St James the Less Hadleigh Fayre, 28 June 2014

Fun in the grounds of the Rectory in Rectory Road. The Rev. David Childs upheld a new tradition of offering cabbage (or was it lettuce?) to appease the Chinese Lions who invaded the lawn and spread havoc among the many busy stalls. Weather held out until most people had left and only the poor stallholders were about to be soaked.

Hadleigh and Thundersley Community Archive with their excellent publications were collecting memories and shared stalls as last year with AGES Archaeological and Historical Association, coping with the usual rush of questions and answers of an interested public.

Following two years of successful Digs in Thundersley’s Daws Heath, AGES AHA are actively searching for stout garden owners in Hadleigh who will allow two day digs of one metre square pits to appear on their lawns. Students and adults, under Cambridge University supervision, of course, would like to find the extent of the original village and look into Hadleigh’s history next year – 2015. Are you up for offering Hadleigh’s ‘Time Team’ your help? We promise to put it all back afterwards.

There was even an opportunity for young would-be archaeologists to try their hand at trowelling in a small box for sherds and bones.

Word had gone out that members would dress again as historical characters, but only two of us actually turned out in full colour, author Karen Bowman becoming the proper Tudor Lady of the Hearth – or should that be House?