Doddington Village Sports and Carnival Blog

Every year, we’re always asked if there are any jobs that people can chip in to help us with, and each year – jobs like helping out on the day of the carnival, helping to set-up the field, or to take it all down again.  In our Carnival Committee meetings, we always talk about getting a Jobs List up on the website ahead of time, and each year, we don’t get around to do it. It’s not that we’re forgetful , or don’t care about it – we do. It’s just that with busy working lives, children and other ‘life stuff’, it gets… prioritised… at the bottom of the list!  But now, we’ve done it!  We’ve started a Jobs List on the Doddington Carnival website where you can check-out what help we need and throw your name into the ring to help! We’ve got the Race Night with a Twist coming up very soon, and there’s a job or two on there already for that (but there will be more!!) and then we’re into the preparations for the big events in July! So please, have a look! Get in touch , ideally ...

We’ve been busy again this year in getting a whole load of stalls for your shopping and browsing pleasure! There are sweet stalls, photography stalls face painters, burgers, hog roasts an more! In case you wanted to know who’s going to be there, well, here’s the list! 1st Doddington Guides 1st Doddington Rainbows 1st Doddington Scout Group Army Cadets Askham Village Community Beagles Explorer Scouts Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service Community Champions Cartigan Jams, Chutneys & Preserves Doddington Christmas Lights Doddington Horticultural Society Doddington Model Club Doddington Recreation Committee Doddington Under 5s Emma's Frames and Make a Memory Photography Glitter Hair - Cystic Fibrosis Trust Greenvale iBaker/Boston Donuts Jester King Hog Roast Kelly's Sweet Creations Maggie's Henna Tattoo Party Sweet Cones & Tombola Perfect Shot Photography Pick-aaa-Book! StreetPride The WI Wills Wheels We hope you’ll call over to each of the stalls and see what games...

It's the Wednesday before Carnival-Saturday, and things may not look like they're moving at warp-speed, but from our perspective, it certainly is! Hopefully you’ve seen already, but The Scarecrows are out in force, with Ziggy Stardust, Harry Potter and even The Queen gracing our roadsides, to name but a few! It's great to see so many people joining in the fun, as it really kick-starts the whole thing.  Judging begins soon! Carnival preparations are coming to a head, which is both worrying and exciting, as this has taken months and months of thought, planning and pestering people by the carnival crew and (finally!) it's all now starting to pay-off.  This year’s Carnival Prince and Princess, Luke and Imogen, are getting set to play their part in the proceedings, and being driven around in their glamorous carriage! The Sports Field plans are also being finalised, as we're trying to keep a similar format to last year, but improve slightly on some of the aspects followin...

We blinked,  and 2017 came and went just as quickly! We had a great year in terms of the various events that we’ve put on throughout 2017, and we have no doubt that 2018 will be any different. In 2017, we had pub quizzes and discos, the Carnival and Sports Day, finishing it all off with the Santa Run.  2018 will see more of the same, but with a different twist, as we keep getting emails and Facebook messages to say that you all love what we’re doing, and the reading makes for some humbling feelings in and around the Carnival Committee.  Here’s but a few about the Carnival and Sports Day: "Thanks team loved it once again . This year bought back memories of childhood felt great lots of fun had . Water this year when I was a kid it was flour and eggs lol x" - Sarah Sellers (via Facebook) "Thank you and well done to the committee. Yesterday was another amazing day thanks to the commitment and hard work of volunteers. Such a brilliant day. Thank you x" -...

Another Carnival day has been and, quite quickly…. gone! That sounds like a very obvious thing to say, but having helped work on it for my first complete year now, it sort of sneaks up on you, and then dashes away again, until next year.  But then, having said that, there’s still lots of ‘stuff’ on my “to-do” list that I want and need to do, to tidy up from the weekend’s efforts.  For me, personally, I have: Winners details to put up onto the Doddington Carnival website Facebook posts to draft and send (and then Share, Share, SHARE!) Emails to thank stall holders (that I’ve been harrassing for weeks!) …and lots more. Lots of the others on Team Doddington have other things in their “to-do” lists, whether it’s counting this, folding and tidying that, etc.,  so the day might be over, but it’s not over-over yet. One of the post-Carnival-Day jobs that the village doesn’t see. Our chaps taking down the signs in the village… and still smiling! People I speak to about the Dodding...

Photograph Competition! Are you the next accidental David Bailey? Can you take a fantastic photo on Carnival day? Check your phone snaps – you could be the winner! We’re looking for the best photo taken on the Saturday 1st July 2017, and one that fully shows the day off to it’s best. You may not be the best ‘technical’ photographer, nor have the best camera equipment, but we all know that sometimes those accidental snaps are the best.  You know, those phone or snappy-cam shots when you weren’t trying to take the perfect picture. The prize for this year’s Photograph Competition, has been generously donated by the Wimblington Photography Society, and is as follows: A FULL COMPLIMENTORY SEASON MEMBERSHIP to the Wimblington Photography Society There are two winners places available: The Public’s Choice The Expert’s Choice All photography submitted will go onto the website, allowing the public to vote for their preferred photograph, but the folks at the Wimblington Photog...