From May Day until the end of July the villages hereabouts hold fayres and festivals, scarecrow weeks and fundraising days for all sorts of causes ( including our own 15th century church of St Denys). This weekend the next door village of Bolnhurst  (pronounced bone’ust) holds a two day fayre and car rally and, before our visitors arrived today, I snuck off to enjoy the treats on offer.  Plant stalls, birds of prey – including a beautiful barn owl and I learnt from the owner that a pure white breast means that the bird is male and a speckle breasted bird is female.


There were scores of vintage cars, four of them owned and driven by our closest neighbours,

and there were hundreds of vintage tractors and two powerful and massive shire horses whose owners take them around the country to competitions.