Christmas Craft Fairs

(Photo - Hilary Mead-Durrant hosted a craft fair at Chaffcombe Village Hall to raise funds for CRY (Cardiac Rick in the Young).

Ilminster’s celebrated Victorian Evening, held on the third Friday in November, certainly sets the scene for kick-starting the Christmas season. Despite the inclement weather this year it was great to see so many people out and about, and all of the shops looking splendid, putting on a real show and helping to encourage visitors into the town. I am always pleased that, despite tougher times financially, the town still feels that it is important to support the Christmas lights. 

In the run up to Christmas I find that several times a week I am visiting local craft fairs, often several in one day. These are usually held in village halls and in addition to supporting whatever the cause may be, I find that such craft fairs and events are a really good source of locally produced goods and produce. 

My last haul included jolly Santa napkins, a glittery evening bag, handmade stockings, scented lavender bags, homemade mince pies and chutney - Christmas gifts galore. My ever expanding waistline is also testament to the difficulty I have in avoiding temptation when bacon butties and scrumptious meringues are on offer (Ashill village hall if you were wondering), as well as the usual tombolas (where I won a bottle of Pimm’s) and raffles. 

Our schools will also be putting on a variety of events and activities to delight the parents, carers and proud grandparents of our youngsters; how sad it is that nowadays, due to child protection issues, we are unable to record these moments for posterity.

Churches will certainly want to look their best, and volunteers will be hard at it to produce splendidly festive displays, surely using skills passed on by Angie Blackwell who has been busy doing demonstrations. At The Minster in Ilminster the Christmas Tree Festival, held from 4^th to 10^th December, will undoubtedly draw in the crowds to admire the beautifully decorated trees, with each one benefiting a local charity from the donations made. I am always amazed at the ingenious ways in which the trees are designed to attract our attention.

For my part, in addition to supporting Rotary with their carol singing pub crawl on the 15^th, I shall be hard at work putting together a quiz to test the brains in Broadway on the 10^th December to raise much needed funds for the church. Last year I wore my reindeer suit; this year I have been asked to refrain from doing so. I can’t think why?!     

With so much going on, and with such dedicated community involvement from all concerned, there can be no doubt that our market towns and villages, despite having the odds against us at times with road works, and floods and funding cuts, are all set to continue to thrive.