OVINGTON and Itchen Stoke Villages Fete was held on a beautiful September Sunday with the car park full and over 400 families joining in the fun.

There were frequently long queues of customers waiting to draw tickets on the popular tombola and bottle stalls. And the duck race, coconut shy, Splat the Rat and fly casting competition kept adults and children alike amused. Lord Ribeiro, who ran the fly casting competition, noted that there are some good, aspiring young fishermen around. Local policeman, Victor, also enjoyed his first fly-casting attempt - successfully.

The fete was held again at Itchen Stoke Mill by kind invitation of Roger Harrison. Roger went on to draw the raffle at the end of a busy, happy afternoon and many stayed to find out if they were lucky winners. He was thanked warmly for providing the perfect venue.

The event had been postponed from earlier in the summer due to the Covid pandemic and a lot of thought had gone into keeping the fete goers safe. A local volunteer was extremely helpful and installed industrial hand sanitisers. There was one-way traffic for the ever popular tea-lawn by the River Itchen and a card reader was successfully installed, for those who were uneasy about using cash.

There were a number of newcomers to the two villages who joined the growing band of volunteers. The PCC would like to thank everyone and they look forward to seeing them all for the next fete to be held in 2023. Over £4,500 was raised for St Peter’s, Ovington’s Fabric Fund which once again exceeded previous years.