Festival wash out

Oh what a great shame. After so much work and effort by some very dedicated volunteers, Stone Festival was truly affected by the weather this year.

QEII struuting their stuff !

Jan and I went down to Westbridge Park on the Friday evening to watch the Queen tribute band, QEII. We went in wellies, waterproof jackets and with umbrellas - and we needed to! This was the first time the Festival Committee had organised an event on the Friday night and the  Party in the Park was a great idea. QEII were just superb. We saw them of course a couple of years ago when they stole the show at the Music Festival so we knew they'd be good. They were! A crowd of a few hundred braved the elements and was sufficient, I am told, for the event to break even. But what a night it would have been if it had been a warm dry summer's evening. Oh well, perhaps next year!

And sadly it got no better the following day. We were down on Westbridge Park early to set up the Food and Drink Festival display trailer and it was obvious that it had rained all night. The field was water logged and the various organisations and charities  setting up their stalls were all looking rather damp.

Antony Lucas holds
 the Olympic Torch

The Festival Parade made the best of a bad job but due to the condition of the field, the lorries carrying the floats could not get onto the park. What a shame after so much time and effort had been spent by so many. The Imps motor cycle display team had to cut their display short and, all in all, the weather spoilt the whole day.

But I'm sure that John Sayer and his team won't let any despondency set in! I'm in no doubt that they are already starting to organise next year's event - well done John et al!