The First Annual Garden Fete - swap

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with the greatest of pleasure that Lady Elizabeth & Lady Caroline proudly announce our first Annual Garden Fete.

Let us take an imagined July walk around our showgrounds. The situation shall be the large Green at Comely Park, surrounded by trees hung with long colourful pennants, with bunting between them. In the centre of the Green will be the White Marquis, where coffee pots & tea urns & bowls, cups of hot chocolate, and cool mugs of ale will be served. A long side table shall provide cakes, pies, sandwiches & savouries etc for consumption. A quartet playing gentle music will also lie within. Surrounding the marquis will be 11 green or yellow tents that shall house all our fabulous creations on display for the judging competitions.

An area will be a cordoned off where we can support in the egg & spoon race, sack races, tug of war and three legged race. Around the bunting surrounds will be hay bales for seating where you can hear the apple scrumpy band, stall holders will be displaying their wares, Here you will also find the tombola, and coconut shie to try your hand at winning a prize, near the red striped puppet show, Punch & Judy, for everyone to enjoy.

So do see below for what competitions we have on offer that EVERYONE may join in the fun.

In great anticipation and excitement, Your Hostesses,

Lady Comely & Lady Marlowe

Every village has its own fete (pronounced fate) which is very much like the county fairs some of you are familiar with. Fete, from the French word Fête which means party, is a grand time when everyone had a day off to enjoy the festivities. There would be puppet shows for children, music, a tea and cake area to sit and take a break, games as well as many stalls filled with wares and goods to choose from. So it is with great pleasure that we announce the first ever Amberleigh Fete to be held in the third week of July.

Why announce this now if it is not to be until July? Because you will want time to work on the things you will enter in the competitions. We have several categories and have tried to adapt these to our unique village so that there is something for everyone's taste and ability. Please note, this is meant to be "A Friendly Competition Amongst Neighbours" and emailing our entries will be the swap part of the fete in which there will be several categories in which we wish for everyone to participate please. The categories you may submit your entries to are:

*Best Cake
*Best Pie
*Best Loaf of Bread
*Tallest Sunflower
*Largest Pumpkin or Marrow
*Cleverest Paper Creation
*Best Sewn Item (this may be sewn, embroidered or quilted)
*Best Knitted or Crocheted Item
*Best Poetry Entry about Summer
*Best Painted or Drawn Image
*Best Flower Arrangement
*Prettiest Hat or Bonnet
*Prettiest Pet

JUST TO CLARIFY THIS IS AN EMAIL ONLY SWAP.... NO PHYSICAL postal sending need apply.

You may enter as many of these categories as you like and your entry should be sent as a photo to your swap partner and as an email to Anna who will create a blog post showing all of our lovely items. If you are entering the cake or pie competition you will send a photo of your creation with a slice cut out so that the inside as well as the outside may be seen. Your painted or drawn items need not be framed, but you may take your submission photo as a framed piece. All other photos should be photographed in a well lit area so that they may be seen to their best advantage. If your paper creation is something that opens up, please include a photo of the inside as well as the outside. Poetry entries need not be photographed but simply copied and emailed.

So to your partner, you will EMAIL a photo or photos of what you have entered in the competitions with a description. Use your imagination and most of all enjoy yourself.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have.

Anna and Jane