IT has been food glorious food for the first few days of this year's Devizes Food and Drink Festival.

The food market on Saturday was described by chairman Roz Ambler as the biggest in the festival's history and music from The Decades helped both the food and drink to slip down.

Ms Ambler has also been pleased with other events including the World Food Day in the Corn Exchange on Sunday, a murder mystery in Wiltshire Museum and a vicar's tea party.

She said: "On Saturday night a Murder Mystery was held in Devizes Museum. The dark and stormy night saw 44 amateur sleuths crowded into Horatio’s Room for a meal and a murder.

"Performed by the brilliant All Cannings Panto Group, the clever and witty two act play, ‘Written Out’, created by Fran Barker, Annie Cooper and Katharine Stachowicz, was set at the village Book Club.

"The group has been reading “Murder Comes to Little Creeping” by Hugh Dunnett, a recent bestseller, chosen by Tanya Bax-Syde. Hostilities within the group soon commenced and so the play evolved with, of course, a dastardly murder.

"After the first Act, the first course was served while the audience opened the first of two clue envelopes. Act 2 followed with theatrical tensions rising, accusations and suspicions abounding. After dessert [delicious sweet tarts donated by Bakkavor], the ‘investigators’ were given an opportunity to cross examine the suspects and over coffee and mint tea discussed, dissected and foraged for clues each person submitted an answer sheet for scrutiny.

Finally came the big reveal – who did it?

"All in all it was an excellent evening with delicious food and a clever, entertaining mystery to solve. And the best sleuth went home with a bottle of wine!

"Sunday’s World Food Event saw national dishes from 13 different countries, cooked by local people of foreign heritage, in the Corn Exchange.

"The official opening of the festival was conducted by Mayor Judy Rose, and visitors rushed to try such delicaces as New Zealand lamb salad, Slovakian cakes, Aubergines from Fiji, Syrian stuffed courgettes, Haggis, and Plov from Kazakhstan. Every cook sold out.

"And Sunday evening saw a wonderful intimate dinner for eight in the Pavilion in Hillworth Park, with a Lebanese theme for the food.

"The Festival runs through until Sunday 6th. Most events are now fully booked, but the website has details of any with space still remaining www.devizesfoodanddrinkfestival.info"