Pulling strings at the fête

A nearby village held its summer fête today, so Jan and I went along to join in the fun and help raise money for the church.

I found a new test of skill. I don't know what it was called, but you had to pull on a string in each hand to manoeuvre a marble up a surface with more holes than an Emmental cheese. If the marble fell through a hole that was it. Game over.


I pulled on the strings ... eased the marble up the slope ...


... and got it to the top! My prize? A mini pack of mini cheesy biscuits.


We enjoyed tea and cake ...


... and then it was time for the real challenge. Getting as many marbles into the upturned flowerpot as possible in a set time. This had a twist: you were allowed only one marble on the spoon at any one time.

Jan had a go ...


... and so did I.


My competitive nature meant that I got the highest score of the day (by one marble!), and won two day passes to the local fitness centre.

(I also won a similar event at Jan's school fête last week, the prize for which was a box of chocolates. So the two prizes complement each other.)