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Kidney Research |
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Mayfest 2001 |
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Barrel Rolling |
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Cam Sight |
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The Sun Dance carried out the previous week in the White Horse Garden seemed to have been effective, as by midday on the Saturday morning the forecast for the week-end was dry, albeit with a North to North Easterly wind but there was no rain due, according to the experts!! By early afternoon Ye Olde Ale House, ably manned by John Rayner, was attracting a steadily increasing number of visitors to sample the full range of 19 Real Ales plus the additional 5 on sale in the bars. The musical entertainment commenced at about six o'clock with a set by resident Lounge attraction Andy Fraser accompanied by David Astell who performed a range of Jazz/Swing material for 45 minutes. The stage was then taken by Freddie & Friends Traditional New Orleans Jazz Band for an hour of Trad, by this time the Audience were well wrapped up and gathered round the patio heaters as though it remained dry, the wind was chill as the sun went down and the garden lit up, thanks to Alan's hard graft. Andy and David re-appeared for a second set accompanied by Ms Helen Burnett whose sweet vocals belie her tenderoyears and showed that surely here is a talent for the future - watch this space!! The evening's show was brought to a close with a further set from Freddie & Friends accompanied on a few numbers by Helen and guest appearance on Banjo from Geoff of "The Poacher" fame, all agreed it had been a good evening's entertainment despite the chill wind. Sunday was the Family day, commencing with the Barrel Rolling, for which there is a separate report. The village was visited by the Cambridge Hash House Harriers who after their run descended on Ye Olde Ale House and proceeded to entertain the gathering throng with their drinking games - well done. By early afternoon the garden was almost full, with the bouncy castle taking a hammering from the youngsters who were then very well entertained by AJ the wandering magician/entertainer. Many thanks to Helen Nunn and Nicky Bidwell for their sterling efforts at the Face painting tables, 1 apologise if you weren't able to get made-up but the poor girls were suffering from painter's cramps!! Many thanks also to Barry who was operating the balloon race during the Barrel Rolling, the tickets have started to return already with Bedford being the farthest touchdown so far, though with almost a month to go anything is possible. The musicians on Sunday were all village folk, as you can see we have plenty of local talent, firstly Chas, Shirley and Ally with their semi-acoustic set followed by what was effectively QED playing a very different set from their usual dance material which, nevertheless had the whole of the garden on their feet dancing the evening away, thank you one and all. The entertainment on the Monday continued the previously high standards with Scan Neven performing his songs which captured and held the youngsters' attention for the duration of his set. Many thanks to George Breakfast & Friends who took the gig at the last minute following the cancellation of Pooks Hill who were sadly unable to appear. It was a great shame that there weren't as many people as the previous day to witness it, but the band played an extremely fine set of folk/blues material to close the show - well done chaps & chappess, we'll see you back here again. The evening finished with the Giant Raffle draw, which with 88 prizes is too long to list here but a complete list of winners is available from the pub. I would very much like to say a big thank-you all our suppliers, local businesses and local residents who donated the prizes, it was a truly magnificent response. At the time of going to press the final total raised by the event is not known but will be published in the next edition of the Meridian. I would like to apologise to the people for whom the music was too loud, but you were quite welcome to come round and join in with the rest of the village, and at the same time express my thanks to the many people who put in time and effort to make it all happen, all the musicians and entertainers, all the staff at the White Horse, everyone who helped out in our hour of need, Paul Hendry, John, Michelle, Janet, Steve, Kate, James, Vanessa, Martin, Chris, Martin, Tricky Dicky for the sound and in particular Alan Stanley for all his heroic efforts in the build-up to, during and after the event and not least of all, YOU, the people of Swavesey, who supported the event in such numbers. Thank you. Warren & Pat P.S. Who knows, we may even see you at Mayfest 2002?? |
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THE TIME: HIGH NOON. THE PLACE: MARKET STREET GREEN The crowd had started gathering from half past eleven around the bails of straw which marked the perimeter of the field of battle, in anticipation of the start of the Swavesey sporting spectacle of the year - the annual Barrel Rolling Competition. The competitors signed in - eight mens teams, three ladies teams and five junior teams - all armed with the essential toolsof battle: gardening gloves for protection against splinters and not in homage to Titchmarsh and Dimmock. Some wore optional fancy dress. The early heats of competition got under way under the vigilant gaze of referee/ compere Martin Johnstone, assisted by mock police to ensure fair play. In the men's competition, the Poplar Farm team made their intentions known by winning all three of their heats, closely followed by Going for Bust and the (Trinity) Footers each with two wins. A play-off would have to decide who would join Poplar Farm in the final. The junior competition was eagerly contested by all teams despite some having a greater size/weight advantage and others benefiting from "interference" from the referee. At the end of the heats the ELLKS and the Spartans would contest the final, each having won two heats. The ladies' competition, due to only three teams entering, was decided by a mini-league. The team of Swavesey ladies handicapped themselves from the start by being dressed as convicts and manacled three-legged style. The eventual winners were Euro Floozies with two out of two wins. In the Junior final the much smaller ELLKS team were beaten by the all-male Spartans team by a fairly comfortable distance. The men's play-off was a keenly contested affair narrowly won by Going For Bust who would now face Poplar Farm in the final. It was evident that a majority of the crowd were on the side of Swavesey locals and under-dogs Going For Bust but despite the vocal support fell away in the latter stages of the race giving the Poplar Farm team the men's championship. After the medal ceremonies the crowd and teams all made their way back to The White Horse Inn to reflect on the action, discuss the absence of Sky Sports coverage, and to enjoy the day's MayFest entertainment. Chris Nunn |
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(THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE SOCIETY FOR THE BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED) Cam Sight is the local society for the blind and partially sighted, helping visually impaired people in and around Cambridge. I shall be co-ordinating the House-to-House Collection (my eighth year!) which will be taking place in Swavesey during July this year. I hope that I can depend on your usual generous support in the village when my trusty band of volunteer collectors post envelopes through your doors, or come rattling tins. Swavesey often raises in the region of £400! You may have read in the local papers how there was an appeal launched last autumn due to dwindling funds. Although the appeal was very successful, the charity is always in need of more money to continue running existing services as well as looking at ways to improve and extend services. Thank you in advance for all donations large and small. Vicki Russell House-to-House Collecting Co-ordinator, Swavesey |