Margaret Newell Day, 2011

An Organiser's point of view.

They say, never volunteer! - well, I didn't, it just sort of came my way and I carried on, much as one automatically catches a ball thrown in one's direction. I am, of course, talking about Margaret Newell Day, 2011. My initial reaction when asked to do the organising at short notice was sheer panic, but with Wally and Denise refusing to allow me to back out, and massive help from others especially Liz, the Treasurer who travelled all the way from North Wales to be with us, all was well. They say the devil makes work for idle hands, and I'm afraid that from the moment Liz set foot in my house, the devil never stood a chance!

I wanted to do something a bit different, as the feed-back I had from last year's Margaret Newell Day made two very relevant points, the first being that with the Tombola, cake stall and book stall being in the cart-shed, they were not very obvious. The second was that there was nothing to “do”!

So! My first thought was to stand each stall outside a covered area (a stable, the tunnel, the cart-shed), with a large fascia “board” over the top to announce its presence, and a detailed chart at the side listing what that stall was all about. Being close to a covered area, if it rained the stall table could be pulled back into shelter. However, just to allow for all eventualities, I took large sheets of polythene to cover the tables and contents, and half a dozen umbrellas for hire to the visitors. Yes, yes, I know you all kept telling me that Margaret Newell Day is always fine, but I am one of Nature's natural pessimists . . . but next year I'll listen to you, because the weather was perfect.

The Open Day was from 10am until 4pm. Visitors were very slow to arrive, and were still thin on the ground at 11 am, when I started to panic. However, things then took off quite rapidly, and we had a yard full of delicious appetite-inducing barbecue smoke through which we could see people “Dunking the Dog”, looking for the Fiver, and the Treasure Hunt, leafing through books, buying cakes (Hey! Who pinched the gorgeous iced cakes I had my eye on?? - beautifully finished and decorated, it would have been a shame to eat them, but when did I ever have any shame where cakes are concerned??), buying tombola and raffle tickets, and visiting the Bargain Basement – and of course munching beefburgers and hot dogs washed down by lots of tea, coffee and cold drinks. The Mystery Objects caused quite a lot of interest, and as I anticipated, some were readily identifiable by the older generation (eg, the cobblers' last and the typists' correcting eraser) but a total mystery to the younger ones.

I tried to have something for everyone, and certainly the “Dunk” was popular with the children and some less able visitors, to the extent that when two youngsters got home, they put one of their soft toys on a low branch in their garden, and spent the rest of the afternoon knocking it off!

“Find the Fiver” was also popular. The first visitor to that stall picked the mug with the fiver in it! I thought, if he's psychic and going to spot all the best prizes, he'll have to go! However, his next tries were less successful. One of the day's highlights for me was the anticipation on the face of a young lady with wheels as she picked a mug, and then her joy when she found she had won a box of chocolates, which she said she would give to her Mum.

I have had a number of complimentary comments, one of which referred to the “lovely atmosphere”. That comment rebounds to the credit of those who work tirelessly day after day at the stables to put into practice the ethos defined by Wally – Ash Tree Stables is certainly a magical, peaceful place. I am not a “religious” person, but I hope you will not be offended if I say that it is almost as if the Stables are saying, “come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

Thank you to all who helped, and to those who visited. I hope you all enjoyed the day as much as I did, and we all look forward to seeing you at next year's Margaret Newell Day – make a note in your diaries – it's Sunday 5th August. Unfortunately there is something else going on from 27th July to 12th August, but I don't have to tell you which is more important!

Jo
EHDC Secretary