Colour and smiles at Stretton Walking Day

10:58am Tuesday 22nd July 2008

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STRETTON was awash with colour and smiles at the village’s traditional Walking Day.

Chief among the beaming faces was that of Elizabeth Barnes, the new rose queen. She said she was thrilled and honoured to be taking on the role and was looking forward to the year ahead.

The event on Saturday began with a service at St Matthew’s Church, led by the vicar, the Rev Elaine Chegwin Hall and her husband Peter Hall.

In attendance were the Mayor of Warrington, Clr Graham Welborn, and his wife, Elaine, the Mayoress.

They joined rose queen Elizabeth, outgoing rose queen Eli Morris, and their retinues on the walk, marching to the music of the Warrington Phoenix Marching Band.

Making up the rest of the procession were brownies, beavers and scouts from the area, St Matthew’s Church choir, Sunday school children, children from St Matthew’s pre-school and the children, parents and staff of St Matthew’s Primary School.

Afterwards, the popular annual summer fair was held in the grounds of St Matthew’s Primary School. Crowds were entertained by dancing by Appleton Thorn School of Dance, a barbecue, a disco, a funfair and a miniature train. Other attractions included a coconut shy, a beat-the-goalie competition and a sale of books and toys. The afternoon finished with a raffle.

The summer fair, organised by St Matthew’s Primary School PTA, raised more than £4,000 for the school’s computer room. The pre-school’s cake stall was sponsored by Barclays Bank under its ‘pound-for-pound’ scheme.

* For full coverage and pictures from the day, see Thursday's Warrington Guardian.