Sunday 15 November 2009

A very fine English AfFAIR!


The English year offers many ' fine' social events!
Many of these events go back in history... and wonderful gatherings such as Ascot, The Chelsea Flower Show, The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship , The Boat Race.. plus many other social get togethers, all help to make up the English year...
BUT HEY..
Now a 'new kid on the block' has risen up , all from an idea!
It's an event which will be written in very large letters, in many diaries, for many years to come!


The Vintage and Handmade Fair , ( now twice yearly) organised by Michele and Jayne, is taking the country by storm !



Yesterday, I felt privileged to be part of this wonderful event and meet up with friends, old and new !


As we all made our way into Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, we knew that we'd have a day to remember.

We had two hours to set up before the queues of very keen shoppers (not to mention excited ladies!!) descended upon us.



I wandered around with my camera, hoping to bring some great shots for anyone who could not make it to the Fair.



The displays were stunning!

I knew that the shoppers would lap this up... BIGTIME!


It's the kind of event whereby you need a whole day, to firstly walk around and take it all in, then breathe in and calm down, take many tea breaks and generally savour the ' fabulous fineness' of the whole proceedings.





Of course, my photos do not do this justice...but hopefully do give you a few snippets of what was on offer.




Did I say excited ladies...?
Here are two very excited men shoppers, (look, they can hardly contain themselves!!) taking a break and no doubt discussing their numerous purchases!
I love this photo..it kind of shouts out 'Caption Competition'



So do feel free to make such a comment!
These two very patient 'other halves' are Mr Custard and Mr Snippets.


Naturally I went to bed very happy.

;-)

And naturally..I did not get my purse out at all ..ha ha!

Of course I did...but that will be my next blog post and oh my, did I get some Christmas goodies!
Meanwhile, a MASSIVE thank you to Michele and Jayne.

Events like this don't just happen and a heck of a lot of hard work goes in to making sure that it all goes swingingly well.
And like I said...the English year offers many fine events and this one, for me, sits right at the top of my tree!
;-)

32 comments:

  1. Glad you had a good day Sal! It was brilliant and everyone's hard work showed in the beautful displays!
    Victoria and Iare already planning to visit the next fair!

    Lots of Love

    Kelly xxx

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  2. I will get along one day I Will, I WILL!

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  3. Hi Sal

    Lovely to see you again even if it was only briefly! Thanks as always to dear Mr Snippets for all his help. He's such a star! I think I'd still be setting up if he hadn't taken over as chief trolley pusher.

    Sue xx

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  4. Sitting here reading this with a lovely glow in my heart..yesterday's event was so much about the coming together of old friends and good folk.. it brings a real feelgood factor to my year.. and hopefully many others.
    Thanks for being a great neighbour too Sal and for once again for taking some photographs.. when I forgot my camera.. YET again!Not forgetting Mr Snippets helpful duties by watching my stall whilst I dashed to the loo!
    I will be thinking hard about the caption competition..I am sure Mr Custard will have a few.. unprintable comments.
    Love to you and T
    Michele xx

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  5. Thank you for showing us around the fair Sal. Judging by your photographs, the stalls look even better than the last event. Thank you for inviting us in to have a peek!

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  6. Wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing, now I'm just miserable that i couldn't come!!

    I hope you all had a fantastic time, well how could you not really, surrounded by such prettiness and like minded souls!!

    Sue xx

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  7. Thank you for sharing your fabby pictures! Glad you had a great day!

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  8. Such gorgeous-ness! When is the next one?

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  9. You are right Sal it lokoks like it was a fantastic event. I was at the CL Fair on Friday feeling that the spirit of country living is somehow lost. Not sure if it's me that has changed or the economic climate made me feel different.I come away having spent nothing. Which having looked at the your phot'os it would not have been the case at Chipping Sodbury!
    I'll put the V&H Spring Fair in my diary. :)

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  10. Wasn't it just a wonderful affair? Friendly and fun and full of people who all like similar things............ Thank you to you and all the others who put so much hard work into it.... :O)

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  11. It was such fun yet again - cetainly worth all the effort!
    Seeing all the smiling, happy faces coming in out of the wind & rain was a pleasure.
    As always it is wonderful to meet up with friends from Blogland & to chat with everybody when we get a minute!

    Roll on May!!

    Jayne

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  12. Hello Sal !
    Quelle belle journée, tu as passé à la Fair !!!
    Lovely things to see and ... buy !
    J'aurais bien aimé y faire un tour ... France is too far ...
    Have a nice day !

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  13. Thanks for the beautiful pictures of all the wonderful loveliness on display! There are some very very talented people out there. Looking forward to seeing your purchases too!!!!
    Take care and enjoy the rest of the weekend
    Sarah x

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  14. Hi Sal,
    Great pictures, lovely to see you for all-too-brief a natter and a chuckle with your other half! Roll on 1st May! Looking forward to seeing what you snapped up...
    Hen x

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  15. Thanks for all the delicious photos. So much to see in each one. Wish I could have been there. xx

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  16. It was a wonderful day wasn't it Sal? It was super to meet you and some of the other bloggers I hadn't met. The quality of goods on offer was superb and I had many customers who said they had been to CL earlier in the week and wished they hadn't bothered. I think they need to be very worried the V&H fair is a force to be reckoned with!!!

    I just wish I had had more time to talk to other stall holders and buy more things. I would have liked an hour before the customers turned up just for us!

    Thanks for taking such great photos I only managed to take a few of my own stall and then of the crowds rushing in and then I didn't get another opportunity. Fabulous day!

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  17. Thank you for sharing the photos, hope everyone sold lots and you all had fun. I might have to look into making a trip there next time it looks great1
    Love
    Lyn
    xxx

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  18. Hello Sal

    It was lovely seeing you at the fair! I had such a great time there. I have already made a note in my diary for next May!
    Take care
    Isabelle x

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  19. We had a super time at the fayre, and all of your hard work shone through..the stalls all looked amazing! I made some very successful purchases, thankyou very much!x

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  20. It was great to meet you, Sal - your stall looked fantastic, and if I hadn't been under supervision I think I would have gone totally mad! I am sure that you were very restrained, too (cough!) - glad it all went well for you. I am already thinking how I can find reasons to journey 3 hours west again next year!

    Pomona x

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  21. thank you for the wondeful pics, i am so excited about visiting in may!!

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  22. Thanks for sharing Sal, I'm still sulking because I had to work :(
    I was thinking of you all day then I saw your lovely son :)
    So is the next one 1st May?? I'm going to book it now! x

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  23. As you know, Sal, I'm not 'into' vintage, etc, but there were some things I spotted there that I'd have loved to have bought ... An old Blue Grass talc tin, I think, and some Christmas tree decorations which looked like 1940s/1950s ones ... and I've only just skipped through the pix ... no doubt when I look a 2nd and 3rd time I will see more and more ... I would love to have gone to this! Even me, more into antiques than vintage, saw things I liked ...
    Margaret P

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  24. Looks like a wonderful day! Thanks for sharing.
    Sue x

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  25. I feel like a little girl with her nose pressed against the window...it all looks so lovely...maybe next year...that didnt look like mr S has his shaved off his tash???

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  26. Hi Sal,

    Fantastic to meet you on Saturday and see your lovely goods in all their colourful glory.

    It was well worth the wet and windy journey and we will def be making it again in May.

    Victoria xx

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  27. oh sal I love this post, i think Mr Custard is saying, ;I'm just gonna pop back and buy a meter of that vintage fabric; and mr snippets is saying ;yes definitely you were mad not to buy any, id get two meters then you can make matching pillow cases!; he he!! fliss xx

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  28. Hi Sal - A wonderfully full post to tell the story of a lovely day...I agree, time for a sit down with a cuppa would have been perfect.
    Take care of yourself,
    Niki x

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  29. great piccies Sal! Well done as I only took about 5! Lizzie x

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  30. I so wish I could have been there,though by the looks of all the lovelies my bank account is probably pleased I wasn't!
    Thank you for all the wonderful photographs.
    Warm Wishes,
    Cally x

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  31. It must be a little unsettling for Mr C and Mr S to be amongst so many excited women, in such a small area! I applaud them for attending such a 'girly' event! You did very well to restrict your spending Sal! I hope you had many sales of your snippet stuff too. I think your photos did the stalls great justice. A great day was had by all. I missed out again! x

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  32. They are probably saying ' even though the Missus is selling things, she'll buy even more and the house will be as full as ever!'
    It looks amazing, thanks for taking us on a virtual tour.

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! ;-)