The chairs await

...the arrival of the King and Queen, who are chosen from among the  local schoolchildren. They arrived, suitably dressed, on a float, and accompanied by Ashley Dickenson on a tractor, to open the village flower show and fete. I'm not sure about the King and Queen custom, but Bisley, Glos (not the shooting place in Surrey) has many traditions, including Derbyshire-style well dressing, introduced by the Rev Thomas Keble, who was once the local vicar and also a native of Derbyshire. 

The Dickenson family have run Stancombe Beech farm shop, near Bisley, ,for many years and it's a local institution. They're handing over the reins to ànother group, so they can concentrate on farming and beekeeping. The new incumbents will continue to sell Steve's cards in the farm shop. 

The photo-cards and prints stall was the reason for our being there, as Steve had been invited to run his stall at the annual fete. The flower and produce show was also being held in a marquee in the next field, and teas were being served  in the hall. All so very English!

We had a mixture of sunshine and very heavy showers. At one point, when Steve was doing his stallholder stuff, I went off around the field and, finding the book stall to be full of treasure that was totally muddled up, I began to rearrange and categorise it. The stall holders didn't mind my interference (I did use to to work in bookstores). Just as I felt I was getting somewhere, the rain came down very heavily and the books began to get totally soaked! The announcement was made that they would now be sold at 5 for £1! I went back to help Steve, who'd had to move some of his stock. When I returned to the book stall later, it looked as if here had been a bit of a book fight at the front of the stall, but some of my categorisation was still evident. I bought a vintage crime thriller, Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth. 

We staggered back home and unloaded the car at the end of the show, and Steve went off to snap a steam train passing through Stroud, while I had a hot bath. I'm absolutely exhausted after a week of work, house-sitting and dog walking, along with yesterday's trip to Cheltenham and today's stint at Bisley. 

I was sad to say goodbye to the dog/polar bear L this morning, but relieved not to have to navigate the quirks of another person's house, especially one that is on the market. I expect I will see L the dog being walked around the neighbourhood. Now that I know her, she will be instantly recognizable. Everyone that I met on our walks seemed to know her! 

Oh, and my new go-to series for R&R is Guide Dog Puppy School!