Bank holiday tasks

This morning I was planning to go down to the Donkey Derby field to turn away any stallholders that hadn't been contacted, but fortunately, the weather is foul so I think that many of them would get the hint even without my being there.

I'm not talking about the people that booked the stall from me - I have spoken to all of them, first-hand. It is their helpers. Some of the stalls use 10 or 12 helpers and it's quite possible that some of them haven't heard the news.

Now that we aren't raising money for charity today, we will have to start planning to make sure that we raise as much as possible on the revised date - 27th August - the Sunday of August bank holiday.

We've got a drought but it won't stop raining ...

Since the drought was declared about 8 days ago, the rain has barely stopped. It won't drain out of the top surface of the fields and we risk turning both of them into quagmires if we hold the Donkey Derby on Monday.

The event has therefore been put back until August - Sunday 27th and with luck we will have better luck with the weather. The next few days involve a lot of ringing around to check that everyone knows that the event has been put back.

The band ...

Amongst all the other entertainment on the day, the Band of the RMA (Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst), temporary home of the Princes Harry and William will be providing entertainment on the Donkey Derby field.

Not long now ...

Tomorrow I send out a final mailing to stallholders to let them know what the detailed Health & Safety requirements are for the Donkey Derby. this will give them details of when they can get access to the field and when they should have their vehicles removed so that the Derby can begin.

Packing them in ...

The field has finite capacity. Everyone knows that ... don't they? Despite that, every year there is a game of brinkmanship which goes on. Who can send their cheque in as late as possible and still guarantee that they have booked sufficient space for the day.

That may have been a satisfactory tactic in most years. This year there might be a problem. If everyone who I expect to book does so, then I've definitely got a problem. I plan the field. If I don't have enough space then someone has to go without - and those late bookings are at risk. Cheques for another 10 stalls arrived this morning. That's great for the Donkey Derby and the charities that we raise the funds for, but it means that we are already close to capacity and I'm concerned that some of our regular stallholders are in for a small shock.