BISHOPSTONE COUNTRY FAYRE 13 JUNE 2015
Marion's report of a great day out..............................................
Hi everyone, not sure where to start or what to say about this years event?
Was it fabulous fun, a perfect day out, a good laugh, different from last year, or a just an old fashioned cracking event? Personally I think it was a combination of all of the above.
How different it is to six years ago when we Bish Bashers ran our first Bishopstone fete. Over the years we have tried different combinations, learned from our triumphs and mistakes, changed formats, but this year, for the first time, I think that we have finally found the recipe that has worked for all.
Taking over the whole field, with the car parking opposite, presented both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity - we had the whole field. The challenge - the field is very big, especially when it is empty. Lee, Ali, John and I spent many a sad evening on the recreation field, marking out the possibilities, where the archery should go, how many marquees to use, could we squeeze in go kart track, how best to keep the essence of the event without spacing too many things too far apart. Ali suggested (quite strongly) to save space it would be a good idea to put me and my microphone at the far end of the field as he said everyone would hear me anyway… not sure what he meant by that!
Hi everyone, not sure where to start or what to say about this years event?
Was it fabulous fun, a perfect day out, a good laugh, different from last year, or a just an old fashioned cracking event? Personally I think it was a combination of all of the above.
How different it is to six years ago when we Bish Bashers ran our first Bishopstone fete. Over the years we have tried different combinations, learned from our triumphs and mistakes, changed formats, but this year, for the first time, I think that we have finally found the recipe that has worked for all.
Taking over the whole field, with the car parking opposite, presented both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity - we had the whole field. The challenge - the field is very big, especially when it is empty. Lee, Ali, John and I spent many a sad evening on the recreation field, marking out the possibilities, where the archery should go, how many marquees to use, could we squeeze in go kart track, how best to keep the essence of the event without spacing too many things too far apart. Ali suggested (quite strongly) to save space it would be a good idea to put me and my microphone at the far end of the field as he said everyone would hear me anyway… not sure what he meant by that!
Having ring events and secondary events running simultaneously seemed to work well. However I had to make sure that the Wilton hounds didn’t arrive in the ring at the same time as the ferrets were racing, as we might just have got more entertainment than we bargained for.
The Yokel band played most of afternoon and evening, they were great weren’t they? They want to come back next year, which is nice and I can see them becoming regulars at our events in future. However the hero of the hour has to be Carnival Club Chris who saved the day in the evening. The Yokels finished playing at 9.30pm, lots of people were still on the field and it felt like the evening had finished too early. Chris came to the rescue, whizzing home and bringing back his disco equipment, setting up in record time and by 10pm it was up and running with a disco to finish the evening, which was perfect. With so many people dancing, it felt like we had morphed into a mini music festival, who would believe it in Bishopstone!
Reflecting back now on Saturday, a special mention to the Bish Bash team, you know who you are, a very big THANK YOU for working so hard to put together such a successful event
That’s all for now apart from saying thank you to everyone who attended, gave raffle prizes, supported us with help, time or money. It’s a pleasure.
Marion
As always some highlights to finish.......................
· Ian whizzing around the field on his mobility scooter giving free rides to the children, I think I counted six on the scooter at one point
· Children playing with the hay bales for hours and hours and hours
· Madeline and Nick arriving in the food fest tent with a basket full of HUGE rhubarb
· The fencing display team and no, I didn’t book a fencing team to erect a fence and Steve and his team turned up instead!
· The wonderful steam engines and vintage tractors
· The enormous baguettes from the Food Stop, I wasn’t sure whether to eat mine or try to play it, yum, yum.
The Yokel band played most of afternoon and evening, they were great weren’t they? They want to come back next year, which is nice and I can see them becoming regulars at our events in future. However the hero of the hour has to be Carnival Club Chris who saved the day in the evening. The Yokels finished playing at 9.30pm, lots of people were still on the field and it felt like the evening had finished too early. Chris came to the rescue, whizzing home and bringing back his disco equipment, setting up in record time and by 10pm it was up and running with a disco to finish the evening, which was perfect. With so many people dancing, it felt like we had morphed into a mini music festival, who would believe it in Bishopstone!
Reflecting back now on Saturday, a special mention to the Bish Bash team, you know who you are, a very big THANK YOU for working so hard to put together such a successful event
That’s all for now apart from saying thank you to everyone who attended, gave raffle prizes, supported us with help, time or money. It’s a pleasure.
Marion
As always some highlights to finish.......................
· Ian whizzing around the field on his mobility scooter giving free rides to the children, I think I counted six on the scooter at one point
· Children playing with the hay bales for hours and hours and hours
· Madeline and Nick arriving in the food fest tent with a basket full of HUGE rhubarb
· The fencing display team and no, I didn’t book a fencing team to erect a fence and Steve and his team turned up instead!
· The wonderful steam engines and vintage tractors
· The enormous baguettes from the Food Stop, I wasn’t sure whether to eat mine or try to play it, yum, yum.
PHOTOS OF THE DAY....................
Full steam ahead.
Fencing contractors at work
Gundog Demonstration
Reverend Jenny with her flock.
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Ferret to the fore.
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One of The Yokels.......the wind section.
Young archers.
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A real skills test.
Adjusting the height of the funnel?
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MP and PC - John and Pete.