This summer we have been trying hard to bring the Fairtrade message to as many Gedling residents as possible.  We have never had a stall in Gedling Village so we decided to apply for an information stall at the Gedling Gala on Saturday 3rd July.  We had a great day!

David and Allan turned up at 11.15 to put up the gazebo and set up the stall.  We repeated what we had done at the Arnold Carnival in June.  We had a display of Fairtrade in Gedling Borough, a leaflet listing suppliers, the quiz and the draw, lots of leaflets and a plate of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate to attract the punters.  Surprising how many people didn’t realise Dairy Milk is now Fairtrade!  Our prize of a bag of Co-operative Fairtrade goods included a donation in kind from the Co-operative in Gedling Road, for which we were most grateful.

Vicky was not able to help out – something about a wedding, she said.  David was involved in a tennis tournament that had been brought forward and had to leave at 12; his wife, Sally, stepped in to complete the morning session.  Ash and Christine looked after the stall in the afternoon, with Allan coming back from a quick sandwich to support.  We could do with a few more recruits to help out on such occasions!

We had a really successful day.  We were in a line of stalls near the Willow Lane entrance and so had a chance to talk to lots of people as they came in or out.  The music coming from just opposite us didn’t stop us talking as much as we could!  By the time we packed up at 4.30pm we had a total of 83 entries for our draw.  So, talking to family groups again, we must have discussed Fairtrade with more than 200 people.  22 people gave us e-mail addresses to receive our planned e-mail newsletter.  We even discovered a local resident whose uncle is a director of the Fairtrade Foundation!  Amazing what you discover when you talk to people on the ground!

The winner of the Fairtrade goods was Mrs. Marshall of Bulwell who had come to Gedling to visit her niece.

Our thanks must go to the Gedling Gala committee for giving us this excellent chance to talk to so many local residents.