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‘No. To have it here, at the nursery – you’ve all those acres with not much happening.’ Jaz pointed out of the window.
‘Here?’ Holly asked.
Jaz nodded. ‘Yeah, on the high ground and you could do egg rolling or something down the hill.’
‘Egg rolling? It’s not Easter,’ Holly said.
‘Or cheese rolling,’ Julian said, then popped a piece into his mouth.
Mitch turned to Holly. ‘Well it is feasible. You’ve certainly got enough flat land up here for the stalls. And if we do it the same day as the farmers’ market, it could be great publicity. If we could convince one of the cider farmers to come over, they often put up their own marquee.’
‘Is it one thing too many? What with the nursery, the hub, the market?’ Holly bit her lip.
Jaz clapped her hands. ‘No, they all go together. It’s a great idea. You could show some of your work, too. Put up the hub drawings.’
‘I’ve only got one painting so far.’
‘You’ve got the competition painting,’ Mitch said.
‘I guess I could invite the Mayor to open the fair. That way she’ll get to see the plans and hopefully support the Arts Council application.’
Mitch finished his mouthful. ‘And invite the rest of the councillors. You need as many on side as possible.’
Holly could feel the excitement welling up inside.
Jaz clapped her hands together, sending her sandwich flying across the table. ‘It’s a yes then. Yay!’ She slapped a high five with Julian, then retrieved the bread and cheese, putting her sandwich back together.
‘When’s the farmers’ market then?’ Julian asked.
Mitch smiled. ‘Two weeks Saturday.’
Julian buttered another slice of bread. ‘I can put a notice up in the pub and get word out.’
Jaz touched Holly’s hand. ‘We’ll co-ordinate all the stall requests from the pub, and borrow tables from the Village Hall. You’ve enough to do here. The deadline will work well, people won’t have time to think about it – they’ll just say yes.’
‘Might be tricky getting a cider farmer in,’ Mitch said.
‘Leave that with me. Worst case scenario, we’ll hire a marquee ourselves, and I’ll place an order from my usual brewery,’ Julian said.
Holly’s mind was spinning.Is this possible?she thought.
‘Show them what you’ve been painting.’ Mitch pointed to the mini-studio.
‘You can’t all fit in there, I’ll bring it out.’ Holly went to retrieve her painting, resting it against the door. There were gasps and compliments. ‘It’s all very well me painting. I guess I could do three more over the next couple of weeks, but I’ve nowhere to keep them. The sheds aren’t dry enough and the old barn has a few leaks.’
Mitch put his hand up. ‘Bring them to my place – I’m having a clear out anyway, now that Sid’s gone.’
Holly saw the sadness return to Mitch’s eyes.‘If you’re sure? Although it still needs to fully dry before I can move it. I’ll pop it by tomorrow.’
They finished the bread, ham and cheese and chatted some more about memories of the annual fairs of their childhood.
Mitch stood up. ‘I’d better get Trixy. I have a few jobs this afternoon. Where is she?’ Mitch looked around the space for her.
Holly stood up and went into the bedroom, Trixy was on the bed asleep.
Mitch appeared behind her. ‘I see. This is why she won’t sleep at mine anymore.’
‘Trixy, time to go home.’ Holly watched as the little dog woke up and bounded across the bed, jumping into her arms and licking Holly’s face before burying her fluffy head under her chin.
