Thousands of people thronged to cram the little streets of Milverton on the Early May Bank Holiday Monday for the annual street fair.

They enjoyed the delights of accomplished street entertainment, wonderful food and the most varied of crafts and plants on street stalls the length of Fore Street and beyond, including this year a successful new antiques and collectables area in Jubilee Gardens.

Fuse Performance, generously granted full access to the lawns of The Old House by its owners and thanks to new headline sponsorship from Savills, were able to present a stunning display of aerial acrobatics on their pyramid rig and a workshop for children to have a go. Winged unicorns on stilts and living flower trees added to the most uncanny of living statues adorning a park bench – so static the couple just about fooled everyone.

The fancy hat competition produced inventive concoctions that added to the atmosphere of frivolity and fun amidst Morris dancers, classic Punch & Judy, the Big Noise Street Band, the steel drums of Pandango, the Wiveleles from Wiveliscombe and the entertaining High Park Community Music Project Band, who were wonderful.

The little car park was packed with an array of hard-to-choose-which food, from Thai to sushi, hamburgers, pizza, bangers and paella, with delicious patisseries to finish it all off.

The day was closed with a children’s disco up at the now revitalised and even more enjoyable Milverton Recreation Ground for all the youngsters to run themselves ragged and for the parents to unwind with a drink.

Next year a park-and-ride field for visitors is to be seriously considered, as it was reported cars were even parked all along the bypass.

Julian Dakowski