This year's Beaulieu Village Fete took place on a very hot and sunny day, but this certainly didn't deter the number of visitors or affect the enthusiasm of all involved. A truly lovely event, as always.
Beaulieu Camera Group were once again delighted to take part. Changes had been made to the locations of the different stalls and activities this year and our display of prints was moved to the top lawn, which was a great place to be.
Nearly every member of BCG was represented with a total of 67 prints on show, plus an extra display of photos taken at the Platinum Jubilee events held in Beaulieu by Hilary Flaxman and Emma Port. Our new print stands, purchased with a grant from The Beaulieu Common Good Trust, looked splendid and really showed the prints to great effect.
The Fete was opened by The High Sheriff of Hampshire, Lady Edwina Grosvenor. She was invited to select her "favourite" print from those on display and chose "Porcelein Fungi" by Ian Hutchinson, commenting that it reminded her of walks in the New Forest. Ian was presented with a bottle of Champagne by Lady Edwina.
Each year, The Bob Grier Trophy is awarded to the print which receives the most votes from the public at the Fete. This year's recipient of the award was Maggie White with her image "A Leap at Lepe" which was by far and away the winner. The trophy was presented to Maggie by Sue Grier.
A big thank you to all the BCG members who were involved in setting up the display and packing everything away at the end, particularly Tony Darnell, Hilary Flaxman, Ian Hutchinson, Emma Port, Alan Price and Megan Stephenson. Lots of members visited the Fete during the afternoon at what is always a great social occasion and it was lovely to meet new people and catch up with old friends.
Sue Dunham Chairman