'Hare' we go again - annual arts and crafts fair in Docking

Everything from jewellery to jams at Docking Hare Fair.

"If you can’t sell a hare at a Hare Fair - then when can you?!” Jokes Alirae, who’s just sold one of the mammals made of felt. She tells me she’s been crafting all her life, but really got into felt ornaments when she retired, and thinks this event at St Mary’s is lovely.

"To have a tent in the grave yard is beautiful,” she says, “Anything that gets people into a church and comfortable, and thinking this is our building we should be using this, is just a wonderful thing.”

The annual arts and crafts event is named after the local Hare family (well-known in Docking for hundreds of years) and after the wild hares in the surrounding area.

As we enter St Mary’s the first thing I see are preserves and jams, from Norfolk company Peggy Little. Which all look delicious. Carol started up the business in memory of her mum.

“She, like my grandmother, was always making jams, it’s her on the label,” Carol tells me, “I use about 8 or 10 of my mum’s original recipes. I put my own little thumb print on, the piccalilli I add radish. I’ve also developed lots of other varieties.” I want to buy a jar of everything, but settle on Seville Marmalade.

Walking around there’re handmade bags, pottery, cards, toys - and I spot Gillian Sands from Holt, who’s busy sketching. “I can’t just sit here doing nothing so I’ve got my sketch book out, I like drawing anything to be honest, I was drawing at the age of 4.”

"I'm not really here to make money," she goes on, "It's just a lovely event to support."

Gillian Sands

Ian Enters, a local poet, then takes to the microphone to read one of this poems, and with such a charismatic voice you can’t help but stop and listen. “This is called ‘Startled’,” he begins, “Where to start? A hare leaps live from its form, startled, wide eyes are globes, reflecting escape routes, which end in their beginning….”

Poet Ian Enters

After he tells me he thinks the quality of work here is ‘wonderful’, adding, “This is an arts and crafts fair, and poetry is an art form that tends to be neglected, so I thought it would be lovely to read some.” He talks about local walks with his dog, and seeing hares.

Carol’s husband then takes to the organ to play, and I browse the artwork. I can’t resist a beautiful print of a local boat. It’s then tea and cake, afterwards my one year old plays a few tombola games and we buy a few raffle tickets (fingers crossed).

On the way out, with a few more bags then when I came in, Reverend Peter Cook stops me to say, "You look like you've done well!"  And I have.  Before I'm tempted by anything else it's off home to try the marmalade and put up the picture.