A brilliant sunny day was perfect for the St Matthew’s Parish Fair, held on Saturday, 16 March, 2013, in the grounds of St Matthew’s.

[Click on any of the photos to see a larger image.]

The Parish Hall was busy with all sorts of interesting white elephants and stylish pre-loved clothing.

The barbeque was doing a roaring trade, the Bouncy Castle bounced.  AND THEN, the lolly scramble was announced.

There’s no group more alert than children waiting for the sweets to be thrown. And then there’s all the fun of the scramble to see who can get the most.

St Matthew’s very first parish hall, built in the 1860s – these days known as the CAF – provided a welcome respite from the bright sunshine for weary shoppers.  Bev McNeilage ran the cafe with her usual aplomb and her customers sat in the shade while enjoying their tea and cakes.  And a very fine selection of first-rate books was on offer.

The folk from St Alban’s, Tauweru, had beautiful cupcakes – and other baking delights – together with wonderful plants and raffles. There are still a few packets of the beautiful white perennial sweetpea seeds for keen gardeners – the flowers are like little white orchids.

Rides in the 1920 Austin Seven were especially popular – what a cool little car!

A big thank you to all those who worked so hard to make this very big event such a success.  Well done, everyone 🙂

You can see the rest of the photos here.