Bakewell Christmas Market

Having nearly an hour to wait for my bus at Sheffield isn't convenient timing but I used the time to eat my sandwiches on the platform at the railway station before walking over to the bus station. The Bakewell bus goes via Chatsworth House and normally takes about an hour, but today it took an extra twenty minutes; the traffic jams started before we even reached the Golden Gates roundabout on the approach to Baslow. Fortunately people going to visit Chatsworth House and the Christmas Market there are being allowed to use the Golden Gates for access, thus avoiding additional delays caused by two sets of roadworks in the village.There were still long queues at the other entrance though which the buses use, but we were given priority by the marshals.

There was yet more standing traffic as we approached Bakewell, after a few minutes I got up and asked the driver if I could get off, even though we were stuck between stops. He opened the doors so I got off, quickly followed by another couple of people - I arrived in the town centre a few minutes before the bus did.

It was very busy and crowded at the market and some people were carrying their small dogs. There was some woinderful food on sale but it was all very expensive so I didn't buy anything.

The rest of the town wasn't quite as busy.

I heard a very distinctive, and very recognisable sound and so headed towards the music. It was Frumptarn Guggenband from Barnsley; I've seen this band several times before when visiting the summer fete at Hooton Pagnell, one of the local Doncaster villiges.

Not surprisingly the bus returning to Sheffield was thirty five minutes late and it took an hour and thirty five minutes to get there, not just because of the traffic, but because it was an old double decker that really struggled going up the hills.

Hickleton, Bilham, Hooton Pagnell Village Fete, Pickburn, and Woodlands

There's a limited bus service to Hooton Pagnell six days a week, but it doesn't run on Sundays...so I caught the X19 bus to Hickleton and then from there walked along the road to Hooton Pagnell.

To begin with though I'd  spend a few minutes in Hickleton taking photographs.

I arrived at Hooton Pagnell at ten past ten; things had only just got started and so I hadn't missed any of the entertainment.

The first musical event I attended was the Doncaster Ukulele Group; I also got the opportunity to see the Frumptarn Guggenband, the jazz quartet, the Doncaster Concert Band, the Tudor minstrels, the Wath Morris Dancers, and one of the two solo singers.

I took this photograph at the start of the ukulele group's first performance, later on in the afternoon there were many more people there, and several dogs, one of which was joining in, nonchalantly barking perfectly in time to the tune when the group was performing 'Proud Mary.'  I can't remember what the next song was but the dog didn't like it, it just kept on continuously yapping. Next up was 'Rocking All Over The World' by Status Quo and the dog absolutely loved this tune and took over as the lead singer, enthusiastically barking in tune and in rhythm...it even seemed to have several different barks of  differing tone and amplitude.

I kept on taking plenty of photographs as I wandered around the village.

The queues for cream teas at the church were too long and so I didn't bother.

Of course my favourite performers were the Frumptarn Guggenband from Barnsley. I was amazed when I saw them for the first time last year and so really wanted to see them at the fete again this year. Their music and style of performing is very unusual and entertaining, their garish bright purple and yellow costumes featuring skulls and god-knows-what-else are a sight to behold and the enthusiasm, jollity, and energy they display as they paraded along the main street playing a musical blend of samba, brass band music and hints of a military marching band surely must have lifted the spirits of everyone...many people, myself included, were clapping, dancing, jumping up and down and singing along to the words. The leader of the band was absolutely shattered at the end after his frantic over-the-top performance...and finally, what they did to a Taylor Swift song was astonishing.

So...here they are!

The man on the PA system said that they wouldn't look out of place in a Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) celebration in Mexico...especially since some members were wearing sombreros.

Here are the minstrels playing in the churchyard.

The queues for cream teas were still quite long with no room to sit down, and elsewhere there wasn't really much choice of ice cream.

After the guggenband had played for the final time I left the village and headed across the fields to the shops at Woodlands from where I caught a bus back to town.

A perfect day out in the nice sunny weather, even better than walking all day - I did end up walking about five miles though.