Well, I guess the weather had to change this month, and although warm & sunny for much of the time, the much needed rain came at night, filling the Pit and I guess many water butts.

Jubilee Sycamore on Village Green

It's sad to report that the sycamore tree on The Green is very sick, with lots of large bracket fungi growing on its trunk and branches. This tree was planted in 1897 for the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and although to the eye it looks good, the bracket fungi indicate that not all is well. Tree Surgeons have looked at the tree and are going to try to pollard it to stimulate growth, but if it isn’t successful I will donate a new semi mature tree to replace it. This will be an oak and possibly dedicated to King Charles. Villagers might have forgotten, but the original commemorative tree at the southern end of The Green had to come down perhaps twenty years ago, and was itself replaced by the red oak, that is now well established, which celebrates the Partington Family, especially Mary (mother) & Jim her son, who did so much for the village during their lifetime.

Christleton Village Show

Another well supported local event in 2025 was the Annual Village Show, held at the Parish Hall on Saturday 12th July. The event was superbly advertised by lots of colourful scarecrows on the Village Green created by the children of the Primary School. There were a wonderful selection of arts, crafts, flowers, fruit & vegetables and produce on display and the judges must have had a difficult task to choose the winners. Many items are illustrated below, together with some of the prize winners I was able to record. The Show was supported by Mayor elect, Councillor Margaret Parker, who kindly opened the Show and gave out the Prizes. Mrs Parker and her husband Stuart have been enthusiastic supporters of the Show for many years. Congratulations to the Show Committee led by Chairman Lara Jones, who do so much work in the background to make this show happen, and also to the increasing number of competitors who support it. Thanks to the Primary School for their input, which is always so colourful. A large number of villagers and guests attended the event, and the Annex with the teas, coffee and cakes seemed to be always full to capacity. There were some excellent prizes in the Prize Draw, but I don’t have the list of winners to display in this piece.