Bishopstone Country Fayre 2014


Well another Bish Bash bites the dust. How quickly our annual showcase comes and goes. I think you will agree, all the hard work by so many villagers paid off in leaps and bounds this year and must be our most successful event?

We are still counting the money, but we will be able to give a sizeable donation to The Friends of Bishopstone Church as well as fund the next event at Christmas time.

The committee always try to develop the Bish Bash and this year’s theme of a Country Fayre was no exception. A big thank you to the Tractor Boys for turning up in numbers, it really added to the essence of the theme this year. The concourse of vintage cars was boosted swiftly at the start of the Fayre when Mike Ash and Chris Sexton zipped home and bought along their ‘babies’. The Wilton Hunt Hounds were a real treat, how lovely to see the children in the ring petting the hounds, thank you to Mr James and Josh for all your effort and taking them for a long run up the drove before entering the ring to ensure there were no surprises!

The circus skills were new for this year and will definitely be asked back again, I was amazed how they could keep so many children so interested for such a long time. I am sure there must be some out there that would like to know their secret……

The animal corner delighted both young and old, especially with the periodic sheep shearing, thanks Rob, the alpacas were very well behaved and thank you to Mr Butt who showcased some beautiful chickens. There was also a sub competition going on all afternoon between the cockerels and male ducks to see who could make the most noise!

Thanks to Sarah Blank for organising such a beautiful food fest again with her usual expertise and style, welcoming and celebrating all that is good, wholesome and local. The bake off was well supplied with entrants, winners each receiving vouchers for £15.

Our raffle is amazing, apart from the Kindle, which was funded from Bish Bash funds, all 35 + prizes were generously donated by you. This is always the main essence of raising money to fund our events and this year was no exception, thank everyone for either buying raffle tickets or donating prizes, it wouldn’t work without this.

Our usual Hog Roast boys had company this year from an oven Pizza Company, who made fresh pizzas while you wait; I know the children really enjoyed them. Tim Madden and his band made just the right amount of music and added to the atmosphere with their country flavour.

The evening continued and was well supported in The White Hart. Just Us were a great soul band and lots of us still had enough energy to dance the night away. I paid for it with sore knees on Sunday, bring on the Ralgex!

Finally, a big, big thank you to the wonderful committee that make this happen. To all of you that support the event and everyone that helped out on the day to make this the success it was, you know who you are.

As always, to finish, some highlights of the day.

  • Shaun the Sheep escaping from his pen and being so expertly recaptured by Rob.
  • Chris Sexton pretending to be Mary Poppins when his gazebo went flying
  • One of the hounds narrowly missing a spectator’s handbag. I will leave you with your imagination on this one.
  • Harriett winning the tin of Slim fast in the raffle
  • To never to trust the weather forecast, they said it going to rain all day
  • And finally to congratulate PC Pete for winning the Community Champion of the Year for Wiltshire.

That’s all for now folks
Marion