Thatcham Family Fun Day brings in thousands
Fun filled the air and sunshine filled the skies of Thatcham at the weekend welcoming this year’s Family Fun Day.
Thousands poured into the Henwick Sports Ground on Sunday (June 26) for food, fun and entertainment.
There were more than 70 stalls selling items from sweets and snacks to toys and teddies.
There was plenty for everyone to enjoy with sports zones featuring a climbing wall, a fun fair, inflatables, a dance zone and a bike and cycle zone.
The children’s entertainment zone, which included a petting farm and craft stalls, drew in hundreds of young people who took some time to pet the chickens and pay a visit to puppets Punch and Judy.
Princesses Cinderella and Tiana graced the grounds, greeting eager boys and girls, some of whom had never seen a 'real' princess before.
Princess Ana and Elsa were also spotted soaking up the sunshine throughout the day, with stilt walkers waving from up in the sky.
For those a little older, a life-size Dalek was doing its rounds meeting and scaring sci-fi fans.
Laughs and squeals were heard from the fun fair and inflatables zone while there was music from indie pop and rock to family favourites from Jollypop’s Mary Poppins.
Performances were also put on by artists Albert Benson and Cold Ash Brass.
Mayor of Thatcham Jeff Brooks said: “It was easily the biggest and best fun day we have run, everybody I spoke to said how much they had enjoyed themselves.
"Lots and lots of people attending throughout the day and so much to see and do, an exceptional day and a real credit to the town council and our staff”.
Talent was far from short with dancers of all ages putting on performances from street dance, ballet, tap, and south Asian dance.
Engines roared on the other side of the field with guests welcomed by a safari of vehicles, new and old, at Thatcham Rotary’s classic car show.
Rotarian Maurice Franks said: “This is the second car show we have had since Covid.
“We have got in excess of about 180 cars, the weather is great and there is such a great atmosphere.
“This year the charity appeal is going towards help for Ukraine.”
The funds raised went straight to buying vital medical equipment for hospitals in the war-torn country.
Thatcham Rotary is also supporting the International Rotary Fellowship of Healthcare Professionals.
He said: “We have got everything, real old classics and motor cars for the petrol heads. There’s a lot of interest.”
The best in the show went to Dale Scutter from Tadley for his 1952 Hillman Minx and Wessex Craftsman Caravan.
Reserve best in the show was awarded to Dave Saunders from Bracknell for his 2000 Ford Escort van, Ex Royal Mail.
The judging criteria, which differs from year to year, was ‘time machine’ with vehicles being judged on how they would look if they were transported back in time.
Mr Franks said the rotary club is looking for more members and looks forward to the duck race in September.
Sited among the Porsches, Aston Martins and even Ferraris was a very well-known yellow three-wheeled van, which generated much interest.
The Reliant Regal Trotter van from hit show Only Fools and Horses drew in fans of the show.
Owner David Fox said: “I bought it from a chap in Dorchester who works on a lot of Rolls Royces, but then this one came up for sale.
“I have had it for eight years now.”
He added: “I am a big fan and bring the car out almost every year. People like to take pictures with it, they’ll pose sitting in it.”
Kennet pupil Molly Graham and her friends from Molly’s Delights were selling sweets, some with a Jubilee theme.
The girls also sold t-shirts and other items promoting mental health awareness.
Miss Graham said: “This is the fourth event that we have done. People have been popping down today to say hi.
“The t-shirts are to raise awareness of mental health issues.”
Asylum seekers staying in Thatcham lent a hand from stewarding the event to cooking authentic meals from their home countries for attendees to try.
Iranian asylum seekers Morteza and Daniel have been staying at the Regency Park Hotel and prepared Iranian street food Sosis Bandari made of sausages, tomato and potatoes.
They said Bandari is typically enjoyed at parties and family gatherings.
"Everyone loves it," they said. "It is good. Some people have wanted to buy more of it."
They say they have dreams to open a restaurant.
Gill Taylor from Thatcham Baptist Church praised their "amazing job" and thanked the council for inviting them to take part.
She said: "We have so enjoyed welcoming [the asylum seekers] to our Church, and it was a pleasure to work alongside them as they brought a taste of the cuisine of their home countries to Thatcham. They did an amazing job!
"It was also great to have the opportunity to chat to folk from the local community as they sampled the delicious food from El Salvador and Iran. All in all it was a very memorable day."
Newbury Astronomical Society had a selection of telescopes out for people to have a look at the sun. They said it was a lovely clear sunny day and a lot of interest was generated.
The society first began attending the event ten years ago and have attended regularly ever since.
Thatcham Refillable’s Jenny and Tom Kirby were out speaking to passers-by and had a selection of products on offer.
They said the fun day was a great opportunity to raise awareness and answer people’s questions about what they do and why they do it.
Mr Kirby said: “There is a lot of people asking questions and because we are at Thatcham Market every Friday it is good for more people to know what we do and that we are there.”
One of the Mayor's charities, Thatcham Tornadoes, raised £232 in its charity speedshot and requested that the mayor, Jeff Brooks, donate the funds to his second chosen charity Dasiy’s Dream.
The Tornadoes said: “The club never uses the speedshot to raise money for the club or any of its teams, one of the key reasons we believe the speedshot remains so popular and so well supported.”
Charity Swings & Smiles' volunteers were out chatting to families and held a raffle offering toys, books and teddies.
Volunteer Jo Ramsey said: “The fun day is big this year, it’s great for us all, and it’s great to raise money and awareness for the charity.
“It is amazing, lots of people came to see us, parents have come up to say that they’ve heard of us.
“We had a lot of donations from The Works where we get a lot of teddies and books.”
West Berkshire Parent Carer Forum, an organisation run by parents for parents of children with additional needs or disabilities, were out talking to parents about creating networks and offering their services.
Chair Dawn Baxendale said: “We have been around for quite a while and we support parents with children with educational needs.”
The volunteers said that they’d been speaking to interested parents, offering a space of support.
St John Ambulance was also in attendance and offered CPR demonstrations and a tombola.
Paul Hopkins said: “It has been really good today, it’s been really busy. We have our cadets doing CPR, it’s good having the general public doing first aid.
“It has generated a lot of interest which is quite good, we have been very busy.”
Thames Valley Police officers were offering crime advice to passers-by and had fingerprinting activities in its van for children. They even had a visit from a retired police dog.
Sergeant Jo Wilbury said: “It’s been amazing today. We have offered some crime advice and the kids loved the fingerprint opportunity.
“Children really enjoy it, they get to take it home with them.”
