|
|
The Burgess
Hill Christmas Fair 2007
Saturday
December 1st 2007 was the absurdly early date for this
years Burgess Hill Christmas Fair.
Borrowing a small child for the day, the Burgess Hill
Uncovered team had an excuse to check out the event without
seeming uncool!
The Winter extravaganza was carrying a Dickensian theme
this year, cash prizes were on offer for members of the
public dressed in the most impressive Dickensian outfits.
In addition to this, there were some 'famous' personailites
from the Dickensian era that were giving out 'autographs'
that were to be collected in a special autograph book.
If you collected 4 out of the 6 autographs on offer, then
you were eligable to enter the draw for a cash prize.
|
 |
|
 |
| Shockingly,
the Christmas lights were not turned on for the event.
Scandalous. |
This chap
from Mid Sussex Downs Radio was helping to add to
the atmosphere with his wide selection of music. |
 |
 |
The
Sussex Ambulance Service and the British Red Cross
were both on hand in case of emergencies. |
|
They were
called into action when a boy suffered a nose bleed
on the bouncy castle, it's true! |
 |
|
 |
| Thankfully, some citizens
of Burgess Hill were aware that the event was taking
place, as proved by this picture. |
|
The event is well under
way, and these old people are yet to even finish setting
up their stall! |
 |
|
 |
| This themed
sign alerted people that a Christmas Bazaar was taking
place in Cyprus Hall, we didn't read it though. |
|
If you
had the fastest strike, you could have won a football
signed by the Arsenal squad. But why not one from
BHTFC? |
 |
|
 |
| This crank
driven carousel proved popular with the children,
including our very own token child. |
|
The fairground
organ churned out some festive songs along with the
Wombles theme tune. |
 |
|
 |
| This smashed
up car is a reminder of what can happen when you let
a woman loose behind the wheel. |
|
This idiotic
man attempts to eat the bubbles coming from the bubble
machine. Where was the snow machine? |
 |
|
 |
| A street
urchin, an old dragon, and a guy dressed up in a green
novelty costume wearing an NCH teeshirt! |
|
This gentleman
played the Scrooge character brilliantly. Here he
is pictured meeting two minor celebrities. |
 |
|
 |
| Queen Victoria
and Albert, they certainly look different from the
pictures we've seen. |
|
This Chimney
Sweep offered us two shillings to come work for him,
not even enough to buy a Mars bar. |
 |
|
 |
| A Christmas
event wouldn't be complete without Santa Claus. Our
token child was scared of him. |
|
This Snowman
was delighted to be rubbing shoulders with greatness. |
 |
|
 |
| By collecting
all six autographs, not only did you get entered in
a prize draw, but you got given a Christmas bear to
stick in your window! Here is the Reindeer variant. |
|
This chap
selected a Snowman, which was then kindly given to
the token child as a reward for his services. |
Disappointingly, the winter
fair didn't appear as well attended as the town day in
the summer. This may be because the local papers didn't
seem to advertise the event as much as the June event.
Also, from what we could see, there were a lack of members
of the public dressed up as Dickensian characters, perhaps
setting a theme where costumes are easier to put together
could be considered in the future.
But it wasn't all bad though,
the atmosphere was great, the excellent entertainers
'Slap and Tickle' along with the carol singers provided
interest at the band stand. A man was going round making
balloon models for the kids, including a motorbike for
our token child. The idea of getting 'autographs' from
the characters was inventive, although disappointing
in that they were just stamping the books with festive
ink stampers and not actually writing their names using
a quill. The 'pay off' for getting the autographs was
a pleasant surprise; our reindeer is currently affixed
to the window in the office canteen.
We'd like the think that
the local community groups and charities made some money
from the event via their raffles, tombolas, cake and
book sales, as that's what this event is really about.
These stools gained at least £5 from the Burgess
Hill Uncovered coffers alone!
So then, a good effort
by the festival committee, but if they need ideas and
inspiration for 2008, then the staff of Burgess Hill
Uncovered are just an email away.
|
|
|
|
