Mid Sussex Nostalgia: Dame Vera Lynn crowns Ditchling’s queen at 1982 village fair
By mid-afternoon the village green was fully packed.
Dame Vera Lynn crowned the Queen of the Fair, 19-year-old Paulien Mott, in the morning when the skies were still a little threatening.
Dame Vera went on to exhort the crowds to spend their money due to the proceeds of the fair going to Ditchling charities.
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Hide AdDitchling High Street was closed to traffic while Mr Jack Willcocks, chairman of the parish council, proclaimed the official opening of the fair from a balcony in the High Street.
Among the many attractions of the fair were a mummers play, a magician, Morris Dancers, maypole dancing, handbell ringing and tug-o-war.
As the afternoon grew warmer there was a procession of floats. The winning float was that of the Cub Scouts and Scouts, “Crests of the Wave, Ditchling Task Force”.
Tiggy Terrell won the best dressed bicycle contest. After a herculean struggle, the North Star pub was victorious in the tug-o-war and won back the nine gallon keg of beer that had been donated to the winning team.