Ledsham Fayre 6th Sept. 2014

Today we went to Ledsham Fayre. It rained on and off but it didn't stop the crowds flocking to it. The Fayre was opened by Ian Clayton who is a local, well Barnsley, lad and often seen on TV. There were stalls down the main street, Corpus Christi Brass Band played in the Church Grounds and the Briggate Morris Dancers entertained us in the street. See pics. On the Cricket field was a big marque with a tea room and various stalls in the marque and out on the field too plus a dog show and falconry display.

The Flower Festival in the Church was beautiful the theme being poetry with many of my favourites Stop the Clocks W.H.Auden, The Liquorice Fields of Pontefract and Diary of a Church Mouse J. Betjeman, Meg Merrilies and Ode to Autumn J.Keats, Halfway down the stairs A.A. Milne. The pic I decided on was War Horse which I thought was beautifully made with the piece of poetry from one of Michael Morpugo’s books.

Only the truth that in life we have spoken
only the seeds that in life we have sown
These shall pass onwards when we are forgotten
only rmembered for what we have done.

My Great Granddaughter Caitlin had a whale of a time on the tombola stalls which she loves, she even brought a spare bag for the prizes she would win. You can see a pic of her holding an American Kestrel on the left and a Burrowing Owl on the right.

Whilst we were waiting for the bus to come home opposite The Chequers Inn, the Towton Battlefield Society were enacting one of the battles on the nearby field and fired a cannon which frightened the life out of us and the pub dog who was in the bedroom and jumped out of the window just missing being hit by a car, it ran into the pub, anyhow not long after it appeared again when there was more cannon fire and climbed out onto the ivy trying to get down, luckily a rather tall chap managed to get hold of her and then banged on the pub window, they had no idea how she was getting out seeing the bedroom door was locked. When told they shut the window. I hope she was OK because she landed with a right bang the first time.
Until recently, The Chequers Inn was one of the only pubs in England to have a 6 day license and for 180 years has been closed every Sunday. The pub was originally shut by the Lady of the Manor following an incident when a lady was verbally assaulted whilst passing by the pub in her carriage on the way back from church. It was reported that some drunken farm workers accosted her, causing such uproar that the building was ordered to be closed to adhere to the holy day of rest.

So all in all good time was had despite the rain.