Last weekend we attended the fourth Woodhall Spa 1940s Festival which we were very excited about. From the very beginning this has been a well organised event and you can tell that the committee who organises it are re-enactors themselves because they have put together an event with everything you would want from a wartime weekend. There's re-enactments, fly pasts, living history displays, entertainment galore, and of course some good shopping to be had too! I love the entertainment which is dotted around at different locations throughout the town and they get some great performers in. It's all for free too which is amazing when you consider the cost of running the event which is a whopping £20,000!
It was beautiful weather while we were there and Indi was happy that he could wear his straw boater. It did rain on Sunday morning but as I am unable to leave the house before noon we totally missed it. On Saturday I wore a dress I bought a while ago from Tasty Vintage in Lincoln but as yet I've not worn it. I was a bit unsure at first as to whether I should wear it since I kind of felt it didn't suit me but after a great response from my lovely Facebook chums I went for it and I'm so glad I did. On Sunday I was feeling more about comfort and scrapped my plans to wear my green dress in favour of my blue gingham one. It's light yet sturdy and I just absolutely love it. I seem to wear it to Woodhall Spa 1940's festival at least once a year but it's just so practical.On Saturday we met up with my mum and dad and spent the day wandering around town with them. I wore what I consider to be comfortable heels but as there's so much walking around town and on hard pavement too my feet really were killing me by the end of the day. I made one purchase of a beautiful hazel leaf brooch which matches some earrings I bought at Twinwood last year. The enamel is in beautiful leafy greens and brown which I think will be just perfect for autumn.
On the Sunday Indi and I started the day with a picnic - well it was lunch time! We sat on the grass next to some roses and had a great view of Sarah Jayne who was singing. Unfortunately Lola Lamour only performed at a dance on Friday night so we didn't get to see her this year. Sarah did a wonderful job though and looked stunning in her dress. She was really friendly too and we spoke once or twice throughout the day. We bumped into friends throughout the day which is one thing I really love about local events. In the afternoon we went to the air raid display at the Golf Hotel which I have never been to before as I favour watching the singers. There was explosions, smoke, and some unfortunate victims of the air raid attack but I felt that it could have been more dramatic though maybe that's just the AmDram in me!
While we were at the Golf we met with an old chum Zac who we met a good few years ago now during our brief foray into lindy hop dance lessons. Zac brought Daisy who is a beautiful English bull mastiff and she got lots of fuss and attention all day, I love Daisy Doo. After the air raid we made our way down to The Lancaster Inn and saw Heather Marie performing and took some much needed refreshment. Unfortunately I didn't get to chat to Heather Marie but I'm glad I saw her perform because she's so good. We had to leave before she had finished because we had bought a radio from Age UK and needed to get to the shop before it shut. We tootled off to the shop and then headed to the car to stash it away. While at the car we started munching on left over picnic, I had made too much food so there was lots left to nibble. It was actually really fun sitting on the bumper, chatting, nibbling and listening to the swing music drifting through. It was nice and shady which was lovely since it had been really hot standing in the sun at the Golf. Following the impromptu car picnic we headed over to Jubilee Park for one last look around the stalls and then had a coffee in the cafe. Yet again we sat in the shade, chatting, and listened to the music drifting over. I think that's my favourite thing to do!
All in all it was another fantastic year and the committee must be very pleased with themselves for bringing such a fantastic event to the town. It just gets bigger and bigger every year with more visitors drawn to experience Wartime Woodhall. I will say that I don't cope well with crowds and felt harassed at times with the rudeness of some people, The amount of people who come as tourists vastly outweighs the number of us dressed in period outfits which is something that happens at a number of events, not just Woodhall. I don't begrudge people coming who aren't dressed up, don't get me wrong, the more the merrier is my attitude. But it can get to a point where you feel like you are a tourist attraction as people stare, make comments, and take sly photos without your permission. I completely understand that we are going to stand out and that's going to draw attention; that's something I came to terms with years ago when I started wearing vintage, but just because I look different doesn't mean manners can go out of the window!
Woodhall Spa is such a great event and still gets to hold the title of our favourite event of the year. Maybe we are biased as we love Woodhall Spa at any time of the year not just when the 1940's weekend is on. We visit the town regularly when we are at a loose end and we never go to the Odeon in Lincoln any more as we much prefer to go to the Kinema in the Woods. As happens every year I now can't believe the event is over and I'm sad that it is but excited too that we have so many other events just around the corner.
Did you go to the Woodhall Spa 1940's festival this year? You can read about our previous years at the festival here.
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