Thank you to all who helped with and came to the Fete on Whit Monday. Particular thanks go to Mr and Mrs Georg von Opel and all their staff who generously allowed us to invade for the weekend.
The fete was formally opened by our new MP, Kit Malthouse, who with his wife and two children hotfooted it from the Highclere game show to be with us; he was very complimentary about our set up! The weather was kind which encouraged lots of visitors – at a guess we think about 700 and it also meant that we can report a bumper income. The provisional figures show that we made over £9,000 on the day and hopefully, including donations and after expenses are taken out it should be nearer £12,000.
Thanks should also go to Chris Wilkes and Mel Akhurst, who once again arranged the most wonderful display of vintage cars, with full notes on each as well as providing a racing car for future petrol-heads to sit in, helmet and all, and a ‘guess the number of balloons’ competition.
Enormous hugs go to everyone who made the day such a happy one; Mat Reece and his team who took 2 groups on a tour of the gardens; the ever cheerful gate keepers, James and Lucy d’Albuquerque and Hugh Cobbe; the amazing WI tea ladies; the Houghton family from St Martin’s School who ran the toy tent, just to mention a few and the hoards of willing volunteers who put up the tents – and admittedly, drank beer, courtesy of our inside connection with Sambrooks Brewery, manned the stalls and sideshows all afternoon, put it all away at the end of the day and still had the energy to gather at the Furze Bush for a final celebration!
Thank you one and all.
Sarah Ede