There are so many wonderful stalls coming and such lovely items for sale. I’m looking forward to doing my Christmas shopping and to eating scrummy treats.

The weekend after we have the second weekend of the Moorland and City railway opening. The diesel and steam weekend is going to be great – with fantastic sellers with some really special vintage items and performances from the Birmingham Beatles to keep us all entertained.

It’s a busy time but lots of really lovely things to do.

If you are into trains or live in Staffordshire you may have seen in the press that Moorland & City Railways Ltd have been progressing the re-opening of the rail line from Leekbrook to Cauldon Lowe in North Staffordshire, a really lovely part of the world. This project is the first stage of a larger project that will see the mothballed line from Stoke on Trent mainline station to Leekbrook also brought back in to service, creating the potential for rail services from the Staffordshire Moorlands in to the national rail network. Leekbrook is a key junction and the re-opening Cauldon Lowe Branch line will also join the successful heritage line, the Churnet Valley Railway. This exciting project offers major opportunities for developing transport and tourism not only in the Churnet Valley but also the broader Moorlands area and in the near future, in to Stoke on Trent.

To celebrate the re-opening of the Cauldon Lowe Branch, Moorland & City Railways, in association with the Churnet Valley Railway, are organising a major Gala that spans the period from 13^th – 28^thNovember and utilises the combined Churnet Valley and Cauldon Lowe lines. The Gala will see a number of celebrity locomotives running services on the line which includes one of the steepest gradients in the country. With a base at Froghall Station and activities at Consall and Cheddleton Stations, this special event is being supported by a wealth of other attractions for both rail enthusiasts and families alike.  It is anticipated that attendance at the event will exceed  10,000 and we will be running 3 markets over successive weekends to really add to the what is available at the events.

The market will be divided into three themed sections:

13th /14th November – The first weekend will see the Steam Gala on the railway line so we will be hosting a market for railwayana specialists

20th/21st November – The second weekend will see both diesel and steam locos in use – just like in the 1960s so the market will take a broader look at the railway and will include model trains and other collectibles from the 1960s period.

27th/28th November – The final weekend will be a real family weekend and our market will be bringing in the spirit of Christmas with toys and gifts for the whole family – railway enthusisst or not!

There will be lots more than just a market to enjoy with kids trails, live music, vintage vehicles as well as trips on the train line. See www.mcrailways.co.uk/events for more info about this and to book tickets!

There is a huge range of stall holders at this event both inside with crafts and gifts and outside in the Farmer Market. The press adverts are all ready for release dates and AA signs will go up a few days before so it is sure to be busy. Garston Manor is soon going to be on Country House Rescue  soon- can’t wait to see it all busy and vibrant and I’m really looking forward to the programme broadcast in the new year – see all the changes documented!

We have lots of wonderful stalls booked in with a wide variety of items for sale and I for one am  looking forward to blitzing my Christmas shopping over the weekend. A nice handbag for my mum, maybe a book for my sister and probably some yummy chutney and a cheeseboard for my dad. The Delapole cat, Hamish, has his eye on a new collar from the pet stall so I might just treat him too. I can get all my christmas cards and wrap at the same time and just spend December snoozing under the tree nibbling handmade chocolates (who am I kidding that they will last from November 13th to anytime beyond the end of November!)

There is so much yummy food coming I might need to ration myself – or perhaps it’ll be easier if I just starve myself for the week before so I have space to fit it all in. Then I can have an Indian head massage in the relaxation room to aid digestion – good job those comfy leather sofas are in there for a digestive nap after all that!

Look forward to seeing you there and to the fun event ahead!

Katy

We have chosen to support Guide Dogs for the Blind. Delapole Events beleives passionatly about the importance of independance for people with disabilties and Guide Dogs provide important support to blind and partially sighted people, helping them live and work as independantly as possible. http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/ – they will hopefully be attending the event with their Christmas gifts and also bringing along some of their wonderful graduate dogs and their owners.

We also felt it was important to reflect Garston Manor’s role as a school during the week so have chosen some organisations that promote education and quality of life for children. The Book Bus – www.thebookbus.org -  is working in Ecuador, Zambia and Malawi to provide books for children for both education and for pleasure.

Christmas is a time for gifts and Postpals are a great organisation that supports ill and disabled children and young people by matching them, and their siblings, with pen pals. http://www.postpals.co.uk/ We are hoping to arrange to be a drop off point for anyone wishing to give a gift for the festive period. Keep an eye on the news section of the website for information.

We have also chosen Papyrus which supports young people undergoing mental health problems – this is in honour of Yvonne, a close late friend of my Mother, who lost her son to Suicide. We hope that our support is not just in donating money but in raising awareness of their valuable work. Papyrus – http://www.papyrus-uk.org/ – PAPYRUS is a voluntary UK organisation committed to the prevention of young suicide and the promotion of mental health and emotional wellbeing.

We are also delighted to have been approched by Sue Ryder Care – http://www.suerydercare.org/ – Caring for people with long-term and end of life conditions. They provide indivualised, compassionate care services to people either in their own homes, in the community and in hospices and care centres. They also support families, friends and carers. We are delighted to support their work.

There may be other charities supported by individual stall holders and we may add further organisations to this list as we move nearer to the event.

The event will now be on both Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th November giving more people chance to see the amazing items our stallholders have to offer.

The event is shaping up to be fantastic – we are really looking forward to the weekend at this amazing venue!

Garston Manor, Watford, was built in the 1810s and is situated in 21 acres of park and woodland. With ample car parking, it is located within easy reach of the M1, A41 and M25. The beautiful building has also recently undergone ten years of refurbishing to bring it back to its former glory.

Delapole Events are delighted to be hosting a winter fair in this amazing venue. We are currently looking for a wide range of stallholders selling items such as books, antiques and collectables as well as handmade crafts and gifts to attend the fair. We are also looking for refreshment providers. Booking will open soon – keep checking back on www.delapoleevents.co.uk

We are very pleased to be working on with Garston Manor and creating the perfect place to shop for Christmas in a relaxed stress-free environment. Our intention is to support local business people, local makers and artists as well as to raise money for a variety of charities. The 2009 Winter Fair at Bentley Priory welcomed nearly 4,000 people – I can’t wait to see what 2010 Iwill bring.

The Delapole team are really looking forward to the fair. We are looking forward to a massage with Evergreen Therapies and too having a scrummy lunch from the Small Batch Bakery.

The forecast is for sun in the area – marvellous weather for a little walk around the Italian Formal Gardens – might be enough to work off my cakeadoodle cup cake!

The only member of the team not looking forward to Saturday is Mr Hamish Half-tail Mcgrumpy, the Delapole cat, he can’t come!

Here’s to a great day for visitors and stall holders alike and to raising plenty of money for our chosen charities.

In future we hope to use it to detail our upcoming events.

If you have any questions about one of our events please feel free to leave us a comment. We very much look forward to hearing from you.