Moorlands Village Hall
School Road, Bagnall

BAGNALL CHESTNUT QUEEN FETE

Sunday 17 June 2007 - starts at 1.00pm at St Chad's Church

Organisers of the annual Chestnut Queen Fete which takes place in the picturesque village of Bagnall, Stoke-on-Trent, on Father's Day, Sunday 17 June 2007, from 1.00-5.00pm are anticipating their biggest event ever.

In a change of format, this year's Chestnut Queen ceremony will take place from 1.00- 2.00pm and will be followed by the fete, which will be officially opened at 2.00pm. The Chestnut Queen ceremony will begin with a procession of the retinues from St. Chad's Church in Bagnall led by Piper Chris Hunter from the Black Watch stopping at the Millennium Horse Trough before the Blessing of the trees on the Chestnut Green conducted by the Rev. Alan Betts at 1.25pm. The procession continues on to the Moorlands Village Hall grounds in School Road, Bagnall where the service and crowning of the new Chestnut Queen takes place. At the crowning ceremony the retiring queen, Madeleine Clarke, 12, will present a cheque, to Mr. Nick Maslen, Chair of the Village Hall committee. The cheque represents the money which has been raised at a number of community fundraising events which the Queen has attended during the year. The new Chestnut Queen, Morgaine Blake, aged 12, of Bagnall, will be crowned by Mrs Muriel Ahuja. Mrs Ahuja, along with Mrs Sheila Tipper, organised ten years of Chestnut Queen retinues before retiring from the role last year. Following the Crowning Ceremony, Morgaine will be joined by Sniggles, the Signal 1 and Signal 2 mascot, who will assist her in her first duty as Chestnut Queen: officially opening the fete at 2.00pm.

The 2007 Queen - Morgaine Blake

The new queen Morgaine Blake has lived in Bagnall for the last seven years. Until recently she attended Endon Hall Primary School but she is now a pupil at a secondary school near Shrewsbury where her favourite subjects are Textiles and Chemistry. Morgaine loves animals and has four cats: an old one called Guinness and three 'teenage' cats called Ozzy, Cid and Jerry. She also finds time to help her Gran at a dog rescue centre called Stiles Meadow Dog Sanctuary most weekends. Morgaine is very honoured to be this year's Chestnut Queen and is looking forward to all her duties in the following year. Her retinue comprises Maid of honour Katrina Gratton, sisters Rose, Holly and Georgia Stanfield, Matilda Houston-Brown, Lauren McGuiness and Emily Forrester. Her Crown Bearer is Jack Forrester.

As well as the crowning of the Chestnut Queen the fete also features traditional attractions such a bouncy castle, a coconut shy, wellie wanging, swing boats and a penalty shoot out as well as a wide variety of both indoor and outdoor stalls and games. Entertainment includes maypole dancing from the children of Endon Hall C.P. School and the very popular Endon High School Jazz Band. Father's Day is being celebrated with something that might especially interest the dads: The Stoke-on-Trent Classic Car Club will be displaying a range of classic cars. Tea, coffee and a tempting selection of home made cakes will be available inside the hall whilst outside the hall there will be a BBQ, cold drinks and ice cream for sale. For something a little bit different from traditional fete fayre, the Spice Exchange restaurant from Milton is attending the fete and selling a range of Indian snacks!

Innocent Drinks, the makers of lovely smoothies, have chosen to attend Bagnall Chestnut Queen Fete as part of their tour of half a dozen fetes nationwide. Their dancing grass van will be at the fete where staff will be giving away drink samples as well as selling drinks in aid of charity.

Elsewhere in the village, those seeking a bit of peace and quiet away from the fun of the fete can visit the attractive 19th century village church, St Chad's. Throughout the afternoon, the church will play host to David and Mary Charlesworth from Kempsey in Worcestershire who will be playing a selection of organ and flute music. In the Church visitors can also browse through a display of photographs of Bagnall in days gone by. Bleak House in School Road, Bagnall will be opening its spectacular garden to the public from 1.00 - 5.00pm. Featured in many garden and county magazines, the garden boasts many surprising elements and is well worth a visit to complete your afternoon in Bagnall. The entrance fee is £2.50 per adult and children, accompanied by a fee paying adult, go free. Proceeds from the garden entrance fees will be donated to Bagnall's church, St Chad's, and to the Moorlands Village Hall whose committee organises the fete. For those who want to rest their feet and catch their breath after viewing the garden, afternoon tea is available at Bleak House and is served in a delightfully rustic barn in the garden! A sale of plants will take place outside Bleak House. Anyone wishing to find out more about the open day can call 01782 534713.

Many visitors to the fete like to enjoy lunch or dinner at the village's well-known pub, The Stafford Arms, or to end their day there with a drink in the pub's garden as the sun (we hope!) goes down. The Stafford Arms will be open from 11.00 noon - 10.30pm on Fete Day and will be serving food, from a sandwich to a three course meal, from 12.00 noon - 9.00pm. Soup and a roast will also be on offer for £8.95.

Jackson's Nurseries in Thorney Edge Road, Bagnall will be open from 9.00am - 5.00pm and will be offering a special Father's Day Brunch as well as the usual menu in the new Plant House Tearoom. As well as a wide range of plants and gardening supplies the nursery also boasts goats and deer for visitors to see and a children's play area complete with real tractor!

A fete has been held in the village since the 1920s in the form of a traditional agricultural fayre and originally featured the crowning of a Rose Queen. The Chestnut Queen fete revives these traditions, and was established in 1997 on the centenary of the planting of five chestnut trees on the Bagnall village green to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and so giving the new queen ceremony its name. The fete helps to raise funds to keep open the Moorlands Village Hall in Bagnall as a vital community resource. Chair of the fete organising committee, Samantha Calvert, notes, "The Chestnut Queen Fete is a great way for all the family to celebrate Father's Day in this beautiful semi-rural village. Every year we welcome some 400-500 people to our pretty village and we are confident that this year will be no exception. We hope that local people will come along, support our Village Hall and have a good time." Samantha also appealed for volunteers to come forward to help at the fete. "We still urgently need to hear from people who can help to erect the gazebos for the fete, work on a stall during the day or help us to take everything down at the end of the day. If you can give even an hour of your time we can put it to good use. It's a great way to meet other local people and to give something back to your community. Anyone wishing to volunteer should contact Muriel on 534860 or Nick 07715-496977."

FOR MORE PRESS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT SAM CALVERT ON 01782 505430 OR 07976 042050 OR EMAIL: samcalvert@samcalvert.freeserve.co.uk

Further Notes:

· The Moorlands Village Hall is a registered charity. There are around ten regular bookings at the hall which provide the community with facilities to try everything from kick boxing to dog training. The hall is also available for private hire for weddings, parties and meetings.

· The Chestnut Queen is chosen each year from among the Retinue and she attends several community functions during the year that aim to raise funds for the Village Hall.

· Photographs are available of Morgaine Blake, this year's Queen, as well as photographs of the Retinues of previous years. A selection of vintage photographs of the Rose Queens of Bagnall is also available. For more information please contact Sam Calvert.

Serving the communities of Bagnall, Light Oaks & Baddeley Edge.

Charity Registration Number: 500639