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Kettle Bridge Concertinas

Concertina group based in Maidstone, Kent, UK

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Whitstable Castle  -  Sun 2nd December 2018

 
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Santa arrives.
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Report and photos by Steve.

It was a dry but breezy day for Whitstable Castle's Christmas Fayre. We were invited to the event to provide some live festive music.

Of course, the main attraction of the day was Father Christmas so we had to await his arrival before setting up. This meant a bit of a wait but was an opportunity for us to have a look round all the stalls and grab a hot beverage to drink. There was lots to see, with attractions inside the castle as well as in the grounds.

Eventually, to the delight of all the children, Santa arrived, although for practical reasons (and due to lack of snow), the sleigh had wheels and was drawn by horses rather than reindeer! He then made himself comfortable in his grotto and a long queue of excited children formed outside, waiting to see the man himself.

With Father Christmas safely installed, our gazebo was erected just outside the grotto so that we could entertain the waiting children (and adults!) with some festive music. Unfortunately, the structure had no sides so that the wind kept blowing through and lifting the gazebo up. It was tied down on three sides but the fourth untethered leg kept moving. Thankfully, the webmaster was on hand to cling on to the gazebo to keep it in place, proving that he is a very useful guy. 😉

After an hour and a half's playing, it was time for a break and the organisers kindly arranged for some coffee to be delivered. At the same time, sandwiches were ordered but we started our second session before they arrived. The wind was still quite strong so some stone slabs were provided to weigh down the gazebo supports and keep them in place. This worked for a while but even they proved inadequate so the webmaster had to resume his role as a hanger-on. His extra weight did the trick but it meant that he could not take any more photos.

It turned out that, as the kitchen was really busy, there was a long wait for our food and we had just about finished our second performance when the sandwiches turned up, accompanied by mulled wine. The food was well worth the wait as the sandwiches were delicious and the mulled wine very welcome, and it was a very pleasant way to end our concert.

A big "thank you" goes to the organisers for inviting us and for providing the shelter and the refreshments. Merry Christmas!