All the fun of the Fair

Saturday was cloudy but warm, with just a hint of a breeze, good weather for the crowds of people that gathered in Upper Hutt for the Spring Festival. Main Street was just a hop and a skip away from where we were rallying at the local school, so we walked up to see what was on offer. People were everywhere, with baby buggies, toddlers, and dogs on leads making it imperative to check where we put out feet so that we didn’t get tangled up. The Wellington Vintage Machinery Club had a display up and running with all sorts of machinery puffing away. These old machines always create a lot of interest with the men.

Being a bit of a laundry buff, I was interested in seeing a couple of vintage laundry implements. A couple of youngsters pushing hard on some levers to make the washing machine work. After a few pushes, they had had enough of that sort of hard work.

Early washing machine

Standing right next to the old fashioned washing machine was a huge clothes mangle – no doubt that would take an awful lot of hard physical effort to get the clothes through. Just as well things are so much easier these days.

Old fashioned clothes mangle

There was plenty of entertainment for children, with a bouncy castle, and kiddie sized bungy jumps. Children and adults alike were fascinated with the Punch and Judy Show. Take that, and that, bang, bang, bang. I have to admit that I had never seen a Punch and Judy show before.

Punch and Judy Show

We wandered slowly up and down the street, taking in the sights and sounds. Several buskers were spaced along the street, each playing their own very different type of music. Stalls were piled high with goodies to temp the passers by, with everything from clothing, to food and drink, and bric-a-brac. Even goldfish. Standard sized goldfish were swimming around the tank and their giant super sized cousins looked like they were on steroids. We noticed some children hurrying away clutching their plastic bag full of goldfish, just hope they had a tank at home to put their new pets in.

Gold fish for sale

All this wandering up and down was making us peckish so we stopped off at the hot Donut stall. Let’s buy some for lunch, we decided. So we did, and took them back to the caravan to enjoy. Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, they were just delicious.

Queuing up to buy hot cinnamon donuts for lunch