After some amazing temperatures in June, July and August, so far, have left a lot to be desired in terms of summer weather.

Saturday saw the 1st Liskeard Scouts ‘Summer Fun Day’ at Castle Park which is now becoming an established venue for such events, and long may that continue!

Sadly, despite all the best efforts of Scout leaders Kieron, Lisa and their team, the one thing they couldn’t control was the weather....it was, at times, nothing less than awful.

Ken and I met at the studio at 8.45am and loaded our marquee into the car with a certain amount of trepidation before setting off for the park.

On arrival several stalls and tents were already in place though it looked like the children’s bouncy castle had pulled out which, in retrospect, was probably a good decision.

Ken and myself setting up the marquee is usually akin to watching the legendary, but somewhat inept, Chuckle Brothers but on this occasion we seemed to have it nailed and the main frame was up pretty quickly however, just as we started to clip the back panel in place, the wind came followed by the first visit of intense precipitation!

As with all trade or organisation stalls it is always important to ensure branding insignia is present and visible and, of course, the Liskeard Radio pop-up banners are excellent and entirely fit for purpose.... until the wind comes.

To counter the problem the aluminium pole was taped at several points to the upright of the marquee to secure it whereupon it promptly acted like a sail, bellowed out with the wind, and threatened to pull our entire covering over.......tying the securing cords to the wheels of the car did the trick!

During the course of the morning our speakers were out, under cover, then back out again.....one caught a bit more rain than it liked and temporarily refused to take part in the music-making!

All that said, the lovely Lisa, who was recently appointed as Vice-President of Liskeard Lions, brought some sunshine as she came by with a tray of sausage baps which, even if you weren’t particularly hungry, looked far too nice to refuse, so I didn’t!

Whilst very few members of the public did brave the elements the was a stoic comradery of stalls holders who, like ourselves, were there and staying there.

In particular I spoke to the ladies fronting the East Cornwall Search and Rescue Team, Amy and Mandy.

They explained that the team is made up of around 40 unpaid volunteers from across the PL, TR9 and EX22 postcodes all of whom bring their own expertise and are trained to professional S and R standards.

Mandy, who is herself operational, explained they attend around forty incidents per year as both a mountain and cave rescue team and often work closely with SW Ambulance Service Trust and Devon and Cornwall Police in searching for elderly and vulnerable people, often in semi-rural areas.

Amy, whose role is in fundraising, told me that the team are always on the lookout for those able to help raise essential funds to keep their important work going.

Anyone wishing to get involved, as a fundraiser or indeed a trainee Rescue worker should contact [email protected] for details.

Of course the day wouldn’t be complete without a visit from our local Mayor Cllr Simon Cassidy whose sole intention in visiting such events , I’m beginning to believe, is to raid our flask of coffee, though I must say that he, together with Cllr David Braithwaite, did spend a lot of time with the various stallholders including the Liskeard Lions Club and Vintage 72 toys who will be with us again next week at The Ploughman’s Festival....the weather forecast is a good one