LAST year many of us were very sad and quite depressed — the Post Office, the General Stores, the chip shop, the by-pass garage and North Cornwall Farm Supplies — all closed and gone in a very short space of time. Stratton was officially dead.

Those of us who remember the market, the bustling shops, the people, felt that the town was only a suburb of Bude and wondered how long the hospital would survive.

Out of duty, some friends and I visited St Andrew's Flower Festival, as we often do. As the youngsters say, wow! The church was alive, so many old photographs and momentos of the past and visitors from all over the country.

I've never heard such glowing comments as I walked around anything before. There was a real community buzz and it was lovely to meet so many old friends and catch up on shared memories.

The music was calming and the food provided better than anything Mr Rick Stein could cook up. Proper pasties and saffron buns in a church! Homemade soups and cream teas — they really ought to open a cafe and put Bude to shame.

The history of Stratton really came alive and the 'Did you know' booklets taught me things I never learnt at the primary school and showed how much love and knowledge there is about the place. We hope that the Tourist Information Centre takes them up.

So much effort must have gone into making this the huge success that it was for us locals and visitors alike. I never knew that there was a William Morris window in the church that I got married in, nor that the railway nearly came to the town. You live and learn.

It was a fabulous event and I congratulate the (doubtless small) band of organisers. It was the best ever. And best of all, the stores have re-opened under new management and there is a half time post office back. Things are looking up. Well done to all those old Strattonians who made it possible. I'm 'proper 'mazed'.

Bude.