Peckham Rye Fete Feedback.

[Penguin68]

As a definite E Dulwicher I went to and enjoyed the Fete; if you are going to get excited about exact definitions - then consider it a treat that total foreigners put on for us in East Dulwich and and give them the courtesy of feedback so they can keep what's good and replace what's bad and so that we privileged East Dulwichers can have an even better time next year when we travel to foreign parts over the border (or not).

There is a thread on this page about the best way to Greenwich - and we have had ones about Heathrow etc. - are we to argue that because these parts of London aren't in East Dulwich such topics should also be excluded? The excellent Barry tells us about railway stations that are not in ED (I don't think, by strict definition, even East Dulwich Station is) - should we be asking him to absent himself from our pages?

Really

[toast]

Beginning to think The Rye does not exist at all. After moving from near GG to honor oak corner of the Rye (which rocks despite being invisable!) we dont get living south, or SE22 mag and there are no places for our kids to goto school, its not that we are not in ED anymore.... we are nowhere....spooky

Edited to add that according to some we also dont really have chips

[cloudnine]

silverfox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Wikipedia has stated this conjunctively. Thus

> Peckham Rye Park is not in East Dulwich. It is a

> separate but contiguous area which shares the same

> postcode.

Shame Neville Chamberlain isn't about anymore. We could have flown him in to draw up a treaty of appeasement. Plenty of landing space too.

[hpsaucey]

Toast - welcome to no man's land LOL!!! Have spent the last 6 years wondering where I live. Never quite sure what to put down as my address: 'not quite Peckham', 'not quite Nunhead'. Hhm. At least its peaceful. Quite happy staying on the 'dark side' of the park.

[boosboss]

Passport to Pimlico? More like Passport to Peckham Rye.

;-)

[PeckhamRose]

I delivered my carrot cake at about 2.30pm. I then queued up for a ?2 Pimms and then looked back at the cake area. My cake which I thought could be carved into 12 reasonable slices had been carved into about eighteen and nearly all gone. Wow!

I don't have much time or facilities (or money, to be frank) to do more but I would like to. Maybe next year, eh.

As for all this nonsense about boundaries and names, may I remind us all that we are LONDONERS. And this nonsense reminds me of everytime I get a form from Southwark or somewhere asking me for my colour background race creed, I reply by asking them in turn to remember the things that UNITE us, rather than banging on about what makes us different.

Dear East Dulwichers, you were most welcome in our park/common large bit of grass on Saturday. ;)

Now, as for something like a antique/classic motorcycle rally, I would not have the first idea how to organise it. It was just an idea. Good one, though! Another idea might be getting some professional improviser/actors and do a recreation of the time in 1804 the public fought and successfully won the right to keep Peckham Rye Park for the public use. Would be fun to involve the kids booing the aristocracy who wanted to keep it for themselves. Bit of 'istory and education all in one.

And more cake.

[silverfox]

Peckham Rye Park, Peckham, Southwark, c.1910

In 1890 the Camberwell Vestry purchased Homestall Farm.

They introduced the features expected of late Victorian parks: a lake, bandstand and landscaping, and called it Peckham Rye Park.

It was then used to greatly augment the adjacent (already procured) Peckham Rye Common as a public open space for the people of Peckham and Camberwell.

(From: ideal homes: suburbia in focus Southwark)

[PeckhamRose]

silverfox, for the love of the gods I don't believe in, give it a rest or start a separate thread! This is feedback on the Peckham Rye FETE.

[macroban]

Ideal Homes is not a reliable source.

The bandstand was on Peckham Rye.

Where you say Peckhan Rye Park is located depends on how far you want to (or can) go back in history.

Camberwell Vestry was a relatively modern political innovation.

Peckham Rye Park is (although I have not checked the bounday clauses) on the land of Friern Manor.

[macroban]

Apologies for going off-topic, PeckhamRose.

[silverfox]

Thought the picture might help you with your re-enactment idea above.

Suitably admonished I'll vanish now.

[boosboss]

Got some feedback today not from this forum, but thought I'd share it anyway.

It was rubbish! Not enough for the children to do.

All the feedback will be given to next years organising committee.

[PeckhamRose]

Whilst a bit harsh, I must also report that some families on our estate found little for the kids to do (face painting, what WOULD we do without it) and also it was expensive for some families on benefits. One of the face painters which was free finished early. It would be great to have more for kids to do which was free or at least subsidised/cheap. Not having kids I'd say this is one for the families. Could not groups of parents get together and organise something/s?

[Jeremy]

"Rubbish" is too harsh.

But there wasn't really enough for the kids or the adults. Maybe some more traditional fairground games, apart from the coconut shy. Ball in the bucket... darts... the one where you have to throw hoops over the prizes... kicking a football through the hole... the thing where the dads put there heads through a screen and the kids throw wet sponges at them... candyfloss, popcorn, doughnuts... I'm sure someone with more imagination than me could think of lots of things.

[PeckhamRose]

yeah! Get some stocks in! Some peer pressure to Pink Floyd's The Wall!

[Rowanofski]

I had a great day out here and think you did a good job in recreating a village fete feel for the atmosphere, but were just a little shy on activities/events for adults and kids alike. Echoing some of the sentiments here, if you weren't into dogs, it would be a bit on the mundane side. Personally, whilst I love dogs, it seemed to be taken a bit too seriously by the judges too - it's not Crufts!

Aside from the coconut shy, it was all stalls, shops and info-stands - try to get a few more games in like tombolas, pick-up-pegs and any other old games of skill and/or chance like Jeremy said.

Still keep it small though - it seemed a lot cosier and more community-spirited than say the Irish Festival with the fairground beside it and the all day music... which I did enjoy (before I offend the Irish contingent!), but it's not a village fete.

[boosboss]

"Rubbish" is too harsh.

Not if she didn't enjoy it. I've been to events I didn't enjoy and considered them to be rubbish, whereas others have enjoyed them. Just an opinion, but we will look at the reason for it. :)

Thanks for all the comments, they do help. Looking from the inside out is very different from attending. We tend to measure the success of the fete in financial terms, but also realise there's more than that to it. When the final figures come out I'm sure we'll have another round of backslapping amongst ourselves, but will also post them on here and explain a bit about where the money will be going.

When we start planning the next fete, I'll float all the suggestions with the committee and will be looking for volunteers to help. ;-)

Thanks again and feel free to keep the comments coming.

You can also email us/me at [email protected] with comments/suggestions.

Joe :))

[Catalyst]

The dog show was a much more serious affair than the posters lead me to believe it would be.

The 'CUTEST' puppy clearly wasn't the Tricolour Rough Collie. It was the small white fluffy thing which which didn't even make it into the last 8. The Collie might be closer to a Kennel Club breed standard but that wasn't what the competition was advertised as.

Overall it seemed that there was a bias towards pedigree dogs as hardly any cross-breeds made it out of the first rounds.

There's nothing wrong in this per-se as long as it's clearly communicated up front.

So some suggestions for next year-

1. Use different judges for different categories.

2. Have a category for cross-breeds that might give the numerous ex-Battersea residents in attendance a chance at winning something.

[bonniebird]

I think the people who arranged the fete did a stirling job. I was on the committee a few years back and the fete is bloody hard work to organise and on the day. The problem is that they need more volunteers and people to organise things. I agree that more games etc and things for kids would be good, but if there is no one to organise the games and man them, then what can they do?

The fete meetings start early in the year, so if anyone wants to do games/stalls/volunteer etc join the fete committee and get stuck in:)) As for the Dog show, there are different judges every year, its down to the judge which dogs they pick, so maybe a class just for crossbreeds wouldn't be a bad idea, the dog show is VERY popular and is a definate crowd puller, I think the judge (another volunteer) did a good job.

Please remember though, that eveyone who volunteered were simply that, volunteers who have given their time and hard work to make for a very pleasant day for everyone who attended.

I for one enjoyed it>:D<

[reetpetite]

Well said bonniebird I totally agree with you .Well done to everyone involved , and to those who think they could do better then you know what to do !

[cate]

Catalyst Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The dog show was a much more serious affair than

> the posters lead me to believe it would be.

>

> The 'CUTEST' puppy clearly wasn't the Tricolour

> Rough Collie. It was the small white fluffy thing

> which which didn't even make it into the last 8.

> The Collie might be closer to a Kennel Club breed

> standard but that wasn't what the competition was

> advertised as.

>

> Overall it seemed that there was a bias towards

> pedigree dogs as hardly any cross-breeds made it

> out of the first rounds.

>

> There's nothing wrong in this per-se as long as

> it's clearly communicated up front.

>

> So some suggestions for next year-

>

> 1. Use different judges for different categories.

>

> 2. Have a category for cross-breeds that might

> give the numerous ex-Battersea residents in

> attendance a chance at winning something.

I agree.

Didn't that dog (I thought it was a sheltie) win the prettiest bitch as well? How could it be in the puppy class and the bitch class? Puppies should be up to 1 year, not 2 years as was the case on Saturday. Also, why no walking around for the dogs? They just had to stand and wait while the 'judge' and her cohort came around. What were the judge's credentials?

[bonniebird]

Blimey Cate, are you taking the mick or what??? It was a FUN dog show!! If you have a puppy that is a bitch, surely it can be entered in both classes. Too many dogs to walk around, takes too long, the judge was a retired, dog trainer, a very good one at that, who volunteered to judge it. You do not need crudentials to judge a fun dog show ;-)

As the saying goes, at the end of the day, ?136 was raised for two very deserving charities a good days work, and I'm sure the people who's dogs did win something on the day are quite pleased (tu)

[legalbeagle]

Our Cavalier King Charles came third in the prettiest bitch competition even though she is generally very disobedient, she's had a bit of a drastic haircut for summer, and she was "shown" by my four year old who wasn't really paying attention and didn't answer many of the judges questions! So I have to say we were very pleased!

[cate]

Bonniebird, If there were more classes, then more money would have been raised. A puppy is up to the age of 12 months, not 24 months. There should have been different judges. I also think it was wrong to have one dog win twice. How is that 'fun'? It seems very skewed to me. If you don't need 'crudentials' as you put it, to judge a dog show then why did a retired dog trainer do it? Perhaps it would have been better if the crowd had been the judges.

[millie42]

Thought the day was great by the way - although i am totally heart broken that my gorgeous golden cocker spaniel did not win the Golden Oldie prize (I am joking and suspect it may have something to do with her having rolled in fox poo about 10 minutes before the show - ho hum!).

Maybe get some local bands to play a few sets, more food stalls - popcorn, candifloss, sweets, tofee apples, cheese, bread, sweet/fudgeshops olives etc. Dont want to try and pretend its Borough Market but a few more foodie stalls would have gone down well and reduced the queues at some of the others. Also I know from other bits of the forum that a number of mums run small craft businesses which may be interested in getting involved. Also would mirror some of the other posts about the older style games.

I would be really interested in getting more involved next year if you need anyone - I promise to leave the fragrant mutt behind next time.

M