A Fair Day Out
40 not so single, Saturday 18 June 2011
I have heard a lot of people complain about the weather in this country and if the truth be known I am usually one of them.
I mean it’s supposed to be summer, the sky is supposed to be blue and the sun is supposed to be shining. I am supposed to be in my summer frock with tanned legs and sandals showing off my pretty pedicured feet. Instead it’s grey, wet and windy and I find myself rugged up in jeans, a knit, a weather proof jacket, socks and Jimmy Choo Hunter Wellingtons (I know this reflects poorly on me, but there you have it – the unvarnished truth).
Perhaps I’m becoming more English, because my Australian self would have nested at home, watched a DVD or snuggled up with a book and a cup of tea. Instead, now I do what the English do and just get on - irrespective of the weather. After all, it is what it is and we have to keep calm and carry on – just like that poster tells me from the kitchen wall each morning.
We pack the kids, kitted for London summer weather, into the car and make our way to the annual Wimbledon Village Fair. It is a wonderful event, well-organised by the Wimbledon Guild and heartily supported by locals. My kids shriek with excitement when they see the rides, the ponies and all the stalls. To my mind, nothing speaks community quite like a local fair. We gravitate to the horse show, as I love horses, but this is short-lived once the kids spot the bouncy castle and rides. We bee-line for them and - thankfully - the kids insist on riding each only twice (believe me, it’s usually more). Then the sun is caught behind some clouds and the skies start to look ominous.
Once they’re done, we forage and stop to marvel at Mr Alexander’s Travelling Show. It’s a charming magic show with an elaborate stage, including intricate Victoriana detailing, which draws you in. The kids are captivated and I make a mental note to invite Mr Alexander to the girls’ birthday party – subject to finance.
Walking around the 200-odd stalls it is lovely to recognise some familiar faces, local businesses, vendors and purveyors. There was such a wide range of offerings from cupcakes, potted herbs and chutneys to sausages and pork roast crackling. Downland’s Hog Roast with homemade apricot stuffing, apple sauce and crackling served in a bread roll was simply too good to miss. The queue spoke for itself and, yes, it was well worth the wait.
Just as I savoured my last delicious bite, the heavens opened and we dashed to the car. The kids, unfazed by the rain, plead for one last ride before going home. Bless them. Who can say no to their little wet faces peeking through their hoodies? Certainly not me so they enjoy their last ride before we trudge through the mud back to the car. We pop them into the boot of our car, muddy wellies and all, to eat their sausage in a roll and smile at their simple happiness. We are reminded that it doesn’t take much to make kids happy.
On our way home - for some inexplicable though obviously filmic reason - we begin to sing that lovely Annie song we heard earlier in the day, performed by girls from the local school - “The sun’ll come out tomorrow, so ya gotta hang on ‘til tomorrow, come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow. You’re always a day away…” I am pretty sure the girls from the local school were a lot better.
40 not so single is a local blog written by a high flying corporate lawyer who finds herself married with 3 kids, 40 and a stay at home mum. Whatever happened to her Gucci handbag and Prada high heels...
