Fete Season

Fete season is here and I, for one, am excited. I love fetes. Smaller than a fair and bigger than a bazaar, they're a great way to spend an hour or 2 entertaining the kids whilst donating a bit of money to a good cause. Where else can you get 3 tomato plants, a balloon sword, and a sausage cooked to within an inch of its life, all for £3. If there's a bouncy castle - so much the better.

Today was the turn of the local scouts. I arrived with 2 boys and £7, and left an hour later with: 3 boys, one with a face painted like Captain Jack Sparrow; 6 books I am almost sure I haven't read; a bag of plastic tat that hasn't been looked at since I paid for it; a half eaten cup cake; 3 balloon swords and 3 balloon mice that all became balloon snakes by the time we got back to the car (says more about the boys than the balloon maker's skills, they were well constructed); and a compact mirror with a light won on the tombola.

I've done my fair share of working at fetes and can confirm they're one of the more labour intensive ways of fund raising, so am always happy to support them where I can. You might get better tat at a car boot sale (another great way of amusing the kids on a Sunday) but you don't get that sense of worthiness for having supported your community.