Third Time Lucky for the Harwell Feast

feast | programme | parade | entry details | dog show | map | committee | photos | past years

As I write this on Tues 26th May and it is cold, windy and has been raining in the night I am so thankful that the few raindrops in the morning dried up and the sun shone on us for this year's Feast.

The parade was wonderful. The five floats did us proud. I have to start with Mamma Mia by the W.I don't I? What Super Troopers they were, and with Chris Stott as an honorary W.I member and a certain person attempting to look like an 18 year old bride, well, it was the donkey that was the only sensible character on there!

Harwell School's Noah’s Ark was just exquisite. I loved the animals. There was a particularly fabulous giraffe and ostrich on there, not to mention some very cheeky monkeys too! I wonder who drew that octopus? The Rainbow's Harwell Lido was another very original idea such as we have come to expect from Lynn and her team of Girl Guides. (Did you know that Harwell had it's own outdoor swimming pool in the 1930's?)

The Fun Club Castle had fab artwork and I really liked the bunting. We could do with a bit more for the High Street next year if it's going spare!!

Little Pippins Bedtime Stories had aah factor in bucketloads didn't it? All in their jim jams.

The Cubs with their Chinese Dragon, made at their Zodiac Camp, brought a touch of The Orient to the village.

The judges results were as follows:

1st Mamma Mia Harwell Women's Institute
2nd Bedtime Stories Little Pippins
3rd Harwell Lido Harwell Rainbows

Thank you to you all for your hard work in constructing the floats, not to mention taking them apart again! The lovely May Queen was Rebekah Pearson and she opened the Feast beautifully. She was attended by Amy Ireson and Rosie Fishburn. I noticed that the girls wore their dresses for a long time around the field. Rosie even went home still wearing hers at the end of the day. I have a photo of her queuing up for an ice cream whilst eating a big pink candyfloss so I think she enjoyed herself! To the right we picture them on the Rec. Our very own musical group, The Bagg's Tree Buskers, who originally formed to play in the Feast Parade, gave us their own brand of swing jazz to sway to.

The Fancy dress entrants walked this year (or rode their steed). I'd love to see more doing this next year. If you're not on a float come in the parade kids. The lovely old vintage cars were being proudly driven. The wax polish had certainly been used this weekend. I liked the one with plants in the backseat. He had obviously been round the plant stall before he joined the parade!

The judge awarded Richard Heaton the rosette for the best car with his well turned-out Singer. (I thought that was a sewing machine!) The vintage tractors joined us too. Many have been completely stripped down and restored by their devoted owners and one such was selected by the judge as best tractor - owned by Jeff Saunders.

Steam Engines, big and little tooted and steamed their way along the High Street causing great excitement.

The organ grinder was a colourful sight bringing up the rear with the Island Farm Donkeys.

Benson Veteran Cycles are now a traditional part of The Feast Parade with their boneshaker bicycles.

I'll finish with what went first and that was the lovely sound of The Wantage Silver Band. When you hear that you know the parade is coming!

On the Rec there was lots to entertain folks for the whole day. Animals as always proved to be a big attraction with owls that you could hold, donkeys that liked a stroke, ferrets that you could bet on, and clever, agile, and sausage-loving dogs!!

The Children’s Fancy Dress was delightful -

Class 0 – 5 years
1st Samuel Hawthorne as The Black Knight
2nd Harry Harper as Prince Harry
3rd Joshua Baldock as A Pirate
3rd Isabelle Thorley as A Monkey

Class 6- 11 years
1st Sarah McIlroy Speed as An Ostrich
2nd Hannah Hawthorne & Maryse Girgis as Superbugs
3rd Scott Barter as A Clown

Bonny Baby Competition
With a record 26 beautiful babies entered this year the judges called in extra help and took a long time
debating. Finally….
1st Twins Leo & Kayne Stockford |Bonner aged 7 mnth
2nd Brodie Penney aged 10 weeks
3rd Thea Atanasova aged 5 months
Specials Shanice Corcoran & Harvey Skidmore

Fun Dog Show Results
Prettiest Bitch: Chloe owned by Ann Gill
Handsomest Dog: Paddy owners Andy & Camilla
Braithwaite
Best Crossbreed: Annabel, owned by Beth Russell
Best Veteran: Pickle, owned by Hannah Greenough
Best 6 Legs: Poppy owned by Matalya Phillips
Best Rescue: Yogi owned by Jasmine Blakeley
Don't Eat The Sausage: Yogi again!
BEST IN SHOW: Yogi, owned by Jasmine Blakeley
RESERVE BEST IN SHOW: Paddy as above

As usual the Harwell School Country Dancing was gorgeous. I love it when they make their mums and dads join in with them!

Mr Cansell's races were as popular as ever. I gather they didn't want to stop. It was only when he ran out of ideas, finally resorting to doing a virtual sack race, that he was allowed to finish! The Michael Armstrong trophy was awarded to Cameron Fishburn.

When the Morris Men were persuaded to come out of the Legion we enjoyed a real bit of old English tradition. Punch & Judy had the kids cheering and shouting for Judy.

So many people helped the committee this year that I don't know where to start to name you all. Indeed I don't even know the names of some of you. So from those who held ladders to put bunting up the High Street, those who helped cook and serve BBQ, those who turned up at dawn (felt like it to me!) to hammer in stakes and put up ropes, those who baked cakes for the Pavilion, those who fired up steam engines at 7 a.m. so they'd be ready for the parade, those who sold programmes for hours on the gate, those who pulled floats and those who sat upon them to those who without asking walked around the field at the end of the day and picked up the last of the rubbish. And all those in between who did their part to make Harwell Feast 2009 a memorable and sociable day for villagers and visitors a very big

THANK YOU FROM ME AND THE REST OF THE HARWELL FEAST COMMITTEE.

SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR Janice Markey

HARWELL FEAST COMMITTEE
Chairman Janice Markey, Vice Chair Jayne Newman
Secretary Colin Lamont, Treasurers Jackie Askham & Reg Waite
Plus Patricia Cooke, Sid Gale, Jose Rostagni, Susan Lambert,
Vanda Hayden, Jake Castle & Philip Roberts

This report, plus photos, can be found in the Harwell News , June 2009.