The sun came out for the second Martinborough Fair. So much so I couldn’t help myself and had to buy myself a new hat from one of the 400+ stalls.  It’s a pretty natty hat and will be way too good for wearing around Domestic Executive HQ.  This will be a going out hat.

I ummed and arred about whether to buy this egg box for keeping my eggs in but decided against it in the end.  It wouldn’t be big enough and I’m not keen on any more clutter on the kitchen bench.  But I could always reconsider and go back and get one next year.

After yesterday’s global e-shopping, the Martinborough Fair is the ultimate in buy kiwi.  It’s mainly crafts and local products on sale and makes for a wonderfully colourful shopping experience.  I took my camera along for company and snapped, snappety snapped as I wandered around.

Let’s set the scene.

There were thousands of people flocking to Martinborough which sits on a flat valley on the other side of the Rimutaka Hill.  I love going there as you’re surrounded by hills yet you can see for miles the farms, vineyards and rural life at it’s best.  When all these people go home, Martinborough is just a small village/town.  It’s laid out on a grid system so easy to find your way around.  I’d recommend cycling is the best – it’s lovely and flat!

The thing I love about these sort of fairs is the incredible creativity and talent of people.  The really entrepreneurial spirit in people to take a skill and turn it into something that others might enjoy.

Take these cakes.

Which are in fact not cakes but soap.  Not only are they function but look much more interesting than your average bar of soap.  Here’s some more. They almost look good enough to eat.

Having started to snap at the goods on sale I became very aware of the colours and shapes of what was on sale.  There are simply too many pictures to post today so I’ll concentrate on sharing the most unusual things I saw.

You can own your own seagull skeleton if you so desire.

Or a shark that will jump out at you from the wall

Or some vegetable people to keep you company.

Or maybe a brass geese weathervane

Or an old cricket book – someone nearly bought that!

For something a bit more cosy, here’s some minature alpacas

Cute but not so cuddly.  Metal pets.

And keeping with the pet theme, some pet chickens

And finally to complete the feathered look we were serenaded by some indians.

There is plenty to see and do at the fair and it’s a great way to pass the time away.  Tomorrow I’ll post my photo-study of all the colour of the fair so do pop back and enjoy the fun!