The Cherry Fayre

.

Perched on top of one of the southernmost ridges of the Chiltern hills, Flackwell Heath enjoys superb views on three sides; to the south over the Thames valley to the South Downs far beyond, and to the east and north over the Wye valley curving round from Wycombe through Wooburn to Bourne End.

The cherry industry was important to several Chiltern villages, for example Prestwood and Holmer Green. Whereas these two villages tended to have larger, commercial orchards, it was Flackwell Heath with its prettier mosaic of smaller fields and meadows that seems to have been generally regarded as the queen of the Chiltern cherry villages.

There were two main events that marked the cherry season. On Cherry Sunday, the Sunday in April that coincided most closely with the peak of the cherry blossom, visitors from Wycombe and surrounding villages would pack Flackwell Heath's narrow country lanes to admire the trees, before most likely fortifying themselves in one or other of the local pubs before the long walk back home again.

To mark the completion of the cherry picking season in July there was the Cherry Fair, an occasion of revelry and celebration.

Most local people would be involved in the cherry picking in one way or another. Ladders up to 30 feet tall and with a wide base for stability were manipulated with ease and skill to reach the tops of the trees.

.

.

Many children (playing truant?) would earn a few pence as "bird starvers", vying with each other to devise and construct rattles and other apparatus that would make as much noise as possible to try to scare blackbirds and starlings away from the rapidly ripening crop.

The last Flackwell Heath cherry orchard was planted in 1889, and none exists today, their sites having all been built on.

With the demise of the orchards the Cherry Fair lapsed, but was revived in 2005 as Flackwell Heath village carnival and fete, and has been held every July since then but is now called the ‘Cherry Fayre‘.

.

.

This years Fayre was on Sunday just gone and by the time I arrived there were no cherries to be seen anywhere!

Never mind, I went there to help out turning Dennis's organ. He had a sore thumb so I did a spot of grinding whilst he had a look around. This is one of the problems with doing a grind on your own - you can't get to walk around. Even a 'comfort' break is difficult to arrange.

.

.

This years theme was "The 1940's" and there was plenty of WW2 memorabilia around including Jones van from the "Dad's Army" series.

.

.

Vintage cars.

And Pony Rides.

.

.

I was not allowed a go - she said it was for children.

And there was me being constantly told that......

"all men are little boys at heart!"

Showing my complete ignorance,

I asked if this chap below was a Welsh pit-pony.

.

.

"No", she said, "He's a Shetland as well".

See, I can't even guess right.

I therefore sort refuge from the heat in the Beer Tent and listened to the jazz from that excellent group called "Rhythm & Booze".

.

.

This was the same group that were in the Amersham Memorial gardens last year.

They are due back in August - must check the date.

.