Foxton Locks Family Event 17th/18th Sept 2011

Foxton Locks is near Lubenham, Leicestershire. Acres of woodland, fields, and locks. The gaily painted narrow-boats that pass through these locks are truly beautiful and very loved!  The 2-day event featured craft marquees, funfair, animals (alpacas, goats, sheep, tortoises, hens, hamsters etc), Viking settlement, waterball pool,  and lots for children to do.  We set up the gazebo around 8.00am in pelting, cold rain. NOT a good start! It finally eased off and the sun peeped through the clouds. We found lots of customers enjoyed a good chinwag, lots of dogs enjoyed a good stroke..! it was a lovely relaxed weekend.

Rosie and Jim enjoying the scenery!

           

The Viking settlement was superb... I am a history buff...

A Viking settlement.

 I loved the costumes, the stories, the people that portrayed times past. One kind lady named Hild invited me into her Viking home, which was covered in deerskin, reindeer skin, sheepskin - it was really cosy ! Her husband turned wood - I held a bowl he had turned, it was perfect, smooth and so tactile.

Hild , a very welcoming Viking wife!

Hild's husband made his own shoes, and turned exquisite wooden bowls !

 Hey - it's not very often you get to chat to Vikings named Ragnut and Leif !!!!  They invited me to hold their chainmail vest, which, wussy that I am, I couldn't manage the weight! Ragnut told me the chainmail vest weighed a THIRD of his body weight!!!! 

Ragnut and Leif, Viking warriors!     

Alpacas looked snootily over the fences at the people going past.  Now I know llamas spit if you get too close, so I gave them a wide berth, but was assured by the owners that these cousins of llamas DIDN'T spit !

"What are you staring at?"

Oh and by the way, look at Richard, fooling about as usual - I don't have many photos of him in serious pose, if he spots the camera, there he is - POSING !!!!!!! LOL
 It was a great weekend, Saturday night we stayed in a hotel,  we needed a bit of spoiling, then back to Foxton for the second days trading. 

Ashby Magna Street Fair Sept 9th 2011.

Just getting dark....

Bit of extra light needed....

Lovely atmosphere!

Set up was a bit slow, we were on a tilt, so had to adjust gazebo AND tables. Didn't want another episode like Thorpe Arnold  !! We've done street fairs before, but not in the dark !  The good folk of Ashby loaned us their electric points for the evening, so we could plug our sparkly lights in !!!!  Lots of people came, we sold well, it  was a really nice fair, good atmosphere, plenty going on.