“I was still fifteen when I met John Lennon at a fête in Woolton.”
Paul McCartney
It is as much a staple of the English countryside as a flint clad church or a welcoming pub. Anytime from early May to late August you will see the carefully hand-lettered signs advertising the various expected fixtures of the traditional fête, the coconut shy, tombola, giant marrow competitions and a grand raffle. In this case it is an English custom, the Scots have their gatherings, where unfeasibly heavy objects are thrown, and bagpipes are blown. The Welsh celebrate in song and poetry at the Eisteddfod. Of course, the word fête isn’t English, like so much of the English language borrowed from French and now part of the lexicon.
The village fête is also a favourite scene in a certain type of fiction. P.G. Wodehouse, The Archers and Midsommer Murders. I’m sure that they appear in Agatha Christie stories with skullduggery and dark deeds being committed to ensure victory in the onion growing competition or the cake baking contest. There might be Morris dancers, wet sponges to be thrown and of course a refreshment tent providing tea and cake and sometimes beer. The second-hand book stall is generally a stall worth stopping at. It’s another of those Nineteenth Century invented traditions that seem like they have been going on for ever.
Of course, over the years fêtes change and develop, new attractions emerge and old retreat. Truth be told the most important part of the village fête is that it provides a great opportunity for a community to come together, it’s a chance for people to take a moment out of a busy life and simply celebrate being in an idyllic setting and having some fun. It is reassuring that the fête remains much the same in this ever-changing world, it is an institution that will only ever change slowly, it is a reassuring presence in the calendar.
Tomorrow is our Summer Fête, the culmination of many hours of dedicated planning by The British School of Paris Society’s committee – it will be a great event and I hope that you can come along and join in with the competitions, enjoy the music, visit the stalls, perhaps buy a pot of the school bees’ latest batch of honey and throw a sponge. Word has it that there will be some great barbecued food to enjoy. It will be all that a fête should be, and our thanks are due to those who have made this occasion possible.
We are approaching the end of term and with it the end of another academic year. This fête is an opportunity for BSP families to meet and enjoy each other’s company, to reinforce the bonds of friendship at a time when for many, change is afoot. I do hope you can come and join in with the festivities.
It is as much a staple of the English countryside as a flint clad church or a welcoming pub. Anytime from early May to late August you will see the carefully hand-lettered signs advertising the various expected fixtures of the traditional fête, the coconut shy, tombola, giant marrow competitions and a grand raffle. In this case it is an English custom, the Scots have their gatherings, where unfeasibly heavy objects are thrown, and bagpipes are blown. The Welsh celebrate in song and poetry at the Eisteddfod. Of course, the word fête isn’t English, like so much of the English language borrowed from French and now part of the lexicon.
The village fête is also a favourite scene in a certain type of fiction. P.G. Wodehouse, The Archers and Midsommer Murders. I’m sure that they appear in Agatha Christie stories with skullduggery and dark deeds being committed to ensure victory in the onion growing competition or the cake baking contest. There might be Morris dancers, wet sponges to be thrown and of course a refreshment tent providing tea and cake and sometimes beer. The second-hand book stall is generally a stall worth stopping at. It’s another of those Nineteenth Century invented traditions that seem like they have been going on for ever.
Of course, over the years fêtes change and develop, new attractions emerge and old retreat. Truth be told the most important part of the village fête is that it provides a great opportunity for a community to come together, it’s a chance for people to take a moment out of a busy life and simply celebrate being in an idyllic setting and having some fun. It is reassuring that the fête remains much the same in this ever-changing world, it is an institution that will only ever change slowly, it is a reassuring presence in the calendar.
Tomorrow is our Summer Fête, the culmination of many hours of dedicated planning by The British School of Paris Society’s committee – it will be a great event and I hope that you can come along and join in with the competitions, enjoy the music, visit the stalls, perhaps buy a pot of the school bees’ latest batch of honey and throw a sponge. Word has it that there will be some great barbecued food to enjoy. It will be all that a fête should be, and our thanks are due to those who have made this occasion possible.
We are approaching the end of term and with it the end of another academic year. This fête is an opportunity for BSP families to meet and enjoy each other’s company, to reinforce the bonds of friendship at a time when for many, change is afoot. I do hope you can come and join in with the festivities.
It is as much a staple of the English countryside as a flint clad church or a welcoming pub. Anytime from early May to late August you will see the carefully hand-lettered signs advertising the various expected fixtures of the traditional fête, the coconut shy, tombola, giant marrow competitions and a grand raffle. In this case it is an English custom, the Scots have their gatherings, where unfeasibly heavy objects are thrown, and bagpipes are blown. The Welsh celebrate in song and poetry at the Eisteddfod. Of course, the word fête isn’t English, like so much of the English language borrowed from French and now part of the lexicon.
The village fête is also a favourite scene in a certain type of fiction. P.G. Wodehouse, The Archers and Midsommer Murders. I’m sure that they appear in Agatha Christie stories with skullduggery and dark deeds being committed to ensure victory in the onion growing competition or the cake baking contest. There might be Morris dancers, wet sponges to be thrown and of course a refreshment tent providing tea and cake and sometimes beer. The second-hand book stall is generally a stall worth stopping at. It’s another of those Nineteenth Century invented traditions that seem like they have been going on for ever.
Of course, over the years fêtes change and develop, new attractions emerge and old retreat. Truth be told the most important part of the village fête is that it provides a great opportunity for a community to come together, it’s a chance for people to take a moment out of a busy life and simply celebrate being in an idyllic setting and having some fun. It is reassuring that the fête remains much the same in this ever-changing world, it is an institution that will only ever change slowly, it is a reassuring presence in the calendar.
Tomorrow is our Summer Fête, the culmination of many hours of dedicated planning by The British School of Paris Society’s committee – it will be a great event and I hope that you can come along and join in with the competitions, enjoy the music, visit the stalls, perhaps buy a pot of the school bees’ latest batch of honey and throw a sponge. Word has it that there will be some great barbecued food to enjoy. It will be all that a fête should be, and our thanks are due to those who have made this occasion possible.
We are approaching the end of term and with it the end of another academic year. This fête is an opportunity for BSP families to meet and enjoy each other’s company, to reinforce the bonds of friendship at a time when for many, change is afoot. I do hope you can come and join in with the festivities.
Nicholas Hammond
Headmaster
