Eclipsed by the Rustle of Paperwork.

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Another excellent ‘day out’ on Saturday at Prestwood Rally.

Just one small gripe though….the admission had increased from £3.50 last year to £4.00.

I know it’s only 50p but it’s a 14% increase…..who needs this extra money?

Well here’s a few eye-openers…..

Rally and village fete organisers say they are having to cancel events because volunteers are struggling to cope with the demands of officialdom.

There are at least 15 different licences, legal agreements, forms and certificates for which organisers can ultimately be responsible,.

The person in charge of an event which breaks the terms of its licence may face a £20,000 fine or six months in prison, while failure to meet stringent insurance requirements could see committee members sued in the event of an accident.

The most onerous paperwork includes the daunting 'premises licence', which can be more than 20 pages long and can cost several thousand pounds for larger events, and the 'risk assessment' form which is required by insurance companies.

With an estimated 7,000 rallies and fetes every year in Britain, experienced organisers say that the extension of bureaucracy poses a serious threat to long-standing annual events.

Rosemary Schofield, chairman of one village fete committee said :-

"What Oliver Cromwell tried to do and failed - stop all English fetes and fairs -petty bureaucracy is succeeding in doing so,"

Shelley Thompson, chairman of the village fair committee in Walkern, said "We have to buy public liability insurance which covers you for nothing – it doesn't cover the tug of war, or tractor rides, or anything where there's any element of risk whatsoever.

In some cases organisers are required to obtain licences themselves, in other cases they must ensure that the correct steps have been taken by traders or entertainers attending the event.

Many of the requirements arise because councils insist on public liability insurance and insurance companies, in turn, insist on health and safety guidelines being adhered to.

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Yet the “Elf ‘n Safety” Executive denied that its guidelines were putting fetes under threat, calling such claims the "myth of the month".

What utter rubbish….we can see it happening all around us.

It is only a matter of time before we come face to face with a "Coconut Risk Officer" or an inspector from the "Maypole Dancing Unit."