After
several weeks of miserable weather, the gods finally
smiled on the day of the Save Radley Lakes Fete. The
28th of July was a glorious Saturday, warm, calm and
not a drop of rain, tempted out hundreds of you to
show support for the campaign and just generally have
a good time.
Once again, the canine supporters of the
campaign turned out in force to show their support and
strut their stuff at the Family Dog Show. They came in
droves, tails wagging, faces bright, some of them quite
unable to contain their excited bounces and wuffs.
From the old and slow to the young and shiny, from pedigrees
to mutts, the dog show contained classes for all.
Hardest of all, was a 'leave the sausage ' class which,
under the stress of the occasion, proved an impossible
task for all except a few stalwarts! Judging was done
by Jane Heritage of Vale Canine Companions and prizes
and rosettes were donated by Seeney's of Stratton Way
, Abingdon.
Music was provided by the Big Boys Blues
Band, five members of which very kindly gave up their
afternoon to support the campaign. Their music provided
the perfect accompaniment to a warm, sunny afternoon and
a pint of beer.
A touch of the elegant and exotic came
with two gorgeously dressed belly dancers from a group
called ESHTA, arabic for 'shimmy', trained by the Abingdon
Dance Studio. Dancers Kay White and Rita De Chadevarian
were a delight to the eye and an inspiration to the other
women on the field most of whom tried a surreptitious
wiggle of the hips when they thought no-one else was looking.
Belly dancers
Marguerite Osbourne, a professional storyteller,
regaled both adults and children with a tale topical to
the campaign called 'The Enchanted Lake'. Marguerite told
the story from memory, acting the different characters
and involving the audience with musical instruments and
other ways.
Volunteers provided a large number of stalls
and activities to entertain the assembled crowd, one of
the most popular was 'Knock Down the Cooling Towers' where
people vented their frustration with npower by knocking
down miniature cooling towers with tennis balls to win
a prize.
And the
Towers came tumbling down...
Report submitted by
M White. Photographs by B Crowley
