Rhubarb restaurant's WestFest cupcakes
I can now breathe a huge sigh of relief that the madness of the last few weeks has subsided. Phase 1 of Project Green Tea was completed in time for the revellers at WestFest 2010 this weekend to gaze (I hope admiringly) through the window at the changes which have already taken place. Major extra work means there’s still wallpaper to be pasted and doors to be painted for Phase 2, but the Green Tea Girls were there to talk about the new menus, offer taster boxes and generally join in the Burton Road festivities with a restaurant looking radically different than it did two weeks ago!
The Green Tea team
As usual Mr M and I spent time with drills, ladders and a bit of bickering on the opening morning of West Fest, debating the best way to put up the wonderful Didsbury Life mosaic created by artist Amanda McCrann. I said batons, he said to the frame, it’s an I-know-best game we play which sometimes lead to giggles, sometimes to personal injury but luckily for him this time he caved early and with Pete’s help, up it went on the batons 
Mr M 'checks' my mosaic measurements, grrrrrr men!
Looking a bit wobbly there, Pete.....
Best to keep your eyes shut when faced with such a view.....
The finished Amanda McCrann mosaic, with smiles from Pete, and Rip Rap entertaining Thea
Once the mosaic was up, I had a bit of a wander:
Silver Apples getting ready
The Silver Apples 'Gin' Scarecrow
Oh, so many cakes, so little time.....
The Junk Girls sort out their bunting
An army of frogs gathered at, er, Frog Furniture
The girls happy with their cake!
Azzurro cook up a seafood barbeque storm, ie my lunch!
Then, Mr M and I spent the rest of the day clearing down Green Tea and shopping for dressing bit & bobs, whilst the world and his wife wandered WestFest without a care in the world. Our hard work reward was a magnificent evening spent at Love 2 Eat deli, along with the Didsbury Life team, entertained by copious wine, bingo and superb poetry from Mike Garry, of God Is A Manc fame.
Sunday was much more relaxed as it involved no work and a hangover 
There was music at M20…..
A spot of face-painting…..
Wine tasting at Reserve Wines…..
Nibbles from the hot plate at Pinchjo’s……
Music and ‘singing’ from Crazy Wendy as Mr Moregeous and Mrs Rose pass by….
Lots for the kids to do….
And even craft for the adults courtesy of left over mosaics from Amanda’s Didsbury Life sign, everyone got to play with glue and dabble at being arty, happy days
My final image from WestFest 2010 is of the woman of the hour as without her hard work, dedication and relentless energy, the festival wouldn’t have happened and certainly wouldn’t have happened on the fabulous scale that it did. Of course, it’s about all the businesses in the area pulling together with a concerted effort, enthusiasm and imagination, plus there are many other individuals (mainly Pete!) who form the Didsbury Life team, but for me it’s Helen who holds aloft the Rhubarb WestFest cocktail and wins the medal for championing our small, but growing, community
Mrs Burton Road, drinking this gorgeous cocktail for purely professional reasons you understand (it was specially made for WestFest2010 using local rhubarb and thyme)
