FETE AND GALA

ELTHAM AS A BANK HOLIDAY RESORT

What a weary, toilsome day Bank Holiday may be to the non-inventive mind! What a round of happy delights may be arranged by the exercise of a little enterprise and experimental genius!

The non-inventive mind has the choice of two courses, and whichever it takes it generally registers a vow at the close of the day that next year it will adopt the other one. It may either follow, sheep like, the unheeding thousands, who forgetting the lessons learnt on previous holidays, tire themselves out with long railway journeys and disappoint themselves with popular resorts where after being half-starved all day through the provender running short, are well nigh crushed to death in the scramble for the last train home; or loll lazily about the house all day, the victim of "the miserables" and a nuisance to everybody else around. The soul who dares to go out of the beaten track ma see the hands of the multitude upraised in holy horror that he dares to think and plan for himself, but he generally get the time of it. It is better still when, his plans having been for others rather more than himself, his friends and neighbours fall in with his arrangements and, taking their cue from him, all spend a really splendid day.

THE GAP FILLED.

There was just one part of the Borough of Woolwich in which the more excellent way was followed on Whit Monday, and that was the one parish of the three which is apt to be overlooked rather often when fervid eloquence is describing the glorious things and places which go to the making of the Borough - sylvan, smiling, rapidly growing, yet still tramless and isolated Eltham. Eltham looked around some weeks before the holiday and said it was going to act on its own account in this thing. It could not follow the lead of Woolwich, for the very good reason that Woolwich had set no lead for it to follow. Woolwich was providing nothing in the way of holiday fare, but Eltham would, for once, show the way, and supply Woolwich and any other place in the neighbourhood which liked to send its pleasure seekers with amusement. A committee was accordingly formed and went heartily to work to provide a round of delights to fill the gap which had for years been feltl. The finished result was Monday's entirely successful fete and gala. The gentlemen who had taken the matter in hand in so praiseworthy a fashion were <<snip>>. These are names to be remembered with gratitude by the eight to ten thousand people who enjoyed the fruits of their labours on Monday.

NOT MADRALI'S TROUPE.

When the visitor arrived in the brilliant sunshine at the Eltham Park Estate, where the gala was held, he found that the programme of pleasure was as varied as it was fun provoking.

<<snip>>

Punch pummelled each and all of his friends and enemies with approved impartiality, the "grand organ" of the roundabouts entered into competition with the Eltham Town Band (Bandmaster, Mr. H. Holloway) and the band of the "Arethusa"1 training ship boys, and stormed the air with "Hiawatha" and "A Girl Wanted There", with, to say the last of it, quite satisfying results, if volume was to be taken as the measure of success in the sound producing contest. It was a rollicking, roaring fair.

THE GREAT EVENT.

This is to say nothing of the sports, which were after all the great event of the day. The officials governing these were:- <<snip>> There was a long programme of races and other contests and some exciting finishes were seen. Appended is a list and the various items:-

<<snip>>

[Unfortunately it is not possible to read all of the last column on the page due to the tight binding]

440 yards race, "Arethusa"1 boy[s.] First prize, watch, given by Mr. W. [?] Corp; second prize, watch, given by [Mr.] F. A. Elms; third prize, pocket kn[ife,] given Mr. H. M. Blaxham:- This [was] run off in two heats, Harding, Robin[son] and G. H. Mayersbeth finishing in t[hat] order in the first heat. In the sec[ond] Core, Coleman and T. Mayersbeth w[ere] the winners. Instead of a final being [re]quired, prizes were given to the six.

<<snip>>

The day closed with dancing a[nd a] firework display. The grounds had [been] open for ten hours and everybody [???] voted the fete and gala a complete [suc]cess.

1. The "Arethusa" was a training ship; part of the Shaftesbury Homes. See here.

Source: Kentish Independent 27 May 1904, Page 6