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beattie 9 years, 4 months ago.
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I’ve been packing the caravan and the car to head off tomorrow to Boconnoc for our second sew-in at the annual steam fair.
http://www.lsvc.org/The weather forecast is “mixed” = normal for Cornwall, (just added to the list, “wellies”).
We have lots of kits for customers to sew on a range of hand cranks, and plenty of bags to give away too. I’ll update you when we get home, as I don’t think we’ll find Wi-Fi in the fields.
Thinking of you today as it is pouring with rain. Good thing you have your wellies with you. I know you two are very intrepid so am sure you will win through and get hundreds of new baggers beavering away. I hope you have a reasonably waterproof area for your stall. Everyone who comes your way will have fun whatever the weather! Looking forward to your usual entertaining report in due course.
We came, we saw, we made bags.
After attacking the connector between car and caravan lights with sandpaper to remove the corrosion that had built up since it was last used, we drove to Boconnoc, a large country estate near Liskeard, arriving at lunchtime on Thursday. We found a big luxurious marquee with almost nobody in it so far, so we lost no time in setting up our pitch while we could park conveniently just outside.
We retired to our caravan with dire forecasts ringing in our ears……
Next morning we lay in bed speculating on what was making the noise we could hear. Was it grasshoppers dancing on the roof? Was it a plague of locusts battering on the walls? Was it a team of humming birds practising clog dances aloft?
I think you may have guessed – and I was glad I’d remembered to pack wellies.A day of heavy showers meant that we got off to a slow start. Just as well, as there was a bit of mopping up to do. Our pitch had a tent pole in the corner and the canvas didn’t quite meet the pole, so it rained onto our gear stacked close to the pole overnight. Fortunately I’d wrapped our spare supplies in a tarpaulin, so there was only a shallow puddle.
We had a steady trickle of customers and I managed to bag nearly all of the craft sellers in the tent.
Friday = 20 bags made
Saturday’s weather dawned glorious and we had a lovely, happy, busy day. It got quite warm in the marquee, but it wasn’t too hot.
This trio of ambulance personnel took teamwork to a new high and worked together very amicably to make their bag
and the little girl helped daddy by winding the handle very sensibly.
The people selling all round us seemed to be doing a good trade, all went well.
Saturday = 21 bags madeOn Saturday evening the couple camping next to us (they’d brought a classic car to show) heard the weather forecast, packed up and left. As did lots of other exhibitors and some of the traders.
Sunday found the clog-dancing humming birds at it again, they woke us, they woke EVERYONE up several times during the night. There was a steady stream of assorted vehicles heading up the hill and out of the gates as we had breakfast and slithered to our post in the lovely, almost completely dry marquee.
One of the crafters who lives close enough to go home told us that they had to wait to get in through the gates as they were blocked by vehicles leaving – and when the burger vans start leaving, you KNOW things are looking bad!
We sat in our tent, made bags and chatted with any passers by – we had plenty of time to discuss their old sewing machines, after all! 🙂
A lady selling lovely vintage jewellery brought some fabric that her daughter had bought while she was working voluntarily in Uganda and I made her a bag out of some of it.
We were still steadily busy – some of the stall-holders came and made themselves a bag, while keeping and eye open in case they got a customer.
Sunday bags made 24
Usually we let the people in a hurry leave before us, we sit in the caravan, have a cup of coffee, make and eat some food , then pack up and go, but Masterclock was worried about the state of the mud in the gateway to our field, so we got organised licketty-split and headed for home. That involved the inaugural use of M/C’s car’s four-wheel drive option and I was very glad we had it.
What a great write up of your weekend and brill photos. Lovely to see that the rain didn’t stop the morsbagging. It’s nice when it’s not too busy and you get to chat to people too!
Another intrepid adventure with a splendid write up. Thank you so much. You got a lot of bags made despite the weather – the Ugandan one is a stunner! Good for you staying on when even the burger vans had left. Glad you got out and home safely. What a good thing you had wrapped your gear in the tarpaulin – that is when experience pays off!
Thank you Butterfly and Krisaby! 😀
I was very glad I’d taken the tarpaulin! We’ve worked in marquees pitched on grass before and come across the “interior rain” phenomenon before, even when we weren’t just under a hole to let a tent pole out. You can get an awful lot of condensation.
Still, we had an enjoyable and productive weekend away, and M/C can justify having 4 wheel drive now 😀
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