Downley Day
Another Successful Downley “Season”
The Family Disco on the Friday evening is always an excuse for a picnic and this year was no different. Sam Barnes was debuting as DJ and made good use of the new sound system acquired especially for Downley Day (and available for community use). Everyone enjoyed themselves although the smoke machine was putting out enough smoke to hide the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland!
Downley Day kicked off this year’s festival with a few changes, principally the introduction of a falconry display which not only showed some impressive birds and displays of flying but also introduced some real characters. Who can forget Maggie, the African Hooded Vulture with strong streak of jealousy running through her. She would run around squawking at anyone trying to get close to her beloved master (or “mate” in her eyes). Then there was Nanook, the Arctic Falcon who made a bid for freedom and was still missing at the end of the show. The two handlers tracked him via his radio tag and were led a merry chase around the countryside for four hours before eventually coming full circle to find him perched on a house on the Common. Clearly freedom was not really to his taste!
The 5K Fun Run on the following weekend was another success attracting 128 runners around the traditional gruelling course. The top three places were held by:
1st:Trevor Hunter
2nd:Russell Tapping
3rd: Dave Wallace
The full list can be seen at www.downley.org/community/5k-fun-run
The weather also held up for the Concert on the Common which marked the end of the Up Festival. Vibes Steel Band and SubRosa5 entertained the crowds who seemed quite reluctant to go home at the end of the evening. The collection raised £684 for the nominated charities Wycombe Homeless and One Can Trust and although this was welcome, it was somewhat less than last year’s total. Too many in the audience claimed not to bring any cash with them – how true this is, is difficult to tell but perhaps we should consider accepting contactless card payments next year.
The committee will be deciding how to the disbused the grants at its AGM in October (date to be confirmed) so if your organisation needs a helping hand then please contact us at info@downley.org with details of the size of grant you would like and the purpose to which it would be put. Please note we don’t normally support routine running costs or maintenance and would prefer to hear about specific items or projects.
To contact the Committee please send an email to info@downley.org