The Parents’ Association Summer Fun Day
It took the collective prayers of all the committee members on Friday evening to change the course of the weather, from the thunder storms and torrential rain we were experiencing, to the glorious sunshine we enjoyed for the three hours on Saturday. The warnings that, ‘of course it will rain – it’s Glastonbury weekend’, loomed large at 5.00pm when the sky went a sulphurous shade of yellow and the rain could only be described as Biblical. But as we know, weather changes quickly in England.
The Christmas Fayre
The Christmas Fayre, held on Saturday 22nd November, was a tremendous success. Members of the PA worked tirelessly to get ready for the afternoon, and a record number of parents and friends turned up to support them, helping to raise £2278 in total. Along with the old favourites there were some new features at this year’s fayre.
Mr and Mrs Shackleton spent an afternoon of the half term shopping for presents that would be suitable for mums and dads for the Secret Santa room. They filled two trolleys at Ikea and John Lewis, before moving from the sublime to the ridiculous – Home Bargains in Harborne! The goodies were set out in a Year 1 classroom and lots of wrapping paper, sellotape, scissors and gift tags were assembled and warning notices made to ban parents from the vicinity! Tickets were sold and a band of ‘personal shoppers’, in the form of several Year 6 helpers, guided the little ones in their choices before helping them to wrap them up and write their message!
Another new idea was the basket stall. Children picked up a basket and some coloured shredded tissue from School and then went home to rack their
brains for a theme on which to fill it. As ever, there were some ingenious responses! Baby baskets, coffee lovers’ baskets, tea time baskets, dog and cat lovers’ baskets, games baskets, biscuit baskets, nail baskets, baskets full of toiletries, chocolate, stationery, toys, herbs and spices, Christmas treats – the list is endless! Mrs Shackleton and Miss Cochrane collected in the full baskets, wrapped them in cellophane and tied them with a huge bow – a perfect gift for aunties, uncles, or that kind next door neighbour who feeds the cat whilst you are away! The stall sold out by 1.00pm so next year be there as soon as possible to get the pick of the bunch!
The gingerbread house, which was very kindly donated by Selfridges, weighed in at 2832 grams. It was won by Raees Ismail 2S with the nearest weight of 2828 grams. We hope he didn’t eat it all at once!
There were all the old favourites – the tombola and the cake stall that were as usual generously supported by donations from the parents – and a visit from you-know-who without which no Christmas Fayre would be complete.
It was a very English scene. The blue sky; the immaculate green fields; the shaved pale cricket wicket with the staff and parents dressed in proper cricket kit; the bunting fluttering round the pavilion which was the centre of activities; parents and children lying in the sun, eating and drinking and chatting. There was a furious game of rounders to cheer at, coconuts to tumble from their precarious stands, rats to splat, wellies to wang, castles to bounce on till you felt sick and Aston Villa goalies to try and outwit.
The less energetic could guess the weight of the cake, slowly melting in the fierce summer sun; pinpoint the hiding place of Cut Throat Jake’s hidden treasure on his map; try their luck at winning a jar of teeth rotting sweeties; guess the name of a most unferocious lion; scare their mums by having a tattoo and buy a lovely cake to take home for tea. The children had a stall just for them, selling a variety of pocket money toys priced just right for tiny pockets!
There was cool wine and beer, succulent roast lamb, kebabs, doughnuts and of course, the essential part of an English garden party, strawberries and cream.
The noises and sounds were perfect too. The one- man steel band lifted spirits and gave a carnival air to the day. The sound of leather on willow is synonymous with summers as is the general sound of children enjoying themselves in the open air.
We were very lucky with the sunshine, it was doubtful whether the atmosphere would have been the same if we’d had to regroup indoors. By 4.00pm as the defeated staff team left the pitch and the committee members put the finishing touches to the clearing up, the spell broke and the heavens opened and once more torrential rain flooded the fields leaving the deflated bouncy castle floating and several people marooned in the pavilion for quite a time! How lucky were we?
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The Hallfieldian
2008-2009
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