I haven't updated this blog much lately, simply becasuse I have been too busy. We have been down to London regularly, over to Lancashire and around Yorkshire quite a bit, added to this I have been designing a new hot roast chestnut cart which has the addition of a special drop down panel to take 2 electric warmers fot mulled wine. This will allow us to keep up with the demand for these two products without having to transport and assemble two seperate carts, which will ease the situation as we are recieving an awful lot of work for these two particular products..

Anyway I can now announce that we have just signed the final contract with Stockton Borough Council to provide Traditional funfair attractions to Stockton town centre in support of their new four day Christmas market, click here for more details

This follows on from a number of events that we have worked on with Stockton over the last eighteen months. Additionally we can also announce that we have two smaller, but equally welcome events in the Northumberland town of Hexham and the Lancashire town of Leyland . Overall our strategy of adding Christmas town centre events to our portfolio is gathering pace nicely. I am off to a meeting tomorrow morning to discuss another new Christmas event in the North East so hopefully I can deliver some more news on new events before the winter season ends.

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ASTON CARNIVAL TOY BOX CLEVER FOR PARADE
The Toy Box Toddlers playgroup is hoping they won’t have to do the doggie paddle when they take part in this year’s Aston Carnival parade as the 101 Dalmatians.

The tiny tots are determined to show off their spotty costumes come rain or shine, as they prepare for the Aston Carnival, which is being held on Saturday August 11.

A marching band will be leading the ‘all welcome’ parade, which kicks off the carnival celebrations, leaving Swallownest Primary School at 12 noon and heading through the streets of Aston to the main arena at the village’s Lodge Lane playing fields.

Joining the Toy Box Toddlers in the parade will be Dinnington’s Air Cadets, the Stepping Out dancers and a group of vintage motorcycles, to name but a few of the event’s attractions. The main arena will also boast the Jason Moody funfair and the Phoenix Falconry display team, as well as a junior five-aside football tournament.

Karen Lyons, one of Aston Carnival’s organisers and co-founder of the Toy Box Toddlers, said: “Not even the torrential rain of late could dampen the kids’ enthusiasm for the carnival parade. They love the Dalmatian theme and are really excited to be taking part – we all are. I have every confidence that this year’s parade is going to be better than ever and that Aston Carnival will be a huge hit, whatever the weather!”

Aston Carnival brings together people from Aston, Swallownest, Fence and Aughton. It also enjoys strong support from local businesses and sponsors include Somerfield, Tilen Electrics, Elite Design Studio, Aston and Aughton Post Offices and Godfrey’s Gardens. This year’s proceeds will be donated to local charities, Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice and Safe@Last.

Issued: 24.7.2007

For further information, please contact Nina Milthorpe at CORNER PR
Tel: 01246 432 915 Fax: 01246 432 935 Email: nina@corner-pr.co.uk
The Old Saw Mill, 105 Hague Lane, Renishaw, Sheffield S21 3UR



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The enquiries are still coming in at a fair pace, usually they start to slacken by now but this year they show no sign of letting up. We are currently in talks about around two dozen new events, some of them quite large, as well as with a number of universities and colleges.

Two events we have just had confirmed are the 10th anniversary party at the Ponderosa rare breeds farm in Heckmondwike. We presented a small selection of attractions there just before Christmas and the day was quite successful. A bonus was the fact that the venue was very pleasant and the people were lovely to work with so being invited back is a welcome development. Further details of the farm can be found at Ponderosa Farm.

The second event is the inaugural Settle Music festival being held in the picturesque little town of Settle (famous for the Settle-Carlisle railway, the last working steam line in the country). This is planned as a mini Glastonbury type event, with a number of bands, including some big names, playing over the three days at the end of August, beginning of September. For further details visit their new website Settle Festival.


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I've just finalised the two children in need events. They are being held at the Noah's Ark nurseries. One in the Yorkshire town of Dodworth the other at Barnsley.




Children In Need Event:
November 19th
,
at the Noah's Ark Nursery, Barnsley






Children In Need Event:
November 19th
,
at the Noah's Ark Nursery, Dodworth

I'm beginning to think that we should specialise in providing funfair attraction to support charity events. Weve just been asked to support a large funday at Ripon Racecourse on November 6th, its going to be advertised on local radio and all the local papers and the organisers hope to attract up-to 100 local charities so it could possibly be a big day.



Charity Funday:
November 6th

at the RaceCourse, Ripon North Yorks

Just agreed to take a selection of rides to the Glossop bonfire. Held in Manor Park, Glossop, the event isn't being run by us, but a close friend that we work with regularly is in charge, money off vouchers will be added to our booklet on Monday

Just discovered MICROFORMATS, for those of you who like me are new to this blogging lark, it appears they provide a way of making details simultaneously machine and human readable!! I think what this means is I can for example display the details of an event onscreen which you can read, but you can also add this event to your calendar automatically using software such as Apple's iCal. I'm posting our new upcoming events in this format here.

Halloween Event: October 28-30,
at the Market Square, Ripon North Yorks




Torchlight Parade: October 29th,
at the Tramway Museum, Crich



Fireworks and FunfairNovember 3rd,
at the Cricket Club, Leigh nr Wigan



Fireworks and Funfair:November 4th,
at the Sports Pavilion, Wilberfoss



Fireworks and Funfair: November 5th ,
at the Redcar Racecourse



Christmas Lights: ,
at Biddulph Moor, Nr Leek

We've just been signed up for 2 new events. The first is a Halloween party at The Crich tramway museum near Matlock. Starting at 10 a.m. it continues into the early evening. The other is the switching on of the Christmas lights at Biddulph Moor near Leek, tickets have been added to our money off book.

We've been approached to supply a number of attractions for an event in Leigh near Wigan Lancs. for the 3rd of November starting at 5p.m. in the grounds of Leigh Cricket Club. The event aims to raise money for the WaterAid charity.

WaterAid is an international NGO dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people. WaterAid works by helping local organisations set up low cost, sustainable projects using appropriate technology that can be managed by the community itself.  WaterAid also seeks to influence the policies of other key organisations, such as governments, to secure and protect the right of poor people to safe, affordable water and sanitation services.

WaterAid currently works in both rural and urban areas, and has programmes in 15 countries in Africa and Asia. To date, WaterAid’s work has reached over 8.5 million people, helping to prevent deaths and the spread of disease, and dramatically improving the quality of people’s lives.

Here a few cost examples to give you an idea of what can be achieved:


£5 pays for an environmental health technician to visit five communities to promote
good hygiene practices in Zambia
£10 pays for enough cement for two ecological sanitation latrines in Zambia
£15 pays for the tools needed to construct a hand-dug well in Malawi
£50 pays for enough cement to protect a spring benefiting 300 people in Uganda
£100 pays for one handpump to serve 10 households in Nepal.
£210 pays for a shallow well handpump which will be used by 90 people in a rural
community in Malawi
£500 pays for the materials needed for a reservoir tank to serve 600 people in Madagascar
£1000 pays the complete costs of building a 15metre well, including a £500 Nira
handpump to benefit 500 people in Tanzania
£5000 pays to site and drill a borehole for 500 people in Ghana

For further information on WaterAid’s work please visit www.wateraid.org.uk

Just received a call out of the blue to supply a candy floss unit and a coffee unit for an event at Ripon city centre. The event will see an ice rink along with local bands and a Halloween party spread over three days (28-30 October). Putting the PDF file together with the insurances etc I realised that our hygiene certificates have all been left at our Middlesbrough office, great piece of forward planning that, especially as no one there can use email (being old and senile and all that). Looks like a trip up North is on the cards.

Anyway, money off vouchers for the event have been added to our booklet, feel free to download it anytime.