Light rain in the middle of the afternoon put only a slight dampener on what was indeed a super sunny summer fun day on the Crown Meadows in Blandford on September 19, the rescheduled date after it was cancelled at the last minute the month before because of a forecast of heavy rain. Held the day after the Community Expo in the Corn Exchange, hosted by the Town Council as an opportunity for local clubs and societies to display information about their activities, the fun day was a celebration of the end of lockdown with the Mayor, Lee Hitchings, and a fundraiser for his Mayor’s charity the Blandford Gymnastics Club and a defibrillator to be located in the north of the town.

An estimated 250 people on the meadow at any one time enjoyed the funfair, displays and entertainment from the police, fire brigade, Hawks in the New Forest, Jazzercise and the Stour Valley Band, and a performance of Kukri dancing and Taikwondo by the Gurkhas from Blandford Camp.