I am always proud of my Westcountry heritage and given any chance to represent this wonderful part of the UK, I will. Recently I had the honour of attending St James's Palace to present the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Gold award winners from the South West with their certificates. I remember starting the scheme and obtaining my bronze award before attempting the gold but soon realised the time and effort required for this would not fit around my swimming and sport commitments. Whilst presenting each certificate to these mature and polite young people it reminded me of the importance of life skills and achievements outside of pure academia.
On a slightly less serious note I had another proud Westcountry moment last week. I was in Hong Kong which admittedly used to be owned by Great Britain but other than the odd colonial building and significant amount of ex patriots there is little sign of this shared heritage; that was until I found a slightly quirky kiosk next to the ferry terminals. Whilst abroad I avoid all things British (and American) on principle and try to immerse myself in the local food and culture as much as possible, although there can be the odd exception. It was a sign for cider that caught my eye and on closer inspection I discovered this kiosk was selling Somerset cider and Devon crisps - I just couldn't resist.
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