There was something about Georgina Welton that captured that special moment in the life of Allendale Fair. The 2012 May Fair (almost always held in June, of course) was at least the second fair in which the main photograph printed by the Hexham Courant, in its reprise of all the action, featured George in full performance mode on the karaoke. But then, dressed up as the Queen, what better way to capture the photographer’s attention! As it was, Anna Harrison took home the top prize in the Junior Karaoke Final, though it was inevitable that George again received the Jock McConnochie trophy for her presentation.
It was cool, too, to see the delightful feature on the Allendale scarecrows sharing the page. Such a lot of interesting things happened in 2012 in the vibrant village!
A lot of the effort in the 2012 fair was put toward raising funds for Josie’s Dragonfly Trust, a local charity set up by Josie’s parents in 2007 after she died at the age of 16 from cancer. [Today, in 2023, the Dragonfly Trust is a nationwide charity dealing with the fallout of terminal cancer diagnosis, and palliative care, for children and young adults up to the age of 25, and their family members].
As local reporter Robert Gibson noted, the now-traditional Allen Valley Striders race, and fun run, as well as the Strong Man competition, complemented the Karaoke Finals on Fair Day.
But the Fair, celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, had more in store, with an Allendale Churches Together coffee morning in the marquee, and a performance by the Dale Singers, on Sunday.
Monday saw an Arts and Crafts session for the youngsters, and then a shared Scarecrow Stomp in the village hall to round off the Scarecrow Competition.
It all seemed like a special weekend within a cohesive and friendly community, even though, as Nigel Baynes thoughtfully noted, it really was a freezing day outside.
Not a problem for the warm hearts that populated the square, of course.