All the fun of the Sythe Fair

Green Sythe Fair Somerset

Not the best place for a hay fever sufferer, but there was so much to do that I really enjoyed myself between sneezing fits. I stayed away from the grass cutting competitions and concentrated on the other green aspects of the fair. I had a stall here last year and did really well. Stupidly I didn't rebook in time, so missed out on a great opportunity for selling my eco friendly wares to double the amount of people who came last year.

This gave me more time to visit other stalls, enjoy the live entertainment and queue for the lovely food on offer. There was a real festival feeling and the fair is only a few miles from both my home and shop adding to the green aspect. There were spinners, weavers, blacksmiths, thatchers, and look - giant knitting needles! I had to have a go.
There were plants for sale on several stalls. We went home with some purple sweetcorn with instructions to report back to the Monkton Wyld sellers to let them know how they do in Ilchester.

Mc had a good look at the bees. He hasn't kept bees for over a decade and it looks like he might be lured back into it. The parish council have given the go ahead for hives on the allotments, but as most of his equipment has already been given away, we wont be having a hive any time soon.

I went to the car boot first of course

The fair was on a Sunday, and we did a quick sweep of my village car boot sale, before we set off. I was lucky enough to get some hand made items directly from the makers. Not all the handmade items in my shop are made by me. The prices were far too low, but the sellers were clearing out and didn't mind even when I explained I would be reselling their hard work. It still seemed wrong, and I was standing next to customers who haggled the price of a brand new handmade fully lined pegbag down to 40p!

I raced up to the Mr.Men bag hoping it was a curtain or duvet cover, but it was a nice well made bag with a lining and pocket.

Peg bag Syndrome

It's peg bag weather again and I have a wider variety of peg bags now thanks to a lovely lady who was in the mood for sewing and had a wide selection to choose from.

There's an old complaint in this area among crafters that's called the peg bag syndrome. When I used to do craft fairs pegbags would either fly off the stall or be completely ignored for weeks. I get people asking for them when I don't have them, but some people have come back again when they saw one hung up in the window, so there's hope.

Strode College End of Year Show
I attended Sophie's art collage end of year show preview and still have Tony's to go. It is all very well polished work presented very well. There was lots I loved especially Sophie's yarn bombed bicycle. Students love vintage things and I spotted some items from my shop put to very interesting use. I don't know who's work this lampshade thing is I will find out, so I can put a credit on the photo.

A Rummage in Lyme Regis

Since I will be spending my birthday dismantling a shed, we decided to go on a pre-birthday jolly. The logical direction to travel was away from the Bath & West showground. It took a while to dispatch the children to various locations, so mid morning we headed towards Lyme Regis via Yeovil. We never know where we will actually end up when we point the now newly welded and re-MOT'ed van out of Ilchester. The plan was to take the picnic basket to Asda as it is on route, and stop off somewhere on the way to eat whatever we bought to put in it. It all went to plan!

Asda isn't a hotbed of Artisan food, but with almost two aisles of crisps and a decent 'free from' corner we managed to select a nice spread. Mc and I split up to pick up odd things, and it wasn't until we unpacked that we noticed the tropical citrus theme. Tropical drink with lime, lemon olives, lemon and coriander humus and lemon zest cookies.

Even the delicious desert was fairly tropical too.

On our journey we travelled through a beech wood and looked out for a lay-by or gateway, when just as we reached the end there it was. A driveway to a National Trust location. It was just the place for a stop-off. A proper carpark and lovely beech woods. It was Lambert's Castle the sight of a hill fort, so there was open space too. We have often driven past and not noticed the entrance. We will definitely be stopping of there again.

We are quite familiar with Lyme Regis, so it was wonderful to find a new shop has open up. It was the first shop we visited as we walked down the hill towards the beach. (We always go via the high street). Brilliantly named Rummage it is run by Gaye and has been open for 5 weeks.

There is lots of lovely stuff outside and inside.

I can't resist looking through the buttons.

I end up buying some.

I zigzagged across the road to visit A touch of Vintage. I was lucky enough to wonder in on the day it opened two years ago. It has changed a bit since, but is still lovely. Upstairs they have some delicately designed welsh tapestry cushions that are adorable. I hadn't asked if I could take photos before I went up, so I didn't take any.

I have recently had a run on tea cups in the shop, so I'm on the lookout for more. Everyone seems to be having tea parties, and everyone seems to have different tastes. Roses and violets are popular as well as spots, but fruit and leaves take some peoples fancy too.
I looked round the charity shops and managed to find this lot.

All thirsty work, so we go into the place where we usually get take away tea, and decide to sit inside for a change. The tea room has almost Alice in Wonderland dimensions, getting narrower towards the back. The open door with view to the beach saves anyone feeling claustrophobic.

After that refreshing break it was finally time to hit the beach. The well populated beach was just as expected and there was a happy vibe about the place. We walked a bit, Mc went to a little bookshop while I had a look in the emporium. I always have a look, and sometimes even buy something, but not this time.

We had a bit of a paddle and just sat and did.. well nothing.. (I took some photos, and threw some stones) I had to poke my nose into the beach huts as always.

The town and beach had a lot of visitors and it's not unusual to bump into someone you know. Just when we thought it wouldn't happen we saw a group of people from Ilchester winding their way back to the carpark ahead of us.

We went home in a mini VW convoy only parting when we approached the allotment.

Watering and weeding are easier later in the day when the heat has abated. It's just a matter of deciding what to do all day until then.