We all have memories of the Fair coming to town, but few of us know the origins of Fairs and Mops ,so at the first meeting in 2016 of Cookhill WI, our speaker Mr Downie told us why and how Fairs were created. The oldest Fairs date back to the 13th Century and were granted by Royal Charter to operate and many of these Fairs continue even today. There are Fairs throughout the year. The months of July and August being the quietest months when folk were too busy with harvest to go to the fair, whereas all the other months very busy. Fairs were often linked to religious traditions and festivals and many sited close to a church. Mops were the old version of a Labour Exchange; workers would attend the Mop displaying on their clothing a symbol of their trade and hopefully seek an employer. Employment secured a worker could then enjoy all the fun of the fair. In the past Fairs were attended by hundreds of people, Fairday was often the only other day off work for workers besides Christmas day. The fairground personnel are a close knit community, moving from place to place having to erect a fair one day, and take it down the next to move onto the next town. Fairs were closely connected to the rural population and then as the industrial revolution happened; factory workers too were able to enjoy the Fairs as they moved into more urban areas.Mr Downie was thanked for his interesting talk.

Members were then taken through the items of business and events coming up in the next couple of months. We will be celebrating our 93rd birthday in February, members invited to a birthday meal at a local restaurant.

The WI meets the second Wednesday of each month 7.30pm at Cookhill Village Hall. We were delighted to welcome a new member this month and we offer a warm welcome to anyone who would like to join us. Come and take a look.