FIRST there was SPECTRE, then there was SoSBA.

The award-winning Shake & Stir Vintage Festival, organised by Southbourne on Sea Business Association (SoSBA), kicks off tomorrow after winning a legal dispute with film giant MGM.

MGM, producer of the much-loved James Bond franchise, had objected to the trademarking of ‘Shake & Stir’, due to its perceived similarity to a well known phrase from the movies.

However, thanks to free legal advice from Southbourne solicitors Steele Raymond, the association won its case.

Co-organiser Mandy Payne said: "It was very exciting to have MGM contacting us, a small but growing festival on the south coast.

"We wanted to trademark Shake & Stir as we have been getting a lot of interest from other areas, but obviously MGM have sweepers out looking for things near their trademark.

"But they have only had it trademarked in Europe for two years and we have been around for five so they didn't really have a leg to stand on."

Her colleague Fiona McArthur said: “The festival has never had anything to do with James Bond. We are really lucky we had very strong commercial and intellectual property lawyers.”

She said this year’s festival, the fifth, will be twice the size of last year’s event, and will see Southbourne Grove closed between Beresford Road and Grand Avenue for the whole day on Saturday.

Events including live music, vintage attractions and goods stalls, a traditional fairground, vintage vehicles and dance sessions will be held in the Grove itself, as well as in Fisherman’s Walk.

Headline acts include The Red Stripe Band on Saturday in Southbourne Grove, and local singer Ray Dorset, known as Mungo Jerry, in Fisherman’s Walk on Sunday.

Other acts over the weekend include Retro Rita, The Land Girls, Bourne Valley Jazz Jemz, Jitterbug Jive, The Junco Shakers, Miss Ruby’s Roadhouse Blues Band and Jimmy Hillbillies.

Tomorrow will see a vintage afternoon tea at the Cliff House Hotel, and in the evening the Shake & Stir dinner and dance at the Larderhouse, for which dancing is a must and vintage dress encouraged.

There will be a mods and rockers event on Southbourne beach on Saturday.

Other Southbourne venues getting involved with the festival include the Grove Tavern and the Wight Bear, while the BrewHouse will have a red double decker bus outside.

For full details see originalshakeandstir.co.uk