Brewood Vintage Garden Party 2014.
Once again, the event was organised jointly by the Parish Church of St. Mary and St. John and Brewood Scouts. In 2014, planning started some months ahead of the event and a series of organising committee meetings was held at Brewood Hall. The first event in 2013 had enjoyed glorious weather and was deemed a great success - everybody hoped that we could measure-up to that standard in 2014. The weather is such an important element in outdoor functions so the tented covered space provided in 2014 was increased to three modern tents and one traditional marquee, in case the weather on the day was unhelpful.
The auguries were not, initially, very promising. After a few days of warm weather, heavy rain started on the day before the Garden Party, later turning to a heavy drizzle. This was the day allocated for setting-up so the group of volunteers involved became somewhat bedragged. In the evening, reinforcements arrived in the form of the young Scouts. By late evening, three tents were erected and the marquee was put-up but for the side sheets.
Erecting the marquee in the rain on the evening before the Garden Party.
It continued to rain in the night and the day of the Garden Party dawned with drizzle still coming down. At nine o'clock, volunteers started to arrive to complete the work and set-up the various stalls and then, mirabile dictu, the drizzle stopped and the sun came out. By the time the Garden Party opened to the public at 1.00 p.m., things had dried out remarkably well and it turned into a warm, bright afternoon.
Jan (in Victorian dress) welcomes visitors. In the rear, the large Tea Tent is ready for visitors.
The modest admission fee included tea, coffee or squashes with a remarkable selection of home-made cakes which were generously dispensed by the hard-working volunteers in the large Tea Tent. Nearby, on the lawn, Strawberries and Cream were on offer. In addition to the tables and chairs provided inside the Tea Tent, there were more tables and chairs outside for people to take their ease and let the location work its usual 'magic' on well over 300 guests.
Left: Marquee with various stalls, rear: Spectators at the Coconut Shy, right: The large Tea Tent, foreground: Visitors relaxing in the sun.
The Public Address system played vintage music of various periods during the afternoon. There was a range of stalls including White Elephant, Plants, Books, Jewellery, Handicrafts, the P.D.S.A., Confectionery, Tombola. Various games were provided like 'Hook-a-Duck', 'Splat the Rat' and 'Beat the Buzzer'. Wet Sponge Throwing (at a human target) and the Coconut Shy were kept busy all afternoon. Some youngsters sported Face Painting and a few grown-ups attended in vintage clothing of the period of their choice (which ranged from around 1600 to 1980).
Ann (P.D.S.A. stall) and Dean (Sealed Knot).
Other attractions included the competition for the Best Home Bake and a demonstration of tent-pitching by the Scouts.
The erected tent can sleep 8 - 12 persons.
Raffle winners were drawn before the Garden Party closed at 5.00 p.m. The event gave a boost to the funds of both the Church and the Scouts but, of equal importance, quite a few visitors took the trouble to say how much they'd enjoyed the afternoon which made the hard work of all those involved worthwhile.
My Pictures
Setting-up.
The Event.
