This was the first time we'd been to Wroot Feast, and it was the wettest show we'd been to in years. It rained incessantly and heavily all morning. We got there in time to quickly put up the gazebo and to get the kit out and into the Gazebo with chairs, and we all sat there, huddled up together, being occasionally dripped on for all the rest of the morning till about 1:00pm when it slackened off enough for us to get the telescopes out. Many stall holders didn't come because of the rain so we were able to keep our cars close by. The ground soaked up the rain very well so when it stopped we were able to go round and look at the rest of the stalls and all the fancy dresses and watch the carnival floats come into the field having driven through the village. Carnival floats? Well a tractor and one float with the Carnival Queen in a gold painted cardboard coach. Lots of fancy dresses, a large tent with lots in it. Outside were Morris Dancers, a two legged dinosaur, a robot, a parade of old cars and model aeroplanes, but only the helicopter flew, very acrobatically too, though many could including one with a 375cc 2 cylinder boxer engine. The Feast was clearly not at its best under such wet conditions with many participants missing, but a good fun occasion nonetheless.
We had plenty of visitors too, and though we couldn't show them the sun because of the clouds, we could show them distant houses and things, surprising many by the power and clarity of the telescopes. Sandra and her Planet game did stirling work, so did her sale of stars.
Certainly a show to visit next year. It had been going on for at least 30 years without much advertising outside the village. Helping were Dave and Lesley, Paul and Elaine, Sandra, Tony and Rhys.
The equipment we took - The PST, Dave's 5" refractor and Rhys' 8" Celestron. Photographs by Paul Booker.
Brian