Yet again the village of North Luffenham proved what a great village this is. As people poured into the wonderfully prepared Oval for a great day of fun and frollicks, it was apparent immediately this was going to be another fun packed day. With meticulous preparation led by Liz Caffarelli and Jane Roche the Oval was transformed into Fun City early in the day awaiting the arrival of everyone. And arrive you did! It was so wonderful walking round meeting people and seeing so many happy faces throughout the day. Quickly queues formed for the sausage sizzles and the bar, and a huge thank you to the teams running those. Some of the longest queues were for the crown decorating and the face painting, another huge thank you to those teams.
Everywhere you looked there was fun and games, with a great effort by the 1st North Luffenham Scouts. The frying pan rounders also attracted a good turnout with fierce competition all round! The marshmallow golf and the welly wanging proved popular with James Munro winning the Open Marshmallow Golf competition, and Nicholas winning the U.15 and Toby, the U.10. Modesty prevents me from announcing the Open wellie wanging winner but the U.15 was won by James and the U.10 by Toby so well done all! Coconuts were in evidence across the Oval so the Coconut shy was obviously hugely popular as well.
2.00 saw the start of The Dog Show. A massive thanks to Sarah for judging this and also supplying some of the prizes. Also a big thank you to Rutland Pet Supplies for their very generous donation of prizes. The Dog Show saw an assembly of canine pulchritude the like of which may never have been seen before. The overall winner, selected by Sarah, was indeed worthy. A beautiful 1 year old liver and white springer spaniel by the name of Molly. Very well done Molly and you win a grooming session at Rigby and Rover Dog Grooming. Well done to all other winners and runners up. In reality all the dogs were so lovely they were all winners!
3.00 came and the 1st ever Inter Street Tug O’ War . The surround of the arena was packed and tension was at fever pitch! Six streets entered and the arena filled with fine gladiatorial specimens from in and around those various streets all giving everything they could for the honour of their Street, along with some additional help in the case of Glebe Road when their secret weapon Milly the Labrador joined the team! The gladiators heaved and the crowd roared with the eventual winners being Pilton Road so congratulations to them.
There then followed one of the spectacles of the day. An event never to be missed again. The Children’s Tug O’ War. In so many people’s eyes this was the event of the day! Hundreds of children emerged from every corner of The Oval to show the adults how it should be done. Such energy, vigour and determination on so many faces! The children enjoyed themselves hugely and provided a spectacle that will live in the memory for years to come. Pilton Road may have won the Adult Tug O’ War but it was truly the Children who won the overall event with their totally brilliant display. Well done to them.
Finally on yesterday, I would like to thank you all very much for leaving the Oval in such a clean state. This was a wonderful site to see at the end of a long day, and testament to how everyone cares so much for this village. Truly amazing!
Today sees a slightly quieter day. This is the day of The Horseshoe Hunt. A competition with an excellent prize of a voucher towards a meal at The Fox. This is a walk of discovery around North Luffenham. You will find posters in different locations with Horseshoes on them. The idea is to take a leisurely walk around the village finding the Horseshoes. On each one is a nations flag which you need to identify as well, and there is a tie breaker question at the end to complete. The forms you need to complete will be found outside The Fox, and there is also a post box there to pop your completed forms in. The competition runs from 10.00 until 5.00. There is also a fascinating Village Walk Information Sheet which you are welcome to take round with you explaining some of the intriguing history of this great village. I found this a wonderfully informative piece of writing and it really makes the walk well worth doing. Please return these to the tray after your walk so others can use and benefit from them, and don’t forget to fill in and post your competition sheets. As you make your way around the village why not stop and chat to others to find out even more about the village. At the end why not meet up again at The Fox for a rejuvenating glass of something other!
Then on to tomorrow! As so often at these major events, the weather Gods are still ruminating! Whilst there is little chance of sun stroke at tomorrow’s events there is optimism for the afternoon despite what may be a wet morning. Whatever happens I know, from what I have seen of the people of this village, that a little dampness will not deter us from having a great time and finishing this weekend with a great celebration. Given the weather status at this time we will review the start and finish times later today and I will post the final timings early this evening after we have met to judge the Horseshoe Hunt Competition. So please do check back early this evening for final details for tomorrow’s big Street Party and prize giving ceremony, and then pass the word around the village. I know we will all be there because I know that’s what you all want. I just don’t know when yet!
Finally a brilliant picture of the Village Community from yesterdays Fun Day.
Have a great day and keep watching this site for the latest news.
