Sutton Bonington
Mike Elliott 0115 937 6506 elliottnews@btconnect.com
VILLAGE SHOW. It’s that time of year again this weekend for one of the main and biggest social events of the year for Sutton Bonington – the annual village show.
While the show itself takes place on Sunday the whole weekend is show orientated with events starting on Friday night with the annual dance in the horticultural marquee which will start at 7pm.
The dance is being presented by the village cricket club with admission £12 50 and which will going on until midnight with music from Main Street Kinch and DJ Tango.
On Saturday the same marquee will be receiving visitors taking part in the Horticultural show the following day, with these being accepted from 10-30am to 1.30-pm. Judging starts at 2pm onwards.
Mr Frank Clarke for the Horticultural show says the large number of classes –just two short of 100 – provides opportunities for everyone to enter something. “Don’t be shy, have a go and enjoy the fun,” is the message he gives out. There are around 20 trophies up for grabs as well as prize money.
Visitors on Sunday will not be able to say there was nothing to do at the show because as usual there are lots of attractions aimed at entertaining all ages and all interests.
One of the main ring attractions will be the JC Balls & Sons Digger Dance team who will be giving an exciting team driven entertainment display exhibiting the flexibility and talent of JCB operators. The digger dance team follow a precise choreographed routine to music, containing several daring maneuvers including balancing the machines on their sides.
The Nottingham based Dako Flying Angels gymnastics display club will be giving gymnastic displays to thrill the watching crowds with the perfect timing they show as they perform the many and varied moves in their programme. They have appeared on TV shows such as Blue Peter and taken part in many competitions and were one of the first acts booked for Sutton Bonington Show many years ago and have returned several times.
There will be a Battle of Britain Hurricane Flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which are based at Coningsby in Lincolnshire where they fly from throughout the summer to airshows and events and who this year have Sutton Bonington on their long list of events. They are due to come over the showground at 14:22.
One of the new attractions will be Ferret racing. It has become an ever increasing popular attraction at country shows and this will be the first time it has been at Sutton Bonington.
Compere for the show, Malachy de Lacy, will host a number of races through the day, building up to the finale, featuring the best performing ferrets of the day.
No Sutton Bonington show would be complete without a chef and a cookery exhibition, and so the return of Rachel Green, Chef, author, TV presenter, demonstrator and food campaigner she has made a name for herself as a passionate ambassador of British produce.
Coming as she does from 14 generations of Lincolnshire farmers, Rachel’s message is that food doesn’t have to be complicated to be great. All you need are the best, locally sourced ingredients you can afford and to treat them with respect.
This will not be her first visit because she has appeared at the show for several years and returns after an absence from last years show.
For several years the JRCS Falconry Team has been a regular and a very popular visitor to the show for many years and will be there again on Sunday. As usual they will be appearing in the arena with what is always a spectacular close up flying demonstration and a chance for the public to get involved, close up to the magnificent birds taking part in the display.
The time table for the day opens at 10.00am when the show officially opens with, traditionally, a church service in the Horticultural Marquee.
Leicestershire Dexter Cattle Society Show is another big attraction and the show judging begins at 10.30am. The show café in the scout hut will be open serving tea, sandwiches and cake from 10-30am and the Horticulture Show will be open from 11.00 - 5.0pm
The first cooking demonstration by Country Chef Rachel Green will take place in the Chef Kitchen Marquee at 10-45am There will be several more demonstrations throughout the day.
The first of the Ferret Racing shows in the Main Arena will be at 11am with the final being at 4pm. At 11.30am Pat Billing will be giving demonstrations of how to create beautiful flower arrangements.
The first of the two Digger Dance displays will be at 11.30am followed by another in the afternoon. Specially for the youngsters -- and some parents usually! – there will be the first of a number of Punch and Judy shows near the Village marquee.
From 12.15 - 1.15pm Dark Horse Acoustic will be playing in the band stand by the Show Café and at 12.30pm J.C.R.S. Falconry will make the first of their main ring appearances with the opportunity for public participation and again at 2pm.
The Soar Valley U3A will perform in the Bandstand by the Café at 1.30pm,. the same time that Dako Flying Angels are in the main arena or the first of their two appearances.
At 2.00pm the Horticultural show awards will be handed out in the show marquee and an hour later the Dexter Cattle awards will be handed out in the main ring.
The final of the Sheaf tossing competition will be at 4.45pm and at 5pm the show closes.
Leicestershire Bee Keepers will be having their usual stand and from it visitors will be able to learn all about the life cycle of honey bees and have the opportunity to try on the bee keepers outfit and have a look in a real hive.
There are lots of trade stands booked in selling a wide variety of goods and there will be specialist marquees and stands including Countryside Demonstrations which will include thatching, spinning, fly-tying, taxidermy and wood turning, rural crafts, village and good, and fur and feather.
Adults admission to the show is £6.00 wile children 5-16yrs and OAPS are £4.00. Tickets are not available in advance of the show. Car parking is free on the field next to the showground.
PIECEMEAL IN OPEN GARDEN SCHEME. Piecemeal, a tiny courtyard garden in Sutton Bonington, was open to the public last Sunday in support of the National Gardens Scheme.
All afternoon, the owner, Mary Thomas, welcomed a steady stream of visitors from near and far who were interested in seeing what could be grown in her collection of around 400 pots and in identifying some of the many
unusual shrubs, perennials and climbers.
They then enjoyed tea and cake in a neighbouring garden. All proceeds - from ticket and plant sales, and refreshments - went to the NGS which has raised an incredible £58 million for nursing and health charities over the 92 years it has been operating.
Currently, the main charities are Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie and Hospice UK, each of which have received £500,000 annually in recent years.
Others include The Queen’s Nursing Institute, Parkinson’s UK and the MS Society.
The scheme not only arranges access to private gardens for charity but is also passionate about - and actively promotes - the physical and mental health benefits of gardening.
Further information, including details of other local gardens opening for the NGS, can be found at www.ngs.org. uk or obtained from Mary Thomas, an assistant county organiser for the NGS (email nursery@piecemealplants.co. uk).
PARISH COUNCIL ACCOUNTS. Accounts for Sutton Bonington parish council for the last financial year, show expenditure slightly down on what was originally budgeted for.
The council – as all parish councils have to do in order they meet financial regulations – have published details of their expenditure during the 12 month period of 2018-2019 which show an overall expenditure of £29,277.93 compared to the budget figure of £30,876.20, an underspend of nearly £1,600.
The individual headings of expenditure showed £260 spent on allotments, and £765 on the playing fields, against a budget figure of £5,740. Mowing costs were £6,883, some £3000 over budget.
Expenditure on general environment work took £1,448, some £1500 below budget, and children’s playground costs were also well down by some £1400 on budget expectations. Insurance cost £877 and various subscriptions and purchase of books took £430.
The council paid out £525 in grants to various organisations.
MRS SALLY AGAR. Popular Sutton Bonington primary school staff member Mrs Sally Agar, engaged in the last term in class R, has recently secured a part-time teaching assistant post at Victoria Primary School and will be commencing her new position in September.
Mrs Agar was appointed to the school at Sutton Bonington on a fixed-term one-year contract as a replacement to Mrs Jenny Ball whilst she was on maternity leave.
Head teacher Lee Shilton says she has done an excellent job supporting Miss Chubb and the children in class R this year and they wish her all of the best for the future.
Mr Shilton says they have appointed Miss Katy Parkin as the new Class 1 teacher from the new term starting in September following interviews earlier in the term. She has recently been completing her teacher training at Nottingham University and has been visiting school on numerous occasions throughout the end of the last term to familiarise herself with the school and to meet the children she will teach.