Hundreds descend on Fenland for day of fun at village's summer fayre
The Askham Summer Fayre, in Doddington, welcomed residents, families, staff, and visitors for a day of fun and entertainment.
With more than 40 colourful stalls, the event featured handmade jewellery, natural soaps, sweet treats, and seasonal bakes.
Children enjoyed fairground rides, bouncy castles, and classic games like hook-a-duck, while Doddington Scouts offered soft axe throwing and outdoor activities.
The Askham Summer Fayre buzz from above (Image: Supplied)Ella, an activities co-ordinator at Askham said: "This year felt extra special.
"Seeing our residents out enjoying the stalls, families gathered together, and children laughing on the rides – that's what this is all about.
"There's a real sense of belonging here at Askham and events like this remind us just how strong our community is."
Live entertainment included performances by Laura Dennis and Amanda Scott, known as The Singing Gardener.
Flavour and fun for the whole team (Image: Supplied)Guests also enjoyed food from D-Lish Pizza Co and Get Wrapped, as well as snacks and cakes from the on-site café.
RECOMMENDED READING: Thousands turn out for one of Fenland's biggest events of the year
Residents were able to explore the fayre and enjoy the entertainment with support from staff, who also enjoyed the day with their own families and the wider community.
Mavrick Leveille, associate director at Askham, said: "The Askham Summer Fayre isn't just an event.
Bouncing into summer. (Image: Supplied)"It's a reflection of who we are.
"Our team works tirelessly every day, and seeing them relax, reconnect, and enjoy the day alongside residents and families is incredibly rewarding.
"This kind of togetherness is what keeps us grounded and inspired."
The fayre was organised by events co-ordinators Ella and Kelly, whose careful planning and enthusiasm ensured the day ran smoothly.
Looking ahead, the community is now preparing for its next event, the Christmas Fayre, which will take place on Saturday, November 22, 2025.
Organisers have promised another day filled with festive fun and community spirit.
Further updates will be shared through the Askham Village Community Facebook page and website.
Have you got a story you want to share with us? Get in touch at: oliver.murphy@newsquest.co.uk
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNN
6 minutes ago
- CNN
Lady Gaga leads 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations
Media Music People in entertainment Lady GagaFacebookTweetLink Follow The nominations for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, known as the VMAs, were announced Tuesday, and it's a crowded playing field. Lady Gaga leads this year's nominees with 12, including nominations in the video of the year, artist of the year and best album categories. She is followed by Bruno Mars with 11; Kendrick Lamar with 10; and ROSÉ and Sabrina Carpenter, tied with eight each. It marks the third time the 'Abracadabra' singer and 'House of Gucci' actress has led VMA nominations, having previously done it in 2010 with 13 nods and in 2020 when she tied with nine. This year, Ariana Grande and The Weeknd have seven nominations each; Billie Eilish has six; Charli XCX scored five nods and Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Tate McRae tied with four each. Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, who are both nominated for artist of the year, are once again vying for the title of the most VMA wins ever. The show has also added the best country and best pop artist categories. Here are some of this year's nominations: VIDEO OF THE YEAR Ariana Grande - 'brighter days ahead' - Republic Records Billie Eilish - 'BIRDS OF A FEATHER' - Darkroom/Interscope Records Kendrick Lamar - 'Not Like Us' - pgLang/Interscope Records Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - 'Die With A Smile' - Interscope Records ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - 'APT.' - Atlantic Records Sabrina Carpenter - 'Manchild' - Island The Weeknd, Playboi Carti - 'Timeless' - XO/Republic Records ARTIST OF THE YEAR Bad Bunny - Rimas Entertainment Beyoncé - Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records Kendrick Lamar - pgLang/Interscope Records Lady Gaga - Interscope Records Morgan Wallen - Big Loud Records/Mercury Records Taylor Swift - Republic Records The Weeknd - XO/Republic Records SONG OF THE YEAR Alex Warren - 'Ordinary' - Atlantic Records Billie Eilish - 'BIRDS OF A FEATHER' - Darkroom/Interscope Records Doechii - 'Anxiety' - Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records Ed Sheeran - 'Sapphire' - Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records Gracie Abrams - 'I Love You, I'm Sorry' - Interscope Records Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - 'Die With A Smile' - Interscope Records Lorde - 'What Was That' - Republic Records ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - 'APT.' - Atlantic Records Tate McRae - 'Sports Car' - RCA Records The Weeknd, Playboi Carti - 'Timeless' - XO/Republic Records BEST NEW ARTIST Alex Warren - Atlantic Records Ella Langley - SAWGOD/Columbia Records Gigi Perez - Island Lola Young - Island sombr - SMB Music/Warner Records The Marías - Nice Life/Atlantic Records BEST POP ARTIST Ariana Grande - Republic Records Charli xcx - Atlantic Records Justin Bieber - Def Jam Recordings Lorde - Republic Records Miley Cyrus - Columbia Records Sabrina Carpenter - Island Tate McRae - RCA Records BEST ALBUM Bad Bunny - DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS - Rimas Entertainment Kendrick Lamar - GNX - pgLang/Interscope Records Lady Gaga - Mayhem - Interscope Records Morgan Wallen - I'm The Problem - Big Loud Records/Mercury Records Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet - Island The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow - XO/Republic Records BEST COLLABORATION, presented by Under Armour Bailey Zimmerman with Luke Combs - 'Backup Plan (Stagecoach Official Music Video)' - Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville Kendrick Lamar & SZA - 'luther' - pgLang/Interscope Records Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - 'Die With A Smile' - Interscope Records Post Malone ft. Blake Shelton - 'Pour Me A Drink' - Mercury Records ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - 'APT.' - Atlantic Records Selena Gomez, benny blanco - 'Sunset Blvd' - SMG Music/Friends Keep Secrets/Interscope Records BEST POP Alex Warren - 'Ordinary' - Atlantic Records Ariana Grande - 'brighter days ahead' - Republic Record Ed Sheeran - 'Sapphire' - Gingerbread Man Records/Atlantic Records Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars - 'Die With A Smile' - Interscope Records ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - 'APT.' - Atlantic Records Sabrina Carpenter - 'Manchild' - Island BEST HIP-HOP Doechii - 'Anxiety' - Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records Drake - 'NOKIA' - OVO/Santa Anna/Republic Eminem ft. Jelly Roll - 'Somebody Save Me' - Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records GloRilla ft. Sexyy Red - 'WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME' - CMG/Interscope Records Kendrick Lamar - 'Not Like Us' - pgLang/Interscope Records LL COOL J ft. Eminem - 'Murdergram Deux' - Def Jam Recordings Travis Scott - '4X4' - Cactus Jack/Epic Records BEST R&B Chris Brown - 'Residuals' - Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA Records Leon Thomas & Freddie Gibbs - 'MUTT (REMIX)' - EZMNY Records/Motown Records Mariah Carey - 'Type Dangerous' - gamma. PARTYNEXTDOOR - 'N o C h i l l' - OVO Sound Summer Walker - 'Heart Of A Woman' - LVRN/Interscope Records SZA - 'Drive' - Top Dawg Entertainment/RCA Records The Weeknd, Playboi Carti - 'Timeless' - XO/Republic Records Fan voting is now open for 19 gender-neutral categories by visiting through September 5. The VMAs will air live from UBS Arena on Sunday, September 7th at 8PM ET/5PM PT on CBS, and will stream on Paramount+.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A former Rolling Stone says the Met has his stolen guitar. The museum disputes it
LONDON (AP) — It's only rock 'n' roll, but it's messy. A guitar once played by two members of the Rolling Stones is at the center of a dispute between the band's former guitarist Mick Taylor and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The 1959 Gibson Les Paul was donated to the Met as part of what the New York museum calls 'a landmark gift of more than 500 of the finest guitars from the golden age of American guitar making.' The donor is Dirk Ziff, a billionaire investor and guitar collector. When the Met announced the gift in May, Taylor thought he recognized the guitar, with its distinctive 'starburst' finish, as an instrument he last saw in 1971, when the Stones were recording the album 'Exile on Main St.' at Keith Richards' rented villa in the south of France. In the haze of drugs and rock 'n' roll that pervaded the sessions, a number of instruments went missing, believed stolen. Now, Taylor and his team believe it has reappeared. The Met says provenance records show no evidence the guitar ever belonged to Taylor. 'This guitar has a long and well-documented history of ownership,' museum spokesperson Ann Ballis said. Taylor's partner and business manager, Marlies Damming, said the Met should make the guitar 'available for inspection.' 'An independent guitar expert should be able to ascertain the guitar's provenance one way or the other,' she said in a statement to The Associated Press. While its ownership is contested, there's no disputing the instrument's starring role in rock history. It was owned in the early 1960s by Keith Richards, who played it during the Rolling Stones' first appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' in 1964. The Met says that performance 'ignited interest in this legendary model.' The guitar – nicknamed the 'Keithburst' – was also played by guitar legends Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Taylor says he got it from Richards in 1967, two years before he joined the Stones, replacing original member Brian Jones. Jones died in 1969. Taylor left the band in 1974, reuniting with them for the Stones' 50th anniversary tour in 2012-2013. Jeff Allen, who was Taylor's manager and publicist for decades from the 1990s, said Taylor 'told me he got it as a present from Keith,' and also mentioned the theft. 'Mick did tell me that the guitar solo that he became quite famous for, on 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking,' was with the Les Paul that got stolen,' Allen said. The Met's records say the Les Paul was owned by Richards until 1971, when it was acquired by record producer and manager Adrian Miller, who died in 2006. The guitar has changed hands several times since then, and reappeared twice in public. It was put up for auction by Christie's in 2004, when it failed to sell. Ziff bought it in 2016, and loaned it to the Met in 2019 for an exhibition titled 'Play it Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll.' It's unclear what will happen next. The Met, which plans to open a new gallery dedicated to its collection of American guitars, says it has not been contacted by Taylor or his representatives. ___ Associated Press writer Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this story. Jill Lawless, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio

Associated Press
37 minutes ago
- Associated Press
A former Rolling Stone says the Met has his stolen guitar. The museum disputes it
LONDON (AP) — It's only rock 'n' roll, but it's messy. A guitar once played by two members of the Rolling Stones is at the center of a dispute between the band's former guitarist Mick Taylor and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The 1959 Gibson Les Paul was donated to the Met as part of what the New York museum calls 'a landmark gift of more than 500 of the finest guitars from the golden age of American guitar making.' The donor is Dirk Ziff, a billionaire investor and guitar collector. When the Met announced the gift in May, Taylor thought he recognized the guitar, with its distinctive 'starburst' finish, as an instrument he last saw in 1971, when the Stones were recording the album 'Exile on Main St.' at Keith Richards' rented villa in the south of France. In the haze of drugs and rock 'n' roll that pervaded the sessions, a number of instruments went missing, believed stolen. Now, Taylor and his team believe it has reappeared. The Met says provenance records show no evidence the guitar ever belonged to Taylor. 'This guitar has a long and well-documented history of ownership,' museum spokesperson Ann Ballis said. Taylor's partner and business manager, Marlies Damming, said the Met should make the guitar 'available for inspection.' 'An independent guitar expert should be able to ascertain the guitar's provenance one way or the other,' she said in a statement to The Associated Press. While its ownership is contested, there's no disputing the instrument's starring role in rock history. It was owned in the early 1960s by Keith Richards, who played it during the Rolling Stones' first appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' in 1964. The Met says that performance 'ignited interest in this legendary model.' The guitar – nicknamed the 'Keithburst' – was also played by guitar legends Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Taylor says he got it from Richards in 1967, two years before he joined the Stones, replacing original member Brian Jones. Jones died in 1969. Taylor left the band in 1974, reuniting with them for the Stones' 50th anniversary tour in 2012-2013. Jeff Allen, who was Taylor's manager and publicist for decades from the 1990s, said Taylor 'told me he got it as a present from Keith,' and also mentioned the theft. 'Mick did tell me that the guitar solo that he became quite famous for, on 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking,' was with the Les Paul that got stolen,' Allen said. The Met's records say the Les Paul was owned by Richards until 1971, when it was acquired by record producer and manager Adrian Miller, who died in 2006. The guitar has changed hands several times since then, and reappeared twice in public. It was put up for auction by Christie's in 2004, when it failed to sell. Ziff bought it in 2016, and loaned it to the Met in 2019 for an exhibition titled 'Play it Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll.' It's unclear what will happen next. The Met, which plans to open a new gallery dedicated to its collection of American guitars, says it has not been contacted by Taylor or his representatives. ___ Associated Press writer Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this story.