The Christmas Fair

THE TIME HAD COME TO OPEN THE FAIR....
ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY WERE THERE....
IT WASN’T AS SCARY AS I HAD FEARED...
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CLAPPED AND CHEERED!

Hello again,

I am pleased to say that the Christmas fair went very well despite the arctic temperatures. People in Nailsea really make the effort and there was a huge turnout. There were so many stalls this year some people had to be turned away.

Let me take you back to last week when I was preparing to do the official opening. I had been told a long speech wasn’t required but when a member of the town council called round the night before to go through what I would say, I started to panic! He said to me “I expect you are used to making speeches aren’t you?” I replied “NOOOOOOO!”

The only speeches I am used to are at work to customers about different types of lenses! He said he had been asked to write a speech for me but didn’t want to put words into my mouth, I said I honestly didn’t mind having words put in my mouth but in the end we agreed the key points I had to mention and I said I would just talk around those points .He also asked if I could make up one of my poems about the fair but I did warn him I’m not Shakespeare and I’m not sure you could call them poems.

As the evening wore on I decided that I’m a bit of a loose cannon when asked to speak freely and that if I feel nervous it gets even worse. My mouth tends to run away on its own and leave my brain behind, so I decided to write down every word and read it out to be on the safe side.

So that evening I was scribbling down speech ideas as they came to me, cooking the boys tea, and trying to come up with two costumes for the school play all at the same time! It crossed my mind to remember and write this on my CV if ever I needed proof of my multi-tasking abilities! Anyway I ended up making a king's crown for Luke out of tin foil, an Iceland lasagne box and some tinsel. I was a bit stuck on the robes until I remembered we had a gold Christmas table cloth in the cupboard. The hard bit was convincing Luke that kings really did wear robes made out of table clothes but we got there in the end .

I also had to make a “robber” costume for Sam and ended up drawing big black arrows on the only white t-shirt I had in the house. Unfortunately it happened to be mine. He also had to have a mask over his eyes so I adapted a batman mask by cutting the ears off and that was another job done! I’m not sure how many schools actually stick with the original Nativity play these days as I remember there being some kings, but I’m sure there weren’t any “robbers” in my day! It could be worse though, my boss at work said she had been instructed to supply a costume of a “Polish villager” for her son's nativity!

The speech was written in between costume fittings and I felt better knowing I had something down on paper. I even managed to make up a special poem for the fair and it went like this.....

I LOVE THE VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS FAIR....
IT MAY BE COLD, BUT DON’T DESPAIR.....
PLENTY OF STALLS FOR EVERYONE...
CHRISTMAS GIFTS AND LOTS OF FUN...

NAILSEA IS THE PLACE TO BE...
YOU CAN FEEL THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY...
SO ENJOY THE FAIR AND DON’T FEEL DOWN...
LET’S CELEBRATE OUR LOVELY TOWN!

Apparently Sam turned round to someone in the crowd whilst I was speaking and said “That’s not my mum!” but apart from embarrassing my children it seemed to go OK and I was very pleased when people clapped and cheered at the end. I don’t think they necessarily did this because I was good, but because they are loyal friends and I thank each and every one of them for that! We then just relaxed and enjoyed the fair. There were fire jugglers, carol singers, raffles, gift and food stalls, and fairground rides and although it stayed cold it really felt Christmassy. After we got home both Sam and Luke said that they were proud of me really, so that touched me!

I mentioned last week that I had also been invited as a “celebrity” surprise guest to a friend's “Come Dine With Me” style dinner party. Unfortunately this had to be postponed due to illness but I will let you know how that went when it has been rescheduled.

This afternoon I’m off to see the boys in their Christmas play. It’s the second performance today so I’m just hoping the lasagne box crown is bearing up! I always get very over emotional at the school plays so will take the tissues! They usually have at least one or two funny moments too. I’ll never forget the year Mary dropped the baby Jesus and he bounced across the stage, but these are all special moments in the school nativity play experience!

Please come back next week and I can tell you how they got on.

Thanks for reading

Ellie
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