Saturday morning dawned dry and bright, but dark clouds were gathering as the stall holders and volunteers prepared through the morning and with astonishing accuracy the English weather played the downpour card on the stroke of 12 o'clock.
And that set the pattern for the rest of the day; showers, sometimes heavy, sometimes a bit lighter, with dry outbreaks to keep spirits up.
The stall holders had their work cut out to keep everything dry but fortunately everyone seemed to have plenty of plastic sheeting. Surely they can't have been expecting to have to use it?
But in spite of everything there looked to be a good turnout. It takes more than a few showers to put a damper on villagers' enthusiasm and everyone seemed to be joining in and having a good time. The Marching Band played on regardless and Uncle Mal was a big hit with the kids. The beer tent proved popular, especially during the worst of the weather.
There were lots of fund raising activities for a variety of good causes, ranging from local sports clubs through border collie rescue to international aid. Hopefully everyone did well.
If anyone else wants to write something about their view of the Gala, or anything else for that matter, we'd welcome your contribution. In the meantime I think everyone involved should be congratulated on a great event. Well done.
Oh, and at the end of the day the weather brightened up for a lovely evening. Typical.
Here are a few pictures that catch something of the day...
Izziiieee wow theeres a picture of you here.
I felt so sorry for everyone when it started raining :(:(:( but it still looked good!
A big thank you must go to the organisers who put in a lot of hard work each year to make this event what it is, very much part of our local village calendar. So well done to Lisa Thornton & Shirley Burden as well as all the other unsung heroes.