We may all know the feeling: you have arranged a small gathering on a summer’s afternoon only to find that it clashes with one organised by your wealthier, posher and, let’s be frank, more popular, neighbours up the road.
So spare a thought tomorrow afternoon for the organisers of summer fêtes, country fayres, gymkhanas and charity cycle rides. They have been planning for months only to discover that the skipping demonstration by pupils from the local primary starts as England kick off against Germany.
Forecasts that tomorrow will be the hottest day of the year are little compensation when organisers know that there will be a lunchtime stampede for the exit.
For veterans of the 2006 World Cup there is a feeling of déjà vu. At the same stage of the competition four years ago England took on Ecuador, and there was a minor panic in Hardingham, Norfolk. Organisers considered changing the date of the village fête or bringing in a big screen but it was too late.
Lynn Whitwell, who will be running the tombola stall tomorrow, has some words of comfort for those who are worried about their own events. She said: “We were concerned but 2006 turned out to be our most successful year. Even if the men want to watch, some of the wives like to get away.”
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As the match kicks off competitors in the sack race will be panting to the finish line, to be followed by that skipping demonstration by pupils from Hingham Primary.
In Bagnall, Stoke-on-Trent, Chloe Lovatt, 12, will be crowned Chestnut Queen in the village hall. Sam Calvert, organiser, spent Thursday trying to arrange a temporary TV licence and get an aerial rigged up. Claire Coulman, event manager for the 25th Brocklesby County Fair, which is expected to attract 17,000 people to the Earl of Yarborough’s estate outside Grimsby, said: “When it happened before there was a mass exodus shortly before kick-off but we still had the biggest attendance we’d had up to last year.” This time round visitors can watch the football on a 42in screen in the beer tent.
Mike Chartier, president of the Waterloo Bonfire Society, whose annual fête is in Lewes, East Sussex, tomorrow, said: “It may be that there are people who feel they do not want to watch the football or find it too nerve-racking. We will be having the usual stalls, although we may have to check if we have any German wine as prizes.”
The annual Fitzroy Summer Fête in London, organised by the British Skin Foundation, will also host the final charity Walk for Skin. Bevis Man, from the BSF, said: “It will be business as usual but we won’t be too insulted if we do see an exodus at 2.45pm.”