On Saturday 28 September, interspersed among several rainy days, we were blessed with a gloriously sunny day for A Day for All, and lots of people – of all ages – came along to enjoy themselves. As has become the tradition, the wonderful sound of the church bells of St Mary’s launched the day and – for the first time – the opportunity was given for people to see how the bells are rung. Then followed the ever popular dancing of Ewell St Mary’s Morris Men, displaying their skill, first with the traditional wooden sticks and then with white scarves, accompanied by their musicians.
The return of the two Shetland ponies, with their small friends – guinea pigs, rabbits, a snake and a bearded dragon – proved extremely popular. For me, seeing a child loving to cuddle a rabbit, or to groom a pony, or to stroke a guinea pig was evidence of the sense of well-being that animals bring. Kingswood Shetland & Friends use animal therapy to help many young people facing challenges in life and you can find more at https://kingswoodshetlands.org/ The team who came said “It was an absolute pleasure to attend the day and meet lots of friendly and welcoming faces. We had lots of interactions and questions about the different animals, which is always lovely. My favourite was a 92 year old lady holding a snake for the first time, Jasper, our ball python, was very accommodating and we were very impressed with the bravery! We had all ages from birth to elderly and it was amazing to see just how many smiles the animals produced. We can’t wait until next time.”
One of the events was an illustrated talk about the Lost Lands of Ewell – telling the story about how the suburban landscape we live in today used to be full of farms – going back at least to Domesday Book and before. Ewell only really got its modern appearance in the 1920s and 1930s – even though much
of the medieval layout still remains. Hamish Reid, who gave the talk, said “I greatly enjoyed doing the research for this talk – you can be in one spot and travel through several hundred years.” Fiona Dowle gave an illustrated presentation on how honey is harvested by hobby beekeepers. She explained the
process in detail from how the frames of honey are removed from the hive, through uncapping the frames, extracting and filtering the honey and jarring it up ready for future consumption.
As always, the Children’s Craft Activities, the SWOP shop, the Prayer Corner, the Mouse Trail and the Prayer Trail were much enjoyed. Those serving (free) refreshments during the day and the bread and soup lunch were kept very busy! The Photo Competition provided interest throughout the day and the
winners can be viewed below.
Lots of positive feedback was received.
Someone experiencing A Day for All for the first time wrote “The day is a wonderful concept which brought together a well organised team with a real drive to welcome so many. It was great to see and hear the church so full and buzzing. People ebbed and flowed during the day, in and out of the building. The wide variety of events and activities provided something for everyone and the surrounding chatter was relaxed and happy. I’m looking forward to the next one already!” One regular to A Day for All volunteered “it really was a glorious day of sunshine, fun and a generally lovely community feel!”
A member of the planning team emailed “I thought it was a brilliant day. Everyone I have spoken to about it, loved it.”
Many thanks to the planning team, to the many volunteers who made the day possible and to everyone who came along – you all made it such a great day!
