23rd May: Fawley Emergency Services Day

It was St Denys Carnival Day and I would have liked to be at home for that.  However hot weather suggested that Lepe Country Park would be busy and we were struggling to staff the NCI Stone Point Station.  I put up some bunting on the house as a contribution but then left for Lepe.

On the way I called in at Gang Warily for the annual Emergency Services Day.  Given the heat wave with May temperature records being broken each day I was genuinely worried about the mascots in their costumes.  However if you were going to get heat stroke there were enough ambulance people there to help you!  There were various vintage Fire engines, a couple of American “black and whites”, and some Police cars from another age.  I can remember Morris Minor Police Cars, a friendlier look compared to those on our streets today.

NCI had a much expanded stand with both the normal gazebo and a smaller one for the Tombola.  I was a bit put out by the number of watchkeepers there to staff the stands, I counted 6 and probably different ones in the afternoon.  In contrast I was doing 4 watches over a 3 day period to ensure NCI Stone Point was fully staffed over the very hot Bank Holiday.  I can’t help feeling the “Events” initiative has grown larger than it need be.