Well, what a quintessentially English day it was on Sunday at All Saints summer fair. (that's my one long word of the blog! Quintewhatever) The community came together for fun, frolics and food! In true women's group style there was jam, there where flower arrangements, there were cakes, there was crochet everywhere and much much more. The team turned out in force to promote Merstham Women's group to show off all we do to be inclusive and show off our multiple talents and skills. Amazing. Our Bake, make and take exhibition, whilst low in entries was extremely high in talent and ingenuity. Excellent entries of cakes, flower arrangements and crochet. Meanwhile outside there was lots of interest in our jam stall.
Sadly I was manning another stall (traitorous woman!)- promoting Reigate Beekeepers. Sorry ladies - they needed my help more! In my defence I did provide some very yummy honey biscuits to women's group stall. Other interesting stalls included the human fruit machine, Pilgrims brewery, Serendipity beauty, Old Iron tramway wines, various doggy treat stalls, members Diane and Emily selling their honey, which looked delicious, and more. We had much interest at Reigate bee keepers as we had an observation hive which was really cool. We had lots of interactive things for children and adults as well as local honey for sale. The dog show was incredibly popular - many happy owners came away with prizes and certificates for their beautiful and agile dogs. And there were loads of raffles - a must for a church fair -one mans tat is another mans treasure! A good time was had by all, The refreshments were amazing too! The women's group had a lot of interested visitors, so I do hope a few of you reading this will have come to the group through our stall. The event was so uniquely English and so wonderfully supported - I do hope those of you who attended enjoyed the event. We look forward to meeting you in the next few weeks.
Coming up, there's lots of interesting events and social meet ups for you to enjoy. This Monday 13th September a Canada Hall, we will enjoy homemade sweet or savoury petit fours made by your good selves - don't worry - no need to bring anything edible if you don't wish - just a cup, plate and fork - all diets are suspended on Monday. Just enjoy some lovely food and a good gossip with old friends and new. Our food events are always incredibly popular and very lovely.
There's an open day at Merstham Hub on Portland Drive on Saturday 11th September between 12 and 3 pm. Pop along to see what events the hub hosts that you might like to join in.
On 18th September we have the opportunity to have a willow weaving workshop at Bramley with Lorraine from Hedges and Hurdles - please do book on - £45 for an excellent course. A few more members needed for the course to run. I've been on the last course and it was a lot of fun, You can see an example of Paul's work (Lorraine's husband) on the cycle track between Cormongers Lane and The Moors nature reserve. His hedging is phenomenal. Go have a look when you're walking around the nature reserve. And the courses are great fun -do book on Lorraine's course.
On 24th September prepare for a scare - yes it's the postponed Reigate Ghost walk - an entertaining and fun walk in the dark around the streets of Reigate learning a little of Reigate's history and the ghostly past of many of the local buildings. It's great fun. Comfortable footwear, a torch, warm clothing and a sense of humour essential. There are some steps and it's a little hilly in parts. Suitable for adults and older children who don't scare easily. Cost is £6. Open to friends and family. Meet outside Cafe Rouge/Market Stores/Tunnel Road at 7.45 for 8. Free parking in all local carparks. It should run to about an hour and a half - and yes some of us will get picked on!
Our regular events continue - breakfast at the hub every Tuesday, craft sessions and chat at the hub on Fridays and Saturdays. We'll be socialising at the Feathers on the last Friday every month. I'll be planning some autumn walks locally soon. Look out for a fun and interactive talk on foraging and Bushcraft at the Merstham hub coming up . Run by London Bushcraft https://www.londonbushcraft.com. Date to be confirmed. There are some interesting follow up opportunities we could do with them on learning Bushcraft skills in Surrey.
Into October - April will be entertaining us with a talk on Halloween traditions - November we will have a talk on the history of Fr Christmas. Our Christmas celebrations will take place in Canada Hall with a festive quiz and a foodie social. And of course there’ll be a Merstham Christmas lights walk. This year I’ll make sure it ends at the Feathers. More on these next month. Please do suggest interesting things to add to our programme. I appreciate most of my events are out door based so do suggest some indoor ideas. Cinema, theatre, book club, knitting, whatever rocks your boat.... See you all soon.
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