Last Saturday, (September 11) we did something for the first time in over 10 years. Our hospital building had been closed for a number of years and then of course Covid prevented a good old-fashioned fete. Saturday afternoon made the wait worthwhile.

It was lovely to see our gardens full of people again enjoying themselves and having fun. We had lots of traditional fete games such as: wine or water; the straw game and a treasure hunt. Our raffle was inundated with prizes, although some were more of a booby-prize! We also had local organisations such as the Budleigh Community Workshop; Force; Home Instead; Budleigh GP Practice and Budleigh Salterton Hospital League of Friends. The World of Country Life brought along a petting goat which the children absolutely adored.

We showcased many of our activities such as: seated kettlebell and low impact exercises; baby massage; crafting and our gym was available to view and join. The Budleigh Workshop gave woodturning demonstrations and Sally Joy was on hand to explain baby massage.

Music was wonderfully provided by the Budleigh Ukulele group and the Exmouth Town Concert Band. They provided the heart and background of the day. Steve, the band's conductor, was as entertaining as always.

The raffle raised more than £700 and drew the fete to a close (once the hundreds of prizes had been allocated). Not before ladies from our Activity Group (Mary, Margret, Edna and Cathy) won a few bottles of wine and cracked them open whilst listening to the band. It really was lovely to see them enjoying themselves, laughing and drinking wine.

The amazing thing about the day was not only seeing old faces again but seeing new faces and people from all over Budleigh, Woodbury and Exmouth.

Bringing people together is what community is all about. That’s what we try to do everyday in our own small way. If you want to meet new friends please look at the support page on our website www.seachangedevon.org or give us a call 446896.