I wanted to share a few thoughts after yesterday’s Charter Day on Fore Street. First, a genuine thank you to the Charter Day Team. I know how much work goes into it all year — the craft activities, cheese and wine evenings, quiz nights, even hiding those knitted angels at Christmas. It’s a lot of unpaid time.
For me it still feels like the end of an era. Our carnival finished in 2015 because there weren’t enough volunteers, and the cost of closing the road and insurance just became too much. That was a real loss. Since 2016 we’ve had Charter Day instead, which goes back to the 1300 Royal Charter granted by King Edward I — over 700 years of being a market town. I loved that we marked the anniversary properly, that felt important and right.
The Town Fayre week around it does work really well. The fruit and veg show, cheese and wine tasting, children’s events — those are lovely and bring people together. That’s the best bit for me, it does bring the community together, and I was pleased to pick up a few bits myself yesterday.
If I’m being direct and honest, a couple of things don’t quite work for me:
There are a lot of quizzes to do at home now, and I had a go last year where quite a few answers were set wrong. That was a bit disappointing.
One year I remember traders saying Sunday wasn’t ideal — Saturday would make more sense when most shops are open. Yesterday was absolutely packed with people and dogs, which is wonderful to see, but very tight on Fore Street.
I sometimes feel a bit left out. There’s a lot for children, which is great, but not much for adults. I’d love something like flower arranging, or a craft / gardening morning for grown-ups.
My personal verdict is that Charter Day isn’t the same as what we used to have, and maybe it doesn’t need to try to be. Why not have a lovely, simple anniversary celebration for the Charter itself, and let that be enough?
I say all this with love — my community is a special place and I’m grateful we still celebrate it. I’d be interested to know what others think, especially about Saturday vs Sunday, and what adult events you’d like to see?
