Village Fair

Friday, August 7

Ah...it's that time again. The Navan Fair opened last night. The girls look forward to this the whole year, to them it's sort of like Christmas in August, and like Christmas, they are always disappointed that it doesn't last longer.

The Navan Fair is -to my mind - the perfect little rural fair. There's livestock exhibits, horse shows, baking competitions, and entries for just about every type of garden or craft project you can think of. But when you are 8 (or 7 or 6 or 5), the real attraction is the mid-way. The girls are so excited this year that they've finally gotten tall enough to get on most of the rides. I watch them with my heart in the throat. A few of the ride operators have been there for years. We were chatting with the fellow who operates the merry-go-round last night and he remembered when the girls first came to the fair at age three.

Today is bracelet day (ride all you want for one price), and Murray has booked the day off to take the girls to the midway when it opens at 11:00. He'll be there with all other Mums and Dads from the village whose kids will be making themselves dizzy on the whirling strawberries, or scaring themselves silly on the Big Drop.

Tonight we'll build a bonfire in the back yard, roast marshmallows and listen to the Nazareth concert - one of the benefits - or not -of living just a block away from the fairgrounds.