Hundreds flock to market day

ALMOST 1,000 visitors attended the annual Watlington Christmas Market on Saturday.

The event, held in the town centre from 10am to 2pm, featured more than 20 stalls selling artisan gifts, including handcrafted jewellery.

Edward Donald, who runs Natural Shoots, Cookham, sold seed mixes in discarded paper and plastic shotgun cartridges.

He said: “When I had the opportunity to set this up, I wanted to do something that, if you like, changed the angle a bit.

“There are 220 million of these plastic shotgun cases used every year in the UK and I wanted to get rid of that waste.

“The seed mixes grow well in what’s technically called poor soil, so there’s not many nutrients or anything like that.

“We just get the seeds into the ground, cover them nicely and just let nature do its thing.”

Craft stalls included Love Lane Studio, which is run by owner Kathryn Pike, who lives in Watlington.

She and her daughter, Emily, 13, were selling earrings that were sourced and dresses that she had made herself.

Ms Pike was taught to sew at school but said she also learnt a lot from her grandmother and taught herself some skills.

She said: “The dresses that I make, I tend to do them so that they can be worn all year round.

“They’re sleeveless, so you can wear them in the summer and then you can layer them, put tops over and tights under them. They are three-quarter circle skirts, which means they are fully twirlable.”

Among the other attractions included a lucky dip for children and a raffle which was sponsored by Watlington Business Association, which also funded the trees, decorations and lights for the market.

Rosemary Herrington, of Hill Road, Watlington, was the winner of the “Great Watlington Christmas Lunch” prize.

She won a £40 voucher from Calnan Brothers butchers, a £20 voucher from Tutu Chocolates, a bottle of whiskey and
18 mince pies from Gravy and Custard Catering.

Ms Herrington bought her raffle ticket at the market and was called later in the afternoon by organisers.

“It was a lovely surprise,” she said. “The raffle organisers were great at getting donations from local businesses and they were all very generous.”

Watlington in Bloom, a community gardening initiative group, had its “Wishing Tree” at the market.

Treasurer Keith Jackson said: “The ‘Wishing Tree’ is raising funds in connection with renewing the planters in the High Street.”

The group launched its first “Wishing Tree” initiative around 10 years ago and brings in around £250 a year.

Tim Horton, a member of the group, added: “We’ll probably do that at least this year — we’re doing quite well.”