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The Tin WhistleNotes on the craft of entertaining children.

A compartment of the valise

The Fete

fetes, school fairs, fun days and the strolling performer

3 notes · latest note 17 September 2026

  • A gazebo being weighted down on a wet fete field, grey sky, a performer's case under cover.

    The rain plan for a fun day

    What outdoor performers carry for rain: the gazebo negotiation, the indoor fallback, and what a fun day contract says about weather.

    6 min

  • A clipboard with a booking form and an insurance certificate on a school office desk, a fair poster behind.

    The school-fair booking form

    The paperwork behind the school fair: public liability insurance, the DBS question, the risk assessment and the pitch terms.

    6 min

  • A performer's open suitcase on a fete field, bunting and a tea tent behind, people drifting past.

    What a fete asks of a strolling performer

    Walkabout work at the English fete: the crowd that never sits, the suitcase show, and the space a stroller has to make.

    6 min