Sam allowed herself a smile. There had been a time when she’d felt she was on the verge of being her community’s worst enemy. Her brother had caused so much trouble and heartache in the village, and she’d always – and still did – felt partly responsible for that. She’d asked herself a few times if that was another reason why she’d started the festival.

‘Better get back to work. We’re behind.’

‘And whose fault is that?’ said Stefan, shaking his head.

‘OK. I get the message.’ Sam tied a plastic apron over her white overall, washed her hands again and pulled on a fresh pair of gloves. In the kitchen area, Stefan resumed preparation of the pie cases, while Sam focused on the fillings. She was serving the spring menu at the moment and offering a choice of four flavours including two vegetarian and two meat. They used nothing artificial and she insisted on high-quality ingredients such as locally milled flour, local meat and fish, and the fresh vegetables grown in abundance in the mild Cornish climate. Even the quality pie tins were an investment. Sam knew her pies might cost a bit more than a mass-produced chain version, but she was adamant they were worth it and so far, her customers had agreed.

Competition in the artisan and street food industry had grown massively since Sam had started the business but she was proud of her product and loved coming up with new recipes to tempt hungry customers. So what if she had to work all the hours to survive? She was quietly proud of having grown the business.

She thought back on the weeks she’d spent helping to convert the horsebox into an eye-catching van that was a fixture on local market days, events and festivals throughout the year. She changed the menu to suit the seasons, and in summer, offered cold quiches, pies and savouries alongside pre-prepared salads. She even had some bookings for quirky weddings and evening parties and she loved devising a special pie to the couple or birthday person’s own requirements.

There was no event that evening so Sam and Stefan spent the day filling, lidding and egg washing pies, all by hand ready for their next event the following day. The time flew by and while Stefan took a lunch break, Sam called Zennor to talk about the news and the removal and redesign of the posters. She wished they hadn’t added Kris’s name in the first place, but every cloud had a silver lining because the bad weather earlier in the day meant that the other committee members hadn’t managed to post even half the leaflets. Ben and Zennor offered to remove as many as they could in their lunch break and after work, Drew had promised to join them.