Unveiling of the Wolvercote & Wytham Summer Festival Bench

We are delighted that the long awaited Festival Bench has now been completed and installed on the green in Lower Wolvercote, celebrating this special anniversary. Sheila Pargeter, one of the founder members, ‘unveiled’ the bench at a small opening ceremony on July 30th and shared with us some of her memories of the early days of the festival. The bench features a Flying Goose with a trail of bunting; the Festival logo designed by the late Fred Pargeter, another of the festival founders and husband of Sheila; the Community Market logo of 3 geese, and, as a nod to Coronation year, a small crown and the date (we should remember that Charles I’s troops camped nearby and, according to local legend, had their swords sharpened at the blacksmiths on or near the green).

We are indebted to many people for the creation of this bench:
Julian Cooper from ODS found us the wood and facilitated the manufacture and installation, Jo Malden did the design and liaison, Richard Fox executed the engraving, and the Neighbourhood Forum helped with finance (through CIL funds), as did the Community Market. And Charlotte Fenton suggested the idea in the first place. We are enormously grateful to all these people for their generosity, time and support.
We hope those who sit on it over the years will enjoy both its comfort and its sense of history. But we also hope it will prove an inspiration for others to get involved in the future of our community festival – new faces and ideas are always welcome. Our AGM will be held on Monday 30th October at 7.30pm in the Baptist Hall in Lower Wolvercote, and we would love to see you there!