Yesterday, I had a stall at the local primary school summer fair which stirred up lots of memories. You couldn’t get more local as it is actually directly across the road from my house. It’s the school my boys attended and 15 years after our youngest son left the school, my hubby is still the Chair of Govenors.
It’s a popular school, well supported by the parents and high in the national league tables.
I rarely have a reason to go over these days, although I do know many of the staff and happily have a natter when I see them.
People watching at the Summer Fete
Setting up my stall at the summer fair, amidst the hustle and bustle…and the heat…the relentless heat…brought back many memories and I began to see the school through different eyes.
Watching the unfamiliar parents doing the jobs that once upon a time I would have done; seeing the children I didn’t know full of excitement for the afternoon activities; left me feeling very much like an outsider and that was something that I hadn’t expected.
It was a strange feeling.
Not bad. Not really. Time moves on and I certainly have, but because I see the school everyday when I look out of my windows, and because Jeff is still very much involved with the running of it, I don’t think that I had really felt the detachment that normally comes when your children leave school.
Yesterday I did.
Setting out my stall
As I said, the reason I was there was to show off my wares.
I’ve done many a fair in the past, and on the whole I look upon them as marketing exercise. A chance to meet my customers face to face. A chance to see how my products are received by people who haven’t seen my work before.
I was really pleased with the reaction I got. “Lovely colours”, “such cute designs”, “bright and welcoming” were just a few of the lovely comments I received.
I even made a few sales!
My best seller? A version of my popular eat, sleep range…”eat, sleep, dance, repeat”.
I should explain…lots of the children attend street dance classes and they performed during the afternoon (in the hall out of the heat), so I designed this version specifically.
Onward and upward
We survived the heat. Just. Although how we didn’t melt I’m not sure. It was intense.
Despite the heat, I actually had a great time. Reliving school fair memories of years gone by was actually quite cathartic and I met lots of lovely people and loved the way my products were received.
Will I do more fairs? I think so. It was nice to get out from behind the computer for once.
Until next time…
