Our Corner of Northamptonshire by Helen Bach (The following is best read in a ‘David Attenborough’ style)

It is now Village Fête season, and we see the locals gathering at the village green to participate in this very British ritual. The parents, usually well-dressed in bright summer clothing, bring their similarly attired young to partake in various refreshments. For the adults, this can range from Pimm’s and lemonade accompanied with a selection of fruit and a stirry-stick which can poke the uninitiated in the eye, to pints of real ale or lager.

However, those who have had to reach their destination courtesy of their internal combustion engines tend to stick to tea and coffee, partnered with the obligatory slice of Victoria sponge or large scone with arteryclogging yet essential clotted cream. There are games, which cause both young and old much amusement. The coconut shy sees competitors throwing balls at coconuts which they then take home with them and feed to the birds because they usually have a foul taste which the humans fi nd unappetising.

Splat the rat is another favourite - despite the name, no animals are harmed in this game – it is just a bean-bag hurtling through a drainpipe while somebody attempts to whack it with a rounders bat or similar weapon. The humans like a tombola game, where a barrel containing raffl e tickets is spun, a door is opened and then a number of tickets are removed. To cries of ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’, they unwrap their tickets and win a prize - sometimes a bottle of wine or spirits - if their ticket ends in a 0 or a 5. Any other ticket is sadly discarded with a ‘better luck next time’ from the cheery stall-holder. Bric-a-brac stalls are usually collections of other people’s junk, which people pore over, haggling over the price of the item they select for purchase.

The book stall has last year’s best sellers now on offer in a ‘three books for a pound’ deal which proves irresistible for the more learned fête goer. Yes, it is a wonderful sight to see, happening from June until August, usually accompanied by a sign saying ‘if wet in village hall’!

Thanks for reading, please visit my blog and Northants Telegraph column too, Hx www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/ opinion/helen-bach www.helenbachuk.blogspot.co.uk 46

 

Our corner of Northamptonshire