Kids in London – A Country Affair at Hampton Court

We had hoped to visit when A Country Affair had been at Clapham Common a few months ago but missed it. But this was one of the absolutely best days in London we have had in a very long time!. There was enough here to keep a nine year old, a 15 year old and numerous adults with varying tastes occupied all afternoon. There were also lots of young kids and babies at the event (the organisers guessed around 15,000 attendees in total today) and dogs to show that it really was a family event. It wasn’t very expensive and there were lots of very simple and traditionally English past times (as well as numerous things from other cultures) which made it really rather special. It is an interesting concept to try and explain so perhaps best if I just tell you what we did….

FOOD AND MUSIC
We took the 111 bus which stopped right outside the large green by Hampton Court Palace (this is also well worth a visit one day and is not far from Kingston). After entering (tickets for adults were £6) and as it was such a warm, sunny day we headed straight for a drink – we were torn between the Pimms tent and the seating outside the champagne and fine wines (the kids were given water and Coke from nearby stalls in case you were wondering!). The main Pimms tent was located in the food area where there were all sorts of food stalls – offering pizza, crepes, noodles, burgers, fish and chips and toasted sandwiches although the hog roast stall appeared to be doing the strongest trade. In the centre of this area was a large stage where during the day various bands and musicians appeared. The music was diverse – at various points we heard jazz, rock, reggae, R&B and country!

We didn’t get time to see any of the demonstrations in the large cookery marquee but other people there told us that they were popular and that the queues for the food were enthusiastic.

ART AND CRAFTS
Then we wandered over to inspect the first of many craft marquees – there were three large ones on one side of the area and a further three on the other. The stalls inside offered all sorts of interesting goods – lots of jewellery, clothes, pottery, toys, leather goods, stamp collections, paintings, cards, soft furnishings, nail files, cosmetics, sweets and so on. There were also a number of large tents dedicated to art – I fell in love with a lemur pencil drawing. Others in our party were drawn to sculptures of otters. Purchases amongst our group included – decorative bra straps, chocolate ginger and limes, a white tee-shirt with a “diva” logo, nut crackers and marshmallows.

AMUSEMENTS
But the kids eyes were captured by the amusement area. There was all sorts of old fashioned seaside attractions – a ferris wheel (£2), a carousel, a helter skelter, swing boats – as well as some more modern activities – a climbing wall, a simulator (featuring a Harrier Jump Jet), bungee jumping on trampolines…Luckily, one of us managed to win a coconut at the coconut shy. Those who failed received a consolation inflatable hammer – so we spent a good deal of time play fighting with those. Some of our group ventured to the far end of the event and had a go with what appeared to be swing ball but with a punch bag. None of us had time to have a go at the archery but it looked good.

ANIMAL DISPLAYS
Further across the ground were two large display areas – in one there were various dog related activities – agility courses with sheep dogs and working dogs jumping and fetching and a cute puppy competition (winners were 1. Basset Hound 2. Staffordshire terrier 3. Miniture Schnauzer). In the other arena today there were ferret races. Apparently yesterday they had falconry displays and sheep shearing exhibits – and there were signs about a chicken run which intrigued us. There was also a large farm yard display area where you could see rabbits and chickens and guinea pigs in large cages. You could get up real close and personal with some turkeys and geese here too. There were even model cows so youngsters could practice their milking skills. Close by was also a large steam engine and a miniature steam railway. Lots of very happy small people in this area….the shrieks of delight were loud!

DANCE
At the far end of the field was a stage with dancing displays. We caught a local dance troupe doing what looked like a modern can-can routine when we arrived and then later watched the brightly dressed Morris dancers (who invited people up to have a go themselves) – and some drums and even more colourful African dancers on a return trip. We were a bit sad that we didn’t witness the May Pole dancing.

MORE SHOPPING
We wondered around numerous other craft and goods stalls – things that caught our eyes included sturdy wooden garden furniture, olive trees, herbs, cow hide rugs, bronze sculptures, mini iPod speakers and a world famous fortune teller (we were tempted to have a go but there always seemed to be a queue – must have done brisk trade today!). There were also plenty of colourful kids walking around to suggest that face painter had been very busy – and there was a lovely tent where little girls could be transformed into fairies – complete with tu tus, wings and wands if required.

CIRCUS ACTIVITIES
But everyone in our group agreed that the best part of the event was the entirely free circus area. We didn’t catch one of the two free circus displays but we all had a go with the various pieces of circus equipment – there were trick bikes, unicycles, stilts, diablos, juggling bean bags and hula hoops. We laughed so hard watching each other fall over….the photos will be used to maximum embarrassing value for years!

Anyway. This was absolutely one of the best days out for families in a long time. And whilst some things were a bit pricey (i.e. £6 for a small portion of fish and chips, £6.50 for a small portion of chicken noodles, £5 on the bungee trampolines) there was plenty of stuff to do for free. Let’s hope that the weather is good enough for more of these events to be held in London next summer…..

:thumbsup: :angel: :bangin: