The N21 Festival Poem

Henrietta Cresswell, the Winchmore Hill writer
Wrote a book in the last century
To pay tribute to her
And the old Fancy Fair
The Festival marks the book’s centenary

Last year I met a gang of mad locals
Their objective to me was quite clear
Whilst celebrating the book
A huge task they undertook
To unite locals and bring lots of cheer

Volunteers came together, united
Marina, Zoe, Sam, Ben and Stephen
Adrian, Chris and Catherine
Celia, Audrey and me, Lynne
As we met in the pub now and then

The Festival’s now building momentum
Dog Show, Jazz and the Winchmore Strings
Poets, Dancers, Musicians
Petting Zoo and Magicians
We have organized so many things

But be warned, it’s not all light and rosy
Joe will talk of a hidden dark side
Of murder, of fear
It all went on here
These dark secrets can no longer hide

Audrey wants to collect all of the faces
Of villagers in this present day
Draw yourself or your friend
They’ll be on show til the end
Shopkeepers too will have theirs on display

The generations we wanted united
For ideas we went a hunt-ing
The nurseries, the schools
Crafts groups armed with their spools
Set about making Fancy Fair bunting

“Memories of a Lost Village” it’s title
From Henrietta’s first humble abode
Gillian gathered her team
To serve tea, scones and cream
In her garden down old Station Road

Cyril wanted to do Country Dancing
He’s been teaching for over 60 years
So at the launch – June 16
After Morris Men on The Green
He’ll be dancing to all of our cheers

Choosing charities gave us quite a dilemma
So many causes, how could we decide?
We put all to the vote
Results Niki then wrote
The 3 winners stood proud, side-by-side

How to get the disabled and elderly
To the Green so’s to not miss the Fair
Then along came our Ken
And with the wave of a pen
A volunteer/transport scheme he’d declare

We’ve got a great photo competition
Headed up by our lovely Catherine
Take your own little view
Of what N21 means to you
Some lovely prizes you could possibly win

The Film Festival evolved through the passion
Of 2 locals – young Ellie and John
To unite us through Film
Was their ultimate aim
Russdale’s gave a red carpet for fun

We found a great graphic designer
Creating logos, flyers, posters & more
Denise Ryan her name
Superb graphics her game
She even designed the commemorative brochure

Hugh dreamt of this souvenir booklet
70 pages and perfectly bound
The deadline was tight
They worked all through the night
Lorraine, Morven, Niki turned it around

Festival plans are now nearing completion
For the 16th to the 23rd of June
The only thing that we pray
Is for sun on that day
And the singers to all sing in tune

So we invite you, our friends and our neighbours
Bring your grandkids, your friends and your wife
Let’s be merry and share
What is lovely and rare
Urban living mixed with sweet village life

by Lynne Yazgan