Fair Trade Fair at Arundel Castle
Good Morning
from
Arundel Eccentrics.
Did you know
Arundel
is a Fair Trade town?
Yesterday, Arundel Castle
played host, as they do each year,
to the Fair Trade Christmas Fair.
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| Arundel Castle...you can just see the rainbow, by the way. I am still searching for the pot of gold, however............ Ha Ha |
As I walked up the path that weaves it way, through the castle grounds, to the entrance,
I passed innumerable people, many of whom I knew, several were clutching purchases,and by the expressions on their faces were clearly very pleased with their finds.
Although the weather was not brilliant, the castle was absolutely heaving with people,
and at one time you could barely move.
There was a huge variety of stalls.
I'm ashamed to say after all the years I have lived in Arundel,
this was the first time I had been
and I was stunned by, not only the size of the fair
but the myriad of different things that were being sold.
Refried Books
a pre lovedbookstall
run by
Rita Godfrey
a local
Arundel friend.
She had some wonderful books
and judging by the photos I took
appeared to be really busy at the fair.
Have a look at her blog about old books
In her own words.......
"Well actually it’s about old books about food, wine, cooking, housekeeping, growing and everything to do with producing food oh and flowers. Why have I put it together – because I love cooking and growing things and books and I want to share the books I have found and my love of cooking and growing."
The Fair had some pretty diverse and interesting stalls
This is Jamie Lloyd,
Co-Founder and Director
of
Veleco...
Based in Brighton, they are
The first Fair Trade and eco friendly cycle wear brand in the world
Here is their Facebook page
if you want to find out more
This stall, I found absolutely fascinating,
inspiring and thought provoking
and I chatted to
Maureen Mwagale
for some time.
"My interest in the “Kampala street babies” begun with an article written by Lulu Jemimah (The Ugandan Monitor News paper 10/08/2008) highlighting the plight of the street kids.
I decided to host a Christmas party for the Kampala street kids. I collected clothes and shoes from England, which was transported, to Uganda. These were the presents that were offered to the children on the day. The party was a success and had over 700 people.
What I found out on the day was that approximately 600 of those who attended were mothers and children from the Karamojong tribe. I then embarked on finding out why this was so. The rest of my stay in Kampala was spent in the slums trying to get to know the Karamojong and finding out what the issues were. Why there were lots of them in Kampala and why there were babies from this particular tribe begging on the street."
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She saw the plight of over 300 " Street Babies" out on
the streets begging in the deprived
slums of Kampala,
and decided to do something about it.
The children were put there by their impoverished mothers and
Maureen realised she had to work on the root of the problem.
Maureen organised a party in an effort to help them with clothes and shoes she collected from England
Over 700 people attended but then she realised it did not help the problem long term.
So mothers were equipped with beads and other jewellery made from recycled paper and they put the pieces together.
Maureen and a growing team sell them in the UK.
The Charity is going from strength to strength
I found the whole story and Maureen herself, such a great inspiration.
Lin Lundy
Vintage inspired clothing and antique lace garments.
Fair Trade handmade designer textiles
http://www.fairlycovered.com/
Local cancer charity
St. Wilfreds Hospice
had collected a massive amount
of pre loved clothes
for the event.
of pre loved clothes
for the event.
I went to see my chum Allie who was helping them.
She managed to talk me into buying something.
Mind you, easily done..ha ha
Mind you, easily done..ha ha
They seemed to be doing really well
and what a great idea Gwen......
cushions out of vintage tea towels......
I loved this stall
and ended up running down to
Arundel High Street and back to get some cash
to buy a couple of things.
The story behind it
was so wonderful.
Its about a group of retired women
living in temporary housing in
Higashi Matsushima, Japan
and they supplement their income
by making
corsages and bags
made from
kimonos that had been sunk during the tsunami.
From such humble beginnings these
corsages are about to appear in Elle Magazine.........
I am so glad I went,
it gave me food for thought,
I can tell you.
The weather that had started with sunshine
had slowly deteriorated throughout the morning
then tipped down on my walk home
and I was soaked
all the way through,
totally, yes, I mean completely LOL
but I held on to my precious purchases
and like everyone else I had seen
on arrival,
I too came out of
Arundel Castle
with a smile on my face
I can't sit here yapping all day
I have this load of
Victorian Bamboo
on the go.
I need to varnish it now, and age it all down.
The decoupage will then go all yellow.
My little house is overrun
with it all. Ha ha
these are botanical Victorian images
Have a great day
