Even the chairman was not immune from taking the "hot seat"!

What a fantastic day! The 23rd Helmdon carnival proved to be one of the best.

The weekend got off to a great start on Saturday night with Nightshift and Montana playing at the sports field. The combination of good music and good food was well received. Approximately £700 was raised from the night to contribute towards the carnival funds. A special thanks to the organisers who put hard work into planning and running the night, by all accounts a good night and a cracking start to the carnival weekend.

Sunday night saw the Bell Inn full of people testing their knowledge against the quizmaster. The general knowledge quiz created an electric environment filling the pub with fun and laughter.

The weekend came to an exciting climax with the carnival and the day was blessed with excellent weather. The brass band set off from the primary school leading a string of people to the carnival field. The Rev Will Adams opened the carnival and judged the fancy dress competition. The field was full of attractions that suited all ages, a good combination of local craft stalls and activities far too many to list. Dancers, martial arts and a dog show were just a few activities that took centre stage in the main arena.

The grand finale was the acrobatic plane display, an attraction that caught everybody's attention.

All pulling together - well, pulling anyway!

A success! The carnival weekend raised over £3,000, which will be divided between supporting village groups and Brackley Cottage Hospital. However, I feel that the carnival's greatest success was in getting the atmosphere right. The committee and all the volunteers that helped worked hard and put real effort in to making the carnival a real community event.

As chairmen of the carnival committee I offer a warm hearted thanks to the people who contributed to a successful weekend. A thank you to all of the sponsors of which there are too many to list. Finally, a special thanks goes to Michael Ayres (Tiger) who has been on the committee since it started 23 years ago. Tiger has hung up his boots and is now taking more of a back seat in the organisation of the carnival. The committee are open to new ideas and welcome anybody onto the committee. Should you wish to get involved in organising next year's event please contact me.

Photographs from the carnival can be found following the carnival links on www.helmdon.com. As you will see, every picture shows people wearing smiles - something that came naturally throughout the whole weekend!

David Bailey Chair, Helmdon Carnival Committee

The Helmdon Craft & Produce Show

We enjoyed another successful Craft and Produce Show at this year's Carnival with a fantastic number of entries. Thank you to everyone who entered. The competition in the garden section was very close with the award for Best Garden and Best Vegetable

Plot going to Simon Storer, who also managed to win the fruit and vegetable section on the day. Mrs. C Gordon won Best Water Feature with her fantastic fish filled pond and Paul Hardiman impressed the judge with his hanging basket, winning that category. The Best Patio award went to Caren Whitehouse (we could have made ourselves comfortable and stayed all afternoon) and Best Climbing Display to Simon Harris.

On the morning of the Carnival the entries came in thick and fast, and as always we were impressed by the quality of them. There is enormous talent lurking in Helmdon! Ruth Jessett won the cup in the craft and produce section with Ann Wilson winning the Bloomers Trophy in the flower section. The children in the village as usual produced the best entries with their scary masks, decorated biscuits, fairy cakes and pictures. Lucinda Cross won the cup in the 7 and under section, Stefano Capella won the 8 to 12 section and Sam Oakey won the cup in the 13 and over section.

We hope everyone enjoys the Craft and Produce Show. It is a very traditional English event but is also about having fun and brings us together as a community, so we hope even more of you will enter next year. We are also looking for new committee members, if anyone is interested contact Jo Ezzy, it only involves a few meetings and helping out on carnival day.

Sarah Stubbs Secretary, Helmdon Horticultural Society

10:00 a.m. Monday morning and stall holders arrive to set up in glorious sunshine.

Women's Club had Robert just where they wanted him - on his knees.

Who's got the coconuts? Come on, don't be shy!

Jeffs sent a coach to pick up the marching band and bring them to the school.

The Acorns gathered under an oak tree in "International" fancy dress.

Everyone dressed up and had their faces painted.

In the pink - make peace, not war!

The 1460 Squadron Band from Banbury led the parade through the village.

Followed closely by the Acorns' walking float.

Bandmaster Pilot Officer Kisley leads the parade up through the Square.

Directly behind the marching band were a troupe of award-winning twirlers.

Dozens of people joined in behind the band to process to the sports field.

The Rev'd Will Adams officially opened the 2005 Helmdon Carnival.

And as a thank you Rev'd and Mrs Adams were presented with a bouquet and lapel.

The Acorns and Helmdon Harriets were joint winners of the fancy dress competition and Judy Butler (left, Acorns) and Claire Bryant (right, Harriets) shared the trophy.

The Craft & Produce tent looked resplendent all laid out before the opening.

Some of the silverware and trophies available to contestants in the Craft & Produce competition.

The younger people are always active participants, and this was some of their impressive work.

Entries in the "Victoria Sandwich (jam-filled, 7" - 8" tin)" class.

The foliage arrangement classes always produce stunning displays.

There was a wonderful selection of fruits and vegetables.

The "Heaviest Marrow" class had a variety of entries.

For those interested in growing onions there is the "Three Transplanted Onions" class, or the "Three Onion Sets" class.

Heavy competition this year in the "Eight Pods - Runner Beans" and "Six French Beans" classes.

And simple for spuds it was "Five Potatoes - White" or "Five Potatoes - Red".

The under 7's were asked to "Decorate a biscuit with a face".

The art classes really bring out Helmdon's talent - this was the "A Picture - Subject: Somewhere in your village" class for the 8 - 12 year olds.

The Craft & Produce Show 2005 was a great success.

One of the new additions this year - a pooch mobile to groom and trim our best friends (dogs only!).

As soon as the carnival opened the stalls were doing brisk trade.

Jam, cakes, plants, wine, toys. You name it, there was a stall trading it.

A vintage ploughing competition took place in an adjacent field.

One of Helmdon's premier ploughmasters, Tony Wilson, prepares to turn at the end of a furrow.

Local business Tanks-A-Lot with an unusual display of militaria.

The policeman was overheard inquiring about the price of pink tanks

Boys (of all ages) were particularly interested in the fire engine from the Brackley Fire Station

And the mini quad bikes are always good fun too

What carnival in England would be complete without the traditional favourite, Punch & Judy!

I bet this sheep was grateful to get her thick woolly coat off! The kids can get up close and personal with sheep shearing demonstrations.

Another new attraction, a transportable climbing wall provided a new challenge to all age groups.

The new mixed well with the old, this traditional carousel was busy all day.

This local martial arts display team put on a very impressive show in the main arena.

Martin Richards had remote-control helicopters, cars and aeroplanes and wowed the crowds with demonstrations of them in action.

Don't worry Steve - it's all for charity mate!

The dog show was very well received last year and so was back by popular demand

again in 2005. Here's a gorgeous wolfhound called Saffie, runner-up in the "Pedigree Dog" class.

Danny Dobson's aerial acrobatics were incredible this year. You can't see the plane very well, but the vapour trail shows its course.

Who's the grinder and who's the monkey!? The organ provides a traditional musical back drop to events.

What a legacy! Michael Ayres (left) co-founded the Helmdon Carnival 23 years ago and has served on every carnival committee since. This year he is hanging up his boots and he is being thanked by current carnival chairman, David Bailey. Cheers Tiger!