Carnival 2005 - Nursery Rhymes
News - Focus, June 2005
The Last Hurrah!!
Carnival preparation is coming down to the wire and as usual it is a mixture of both new and old.
Clarabelle the Cow is back! Is there anyone out there who doesn't know about Clarabelle? For heavens sake please tell them! She will be selecting a winner on the 2nd of July on Edlesborough Green at the end of the big day and that leaves you plenty of time to invest in the "real estate", a piece of most desirable property - to be precise, a square of your choice ready for Clarabelle's visitation. Before the day, there will be Friends of Clarabelle out collecting around the villages and you can get a head start of marking out your territory for the big day. If you are missed out in the two or three weeks leading up to the Carnival, you will still have a chance on the Green.
Another returning event is the Duck Race. The contestant ducks can be chosen at the Carnival but the actual race (down the mighty Ousel) will take place the next Saturday. So, have a little flutter on a duck! But don't forget the Worm Charming! Can we have a Carnival without it?
Other Events and Interest are:
Belly Dancing
New, this year in the arena is a demonstration by dancers of a quite different kind from previous years. Shi'mya (also known as Yvonne) and her dance troupe will give us a demonstration of Egyptian dancing. Shi'mya has been performing this style for some six years, but while some of the troupe, called Utopia, have only been doing so for a few months, others have been dancing it for up to three years. Shi'mya and Utopia will dance with veils, finger cymbals, stick and sword to a variety of music styles, including Arabic, along with fusions of Latin American and Indian. If you like the idea of this kind of dancing you may ask Shi'mya about the classes she gives in the area.
Kite Revolution
Gary Tyrell and his Revolution kites will be a new event too. For the technically minded these are American quad-kites - with four control lines - which means that they can go up or down, forward or backward and you will be able to see them in the arena on the day. Gary and his team, which includes one UK Quad Novice Champion, hopes that his team will be UK Champion Masters Class by the time they get to Edlesborough Green. So Long Live the Revolution!
Dan Cordell, Wood Sculptor
Dan is a local artist, working primarily in wood and rock, who trained at the University of Hertfordshire as well as at Loughborough University and Virginia Commonwealth University in the USA. Following his studies in the USA, Dan worked as a stone carver producing commissioned sculpture in limestone and sandstone. In 2002 he was invited to carve at 'Sculptree 2002' and is currently focussing his efforts upon working with wood.
According to his biography he "likes to use a variety of whole timber as well as involving other materials and found objects, loving the physical process of direct carving, extracting something from what most see as nothing".
Birds of Bray
Birds of Bray are, as the name suggests, a local falconry team who have been active for 15 years. Originally starting with a Lanner Falcon, the collection has since grown to include Owls, Hawks and Falcons - most of which will be on display on Carnival day. All the birds you will see on display are captive bred birds and have not been taken from the wild - a practice which is now against the law. Birds of Bray are often asked why the birds sit so quietly on their perches and there are two reasons for this; firstly, the birds are manned (trained) so that they have no fear of humans and secondly, because they are given a little extra food on the day prior to an appearance which makes them less inclined to take exercise! (This is where the expression 'Fed Up comes from!). To learn more about the birds please come to the stand and don't be afraid to ask questions - bring your cameras too, the birds are used to being photographed.
As ever we are looking for more help. (The Carnival doesn't happen without a great many people working very hard.) We would like more participants in the procession, and more in the house decoration. Both can win you laurels. If you have a charity or even an idea for a stall, we can still fit you in. But most of all we need volunteers willing to do a variety of things for stalls, about the field, door to door collection, helping set up the field and clean it up again afterwards. So many things and always room for another pair of hands!
Not only is there still room for more charity and craft stalls, there is always a need for more help on the church stalls. If you have not yet volunteered please do so soon. Contact the Chairman, Peter Bennett through the Contact Us option on our website, if you are in any doubt whom to contact.
© Focus Magazine 2005
