Hundreds pour in for a soak festival
High-spirited villagers made a clean getaway at the weekend – but no-one was in hot water, just the soapy variety!
Hundreds took turns to ride a 100m water slide which ran through Sutton Valence, all in the name of charity.
The blue and white inflatable was laid along gently sloping Lower Road on Saturday and about 800 eager children, and adults, sat on lilos and slid along on a layer of soapy water into a pool at the end.
Up to 1,000 people visited the village at a time and there were food stalls, a barbecue and three pubs to visit, The Queen’s Head in the High Street, the King’s Head in North Street and the Clothworkers Arms in Lower Road.
Most of the village was closed to traffic, Lower Road for the slide, while the High Street was filled with stalls.
Dominic Stafford, a member of Queen’s Head Oddfellows, a group that organises quirky events in the village, said: “It went very well. Most people got to have more than one go on the slide and people enjoyed photographing and filming each other.
“It took children about 30 to 40 seconds to slide the whole length and adults, who are heavier, about 20 seconds. It was the speed of a light jog.”
Mr Stafford asked people to tell organisers, via the QHOF – Queens Head Oddfellows Fund Facebook page – if they would like the slide to return next summer and hinted a 200m one was a possibility, space permitting.
The day raised funds for children’s charity Demelza and complements the village’s quirky New Year’s Day pram race which sees dozens of whacky characters career through the streets in handmade contraptions.