Creating the St Margarets Christmas Fair
I have lived in St Margarets for many years now and my family and I really enjoy the events that are held in our community, we loved the recent Christmas Fair in Crown road.
So how does it happen?
The St Margarets Christmas Fair exists because of the generosity and commitment of the local independent traders supported by their chairman Simon Chapman of Cutters.
This year the Fair had the addition of the St Margarets show written by local writer Elizabeth Herry and choreographed by Abigail Cova from the Marble Hill Dance Studio based at the Crown Pub. The brief was something to celebrate the community in St Margarets, to thank the traders for their support and to include the nativity and the traditional meaning of Christmas, no difficulties there then. Oh and it had to be capable of going ahead with no rehearsals and not exactly knowing who would be there until the day.
Abigail and Liz had the first meeting in October on the 09.45 from St Margarets to Clapham Junction when they both happened to be in the same carriage. In a mad cap 15 minutes much to the interest of the rest of the commuters the show was conceived and responsibilities divided up. The next time all the participants met was on the day! Fortunately everybody had done what they said and the show could go on with the support of our local actors Jemma Churchill known for Waterloo Road, Holby City, Midsommer Murders, Paul Bown, Watching, Mersey Beat, and to be seen in the Christmas Special of My Family, Leslie Grantham, Dirty Den in Eastenders and appearing in Panto in Hastings this Christmas, and Lynn Faulds Wood, Watchdog, GMTV and numerous other TV current affairs programmes.
Lynn’s Bowel Cancer Campaign is a local charity based in Crown road. Scenery was provided by Archers and sponsored by Scrunch and all the children worked hard with Abigail to learn their dances. Chris from Rock and Fairy worked his address book and had found the Ugly Sisters. Siobhan from Lynn’s Bowel Cancer Campaign persuaded her very good friends Bill and Keith to work their magic with the music and sound. Perhaps, above all, a thank you to Anita Parker-Elms who plays a key role in the organisation of the events. There’s also Alistair the MC and Gary Flynn who donated the stage, and also the main sponsors the RFU and Richmond Council. It’s a team and a half.
So what’s next St Margarets’ Got Talent? or I’m a Celebrity Let Me Live Here? What ever it is you can guarantee it will be fun.
Mary - local mum proud to be part of St Margarets
For a full review of the Fair with photos and videos from the stage show please go to www.mystmargarets.com
23 December 2009 | Category » around town
Comments
History is in the eye of the beholder
Indeed the St Margarets Fair is a wonderful event which has blossomed over the years and forms part of the cohesion that makes our St Margarets special, but things are not always as they seem. Since 2005 the St Margarets Christmas Fair has been organised by a number of people, who came together and do different roles, to produce a wonderful event.
Simon Chapman organised the stalls and entertainment up until 2007, I organised the Christmas decorations, putting up the trees lights and other street decorations since 2003 and the major sponsors including Richmond Council, the RFU, St Margarets Pub, Churchill’s, Fitz Gibbons and Chase Buchanan estate agents put up the money in order of size of donation. The St Margarets Traders made contributions and the stall holders paid for their stands at the event itself over the years.
In 2007 the events was going to finish, but for a wonderful young man called Jamie Parker 15 years old, with help from his family and the rest of us, organised that year’s event. In 2008, because of Jamie’s GCSE’s, he was unable to continue and the event was then due to finish. As I had been involved with the decorations for the street from the beginning, I felt that it was wrong to let the event die. I had separate matched funding from the event itself from Richmond Council for £3,000, which I personally received and had accounted for, so I thought if we just raised a bit more we could save the event.
What I discovered along the way was the budget was not £3,000 in total e.g. £1,500 raised and £1,500 from the Council, but £3,000 from the Council, if I could raise the other £3,000. I decided to try and raise the extra donations and not only to put up the trees and lights, but organise the event.
With the help of Anita, Lisa and Philip we established a Christmas Fair Committee for the event and any extra money raised would fund a St Margarets Alliance Residents’ survey, to find out what was important to local people and what more could be done to support the St Margarets community. We set about the task and very quickly found that everyone was fully behind saving the event. We soon met our target and organised the 2008 Christmas Fair.
It was so successful that the St Margarets Alliance was able to give financial support for the Summer St Margarets Fun day of £690 and provided a donation Lynne’s Bowel Cancer Campaign of £579. All the work of the St Margarets Alliance was done on a voluntary basis and by July 2009 the St Margarets Alliance had not only distributed 3,000 surveys, one to every household, but also produced its annual return to the Council and secured the funding for the 2009 Christmas Event. Confirmation was received in writing from Council Officers, so we set about arranging the 2009 Christmas event.
We met with Cllr. Philip Morgan, LibDem, in September 2009 and asked him to intervene with a problem, as Simon Chapman had been corresponding with Laurence Mann, ex LibDem Councillor, who was criticising the St Margarets Alliance. We were worried about Simon Chapman saying “the St Margarets Alliance would never run an event in Crown Rd ever again” and felt he did not have the right to make such a statement. We were fearful that the event was again under threat. The St Margarets Alliance did not hear another thing from our Councillor, so I checked with Council Officers and found that not only had some of the Council’s arrangements been changed, but the budget which had solely for the past 4 years been allocated to me, had been changed to Simon Chapman.
I checked with the Council Officer who allocated the funds and I was told that the Councillors had reallocated the budget. I therefore questioned Geoff Acton another St Margarets Councillor and Cabinet member responsible for the department which provided these funds on the 18th November 2008 and asked what was going on? He stated “I have spoken with Officers and fellow Ward Cllrs and can confirm that all past matched funding for the Christmas Event has been to the Crown Road Traders as main beneficiaries, regardless of the subsequent organisation and administration thereof. This year the approach was direct and was treated as such and again how the matched funds are distributed is up to them so there has been no reallocation as there was never anything separate. With the event now only just over two weeks away, I think the issue is now closed for this year and hope the Fair is the best yet”.
I was very shocked by this, as it ignored that the Christmas budget had been confirmed to me personally for 4 years and the St Margarets Alliance for two years and that the main beneficiaries were the people of St Margarets, not the Crown Road Traders. I was stunned and felt that some kind of “dodgy political deal” had been done and this was both authoritarian and unfair. But this was not the worst aspect, bookings had been discussed, sponsors had been contacted and the St Margarets Alliance had been placed in financial jeopardy. I will be making a Freedom of Information Request to post the records of previous budget allocation.
Having to back-track and cancel these arrangements was very embarrassing, but the Alliance did not financially suffer and nothing was said to avoid spoiling Christmas, but I think a great wrong had been done. I replied to Cllr. Acton on the 18th and stating, I had confirmation in writing from the Street Scene department this year in September 2009, (as in the 6 years before that) and the budget allocation was confirmed to the St Margarets Alliance (this is not the Traders). To imply that this change detailed by your email, was not a reallocation is simply nonsense. When I spoke to the officer in the Council regarding this she clearly stated that it was you, the Cllrs. who had made this last minute change.
I am deeply worried by your action; neither myself, or anyone within the St Margarets Alliance was even contacted about this and you seem to have no idea how much damage this will do to the community’s plans at this late stage. The St Margarets Traders you mention are commercial companies and in no way represent the residents. It should not be the Lib Dem intention to give money to private companies, rather than to community volunteers. I am also worried that this could be seen as a Lib Dem attack on community itself. I will talk to all the residents associations and other groups within the St Margarets Alliance, but after this, I wonder if any of them will trust anything your party says ever again.
I did not receive a reply. I did not go to the 2009 Christmas event, no doubt it was a success as it had the necessary funding and I worry that this story was supposed to be buried. I do fear that people always “shoot the messenger”, but I teach my children the truth is the most important thing and I cannot stand back and allow this disgraceful behaviour to be kept from the residents.
The St Margarets Alliance will be publishing its community survey findings on our website www.stmargaretsalliance.com shortly and we have a representative sample of the most important views on what St Margarets residents really want. If the LibDem Councillors intention was to silence the people of St Margarets then it has failed, you the residents will have your voice heard.
However I would bring it to your attention that there is an election on May 6th, just two months away, we can resolve the issues with Simon Chapman, but the LibDems have used him to meet their political aims and I would encourage you to vote against them.
I am sure that Simon Chapman, Laurence Mann and the LibDem Councillors will attack this statement, but I am happy to post their personal email correspondence if necessary. Also Chris Squire will probably pass a remark; in that case I will post the alarming use of an image of a child he as web-master posted for and on behalf of the LibDems on their website, to demonstrate the true nature of the man.
Note: The St Margarets Alliance is made up of members of Residents Associations of long standing and you can view the constitution and request the accounts of the St Margarets Alliance from the www.stmargaretsalliance.com I will be standing as a Conservative Council candidate in the May election to remove this arrogant and remote LibDem party, as they clearly will not listen to, or respect residents.
Barry Edwards at 28 February 2010 4:23 PM