but having a good Carnival is not dependent on sheer numbers of entrants.
The Carnival is not, of course, just about the Carnival week. It is going on all year round with "Royalty" visiting other villages and towns. A few very dedicated people have made a tremendous effort this year to take the Bradworthy entries to as many Carnivals as possible and were deservedly rewarded with two first prizes at Holsworthy on the 18th November.
Few projects have suffered more with negative press than the Millennium Dome. From the outset the project has been plagued with derision and criticism. One of the main thrusts has been the waste of "public" money; however it was entirely funded by lottery money and commercial sponsorship. Resources were undoubtedly mismanaged, but the money was actually "wasted" when the lottery tickets were bought. Whilst I was a bit disappointed by the content when we visited the Dome as a family, the Dome itself is a spectacular engineering achievement. It really would be a waste if it is destroyed next year.
An example of a Lottery funded project that has had an unreservedly good press is the Eden Project. This is, without a doubt, a first class enterprise converting a derelict china clay working into a twenty first century botanic garden. For a tenth of the cost of the Dome the project leaders have created a huge plastic greenhouse to house plants from all over the world. Their marketing strategy is inspired. Already over 50,000 people have paid to visit the site whilst construction is in progress. My wife and I have been twice and look forward to next March when the place actually opens.