Iden

You know what I love about it, everyone wears casual clothes [flip-flops abound]. People walk around in shorts, tee-shirts, and sun hats, sporting sunglasses on top of their heads like a second pair of eyes. Glamour goes out of the window on fete day, and everyone looks happy and relaxed, wearing bright ‘casuals’. Anything goes doesn’t it? Some even eat walking along. “Don’t eat in the street”, my mother would always say, but this is a fete, in a field for heavens sake, and lets face it who’s looking]. There were no burger/hotdog police around, and a sausage in a bun with fried onions is almost a fashion accessory on fete day!. There were rides for the children, a bouncy castle, a steel- band a pipe-band, everything you could think of. The ‘dog show’, was in itself quite amazing [even dog’s love Iden Fete]. Bargains Galore was heaving, people coming out of it’s enclosure carrying lamp shades and cushions, and a whole new wardrobe, and the same with the ‘Boot Fair’, which was stall after stall of every bargain imaginable. John Harrison was the compere, and at the end of the fete, he called out the raffle results, which in itself was entertaining [he always makes us laugh!]

It’s funny isn’t it, our lives are divided into sections, almost as though someone has drawn them in with a ruler. We may even on occasions have our ‘ Glynbourne’ days and our ‘ Barbican’ days , our restaurant outings, and our evenings at the theatre or ‘the proms’, where dressing up is obligatory, but a day on the beach , or our day last Saturday at Iden fete are days to relax, and just be ourselves----Wasn’t it grand?

THANK YOU EVERYONE: I am sure that everyone would like to join me in thanking the fete committee and all participants who worked so hard to make the fete a success. Thank you to all the local business people who so generously donated prizes and helped in general. I cannot mention everyone by name, but thank you one and all for all that you did.

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY: Now that the fete is over, I’m thinking ‘stocking fillers’. Well, it is August, and once the darker evenings are upon us, Christmas soon follows. I bought my first Christmas present this week, some socks which looked like the kind my daughter-in law would wear. I can’t go through another year raking around a supermarket at almost midnight the week before Christmas. It was surreal last year buying tinsel at 11.45 pm! I found myself in the bread isle, wishing that someone would wheel my bed in, so that I could sleep right there amongst the cut loaves. Late night shopping is either for the young, or the ‘barking mad’!

A SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION: There will be a service of Holy Communion, in Iden Parish Church, on Sunday August 2nd, at 9.30 am. Followed by tea and coffee in the old hall

THE POP-IN: The next Pop-In, will be on Monday 3rd August, at 11am, in Iden village hall. This is a fun morning, open to anyone in Iden and surrounding area for coffee/tea, biscuits, a book and bric-a--brac stall, and a nice chat.

BINGO: The next Bingo session will be on Thursday 6th August, in Iden village hall. Doors open at 2pm, eyes down at 2.30pm. Do join us for a n entertaining afternoon. Everyone from Iden and the surrounding area is very welcome .Tea is provided.

WHAT KIND OF A PLACE IS THIS?: This week we took one grandson back, and brought another to stay, plus his new puppy. Jenson, [that’s the pup’s name], named after Jenson Button of course, was not about to take kindly to his new surroundings. No!, he was going to treat us to three or four hours of yelping and barking, just to let us know that in canine terms, our place was not exactly ‘The Ritz’ or the ‘Four Seasons’ [“no free shampoos or access to a trouser press in this gaff”], I could hear him thinking. He was giving it some ‘welly’, and a bit like a new baby, just when we tiptoed out thinking he was quiet, he’d start again .All of a sudden though he stopped, put his head between his paws, sighed, and went to sleep. “These two old folk are not too bad I suppose”, he was thinking, “the old lady is a pushover, [I’m all right for a few doggie treats there then, but what in the name of goodness is she wearing on her feet [pink mules, God forbid!]., I’ll be chewing those up later I can tell you [has the woman no pride?]. They’ve even hung up my lead I see. Everything’s lined up like a pet shop in here [it looks a bit contrived if you ask me.] Now me personally, I prefer the ‘scattered look’, and she’s washed my dog blanket [now who in their right mind washes a dog blanket?] . Surely the smell of wet Labrador is the whole point. Where is this place anyhow? Iden I think they called it. Not bad though I must admit, not bad at all. As long as Iden Stores has plenty of dog food folks, I think we’re cooking with gas!

CONTACT ME: If anyone has anything to add to the Village Voice, I will gladly include it. Please ring Gill Griffin [telephone 01-797 280311]

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