Fun-packed village fairs help raise funds

Billinghay saw craft fair and garden party held in aid of the village’s branch of the Royal British Legion, while Digby held a fayre at the playing field and Memorial Hall in aid of hall repairs.

Keith and Sylvia Wilkinson hosted the garden party at their home at 82 Walcott Road, Billinghay, and raised £809.

Mr Wilkinson said: “After a wet start it turned out very nice and we had a very good turnout. We had 20 craft stalls and the usual garden party attractions of cake stall.”

A neighbour had previously hosted the event on a weekday but after being involved in a bad traffic accident was going to have to give it up, explained Mr Wilkinson, so they took it on instead and held it at a weekend to increase footfall.

They host it every two years. Last time they raised £700. A cake covered in poppis made by a villager was raffled off raising £35 alone.

The couple thanked all the helpers and stall holders who made the event a success.

l Meanwhile, Digby village fayre was held at both the memorial hall and playing field for the first time, after outgrowing just the hall.

One of the organisers, Noggy Weston, said: “We had a lot of new faces as well as the villagers this year and we raised £1,050 for the hall.

“We need a disabled toilet and replace the other toilets as they have been in since the hall was built in the 1960s and are breaking down. We have been saving up but are not quite there yet.”

There was live music from local groups and demonstrations by Angels dance squad, Acorn Judo and Digby Dog Agility who let people have a go with their own dogs too.

There were quad bike rides and a bungee run.

Mrs Weston said they will probably stick with the two sites next year but may rearrange things a bit based on what worked best, as this had been an experiment after just using the hall for the last 10 years.