Held on Sunday 14th June 2015, this eagerly awaited annual fundraising event felt at first more like a ‘Jump straight into Autumn Fair’. It wasn’t just the drizzle that dampened people’s spirits during the setting up, it was the sheer cold that made us all run around, not only to keep warm but to get the various tables out of the wet. Even the most optimistic felt somewhat downhearted, to put it mildly.
Fortunately, towards lunchtime it began to look much more like the day we would have wished it to be. In all probability this was thanks to the Singing Group, led for the day by Greg Monk (the group’s former choirmaster). Their performance began at 11.30, when the Fair opened and it was still raining. All the Singers were in very good voice and, as they were performing inside the bandstand, they were able to ignore the weather and just sing.
The Fair began in earnest when Leo the Lion made his entrance at 1 p.m. Crowds suddenly appeared in the Spires and camera phones went into overdrive as parents rushed to photograph their excited offspring. The face painting (thank you Wendy for coming to the rescue) was another great success with the young ones, and Leo was soon surrounded by other felines. Cherry Lodge patron and local MP, the Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers, also posed with Leo, which made him very proud!
Cherry Lodge did well with a children’s tombola – wonderfully run for the first time by Esen and Sez – in addition to the usual adults’ tombola. The book and cake stalls were very popular but the crème de la crème on the day was undoubtedly the plant stall. This did an absolutely roaring trade – so huge thanks to Sheila and Garth, who worked on the stall all day, and to the many people and nurseries who so generously grew and donated hundreds of favourite and exotic plants. Other stallholders, who paid Cherry Lodge to participate, added considerable style to the event with their jewellery, beautiful glass items, prints and some truly gorgeous gifts.
Thanks to everybody who contributed to the event’s success – by helping, by booking a stall, by donating items not just for the tombola stalls but also books and the lovely home made cakes, by spending money and by making very generous donations on the day. A special thanks must go to the very helpful staff at the Spires, Richard and Dan. They could not have been more accommodating.
Click on the small images below to see larger, complete photographs.
