Whatlington

Village Fête: Our annual fête took place on Saturday, August 30th and was held by all and sundry to have been a great success. An early shower had thoughtfully cleared the area just before we all arrived to set up the stalls and games and general trappings and that was the last rain we saw all day, despite some grumpy-looking clouds looming overhead from time to time. Attendance was very good and all the stalls did brisk business as the afternoon went on, with several of them completely clearing their wares, notably the Bottle Bola stall whose prizes had all been won after a couple of hours! The bar, the barbecue and of course the tea and home-made cakes were all very popular too. There were numerous games for the children, who all seemed to be having a good time, as their holidays drew to a close. These - also enjoyed by lots of adults! - included a Coconut Shy, Plate Smashing, Hoopla, a Treasure Map, Bran Tub, Magic Key chest, Guess the Name of the Teddy, and Splat the Rat; not forgetting the Tractor Rides around the field which proved to be one of the favourites. There were also teams for two games of Stool Ball which appeared to cause much hilarity! The afternoon raised just over £900 for the Village Hall refurbishment fund, in addition to the funds raised for St Mary Magdalene by the tea tent. Huge thanks are owed, as ever, to Hugh and Lesley Apthorp, who not only provide the field venue for the Fête but a large number of the games as well, as well as running the very popular Tractor Rides, and organising the Vintage Car show! Many, many other people kindly contributed to the success of the day; if I tried to list all your names I would be bound to miss someone out, so please accept our grateful thanks - you know who you are, and so do we! and we couldn’t have done it without you.