The annual Cottingley Fair took place on Saturday 19th May at Cottingley Primary School.
Normally the event is held in the grounds of the school, but due to the poor weather the organisers decided to move the event indoors. Richard Lancaster one of the organisers, said:
“We are delighted with the support shown by local residents and happy that there is such a buzz at the event”.
“We’ve not let the weather dampen our spirits at this terrific community event” added Hilary Benn MP. “It’s great to see the support of the school and a good number of local residents. It’s a pleasure to come to this event which is the heart of the Cottingley community.”
The event was supported by a host of community organisations, who had stalls selling cup cakes, plants, tombola and books etc and for the kids there was face painting, arts & crafts, sumo wrestling, games and a youth mobile bus.
One of the stalls was run by the Morley Exotic Animal Rescue Service, who brought along snakes, lizards, a mole call Prairie Dog, and a Canadian Skunk with a black coat with a white stripe from his head to his tail – the famous Stinkky D – How cool is that for a name? – but the treat of the day for me was meeting the famous Meerkats Aleksandra & Serge from the telly (are they really the ones on the telly?).
The organisations represented on the day were – Tenants & Residents Association Cottingley (TRAC), West Yorkshire Police, Dulverton Court resident group, Cottingley Health & Well Being group, Cottingley Volunteering group, Leeds Youth Cell Network, Leeds Youth Service, Health for All and Leeds Play Network.
One of the stalls was staffed by all the local ward councillors – in the photo from left to right is Hilary Benn MP, Adam Ogilvie, David Congreve, and Angela Gabriel. By the way Cllr Gabriel’s homemade whiskey jam tastes delicious if you haven’t tried it yet.
I would like to congratulate the organisers for making the 2013 Cottingley Fair a success, regardless of the weather and I hope all the community groups raised loads of cash for their worthy causes.
Competition
- How do think Stinkky D got his name?
- What is the name of the advert on telly staring the Meerkats?
- Draw a picture of a Skunk.
Send me your answers and drawings and the best one will receives a prize. Email your answers to: southleedslife@gmail.com
This article was written by St Clair Brown using our Community Reporters website
