THIS years St Peters Fair week has been hailed a resounding success despite the wet weather at the end of the week.

A large crowd gathered for the unique Pretty Maid ceremony on Fair Day (Wednesday,July 8) and the Memorial Hall was packed the previous evening for the highly entertaining meeting of the Court Leet.

The weeks programme also included competitions, a car boot sale, a party in the square, teddy bears picnic, the civic service, junior town crier competition, furry dance and treasure hunt.

There was also free live music in the square in the evenings which concluded with the The Blues Brothers Unofficial tribute band on Saturday night.

St Peters Fair Committee member Jon Hutchings said:The week was excellent considering the weather. We had some good bands, it was a very good week.

He added:The weather let us down as always at the end of the week but we had a brilliant turn out of people onSaturday night who braved the wet weather.

Jon said the highlight of the week was the St Peters Fair luncheon which went very well.

As is the custom during St Peters Fair week, both churches in Holsworthy mounted exhibitions showing the rich variety of skills and interests of church members and friends, both in the present and in the past.

At the parish church in an Exhibition of Talents, among the displays of lacework, embroidery, quilting, patchwork, woollen toys and ceramics was a christening robe made in 1896 and worn by six generations of one family.

There was a fine display of photos, watercolours and oil paintings and two small stools, one made by Father Reynolds when he was 10, the other by the organist, Denzil Blackman when he was 12. In the tower Ralph Chapman was on hand to share his enthusiasm for bell-ringing.

At Bodmin Street Methodist Church people were invited to Come, Look and See. In the chapel itself there was an exhibition of mostly coloured photos by members of the Holsworthy Phoenix Camera Club and of items made by the Worthy Quilters, some destined for orphanages in Zambia and some dresses for Operation Sunshine in Zimbabwe.

In the Blue Room the emphasis was on taking exercise with photographs of the local custom, which takes place every seven years, of Beating the Bounds, of Jill and Charles Cornishs 630 mile southwest coastal footpath walks and a display by the Holsworthy Walk and Talk group. In the schoolroom were photographs by Rosie Beat of groups visiting the mill at Bridgerule and a Joseph and his Dreams tableau by members of the Sunday School.

The museum ran a display of black and white photos of Holsworthy in bygone days, challenging visitors to recognise where they were taken. There was also a continuous showing of film of events in the town from the 1930s and a slide show of photos of the Pretty Maid ceremony taken on this years St Peters Day.

Fair week ended on Sunday with a pets service at the parish church in the afternoon and a Songs of Praise at the Methodist Church in the evening.

Mayor of Holsworthy, Cllr ElizabethSquire felt the week went extremely well and was a resounding success.