"ORGANISATIONAL difficulties" have been blamed for the collapse of this year's Kelbrook Country Fair, now officially cancelled.

The Kelbrook Young Farmers Club show, which next year celebrates its 50th anniversary, will go ahead as planned on Saturday September 5.

But the country fair side of the event, which has run alongside the YFC show for the past three years, will not take place this year.

Although the two events run in tandem, they are organised separately and the country fair committee this week issued the following official statement:

"Due to organisational difficulties, the Kelbrook Country Fair Committee felt that they would be unable this year to do justice to the standard of previous shows, and have reluctantly decided not to hold a country fair this year.

"However, the Kelbrook Young Farmers' agricultural show will take place as usual and we wish them a successful event. Next year sees the 50th anniversary of the Kelbrook YFC show and a bigger and better country fair is envisaged to coincide with this.

"The committee wish to thank all those who have given their time and support to the fair in previous years, and hope that this will be continued in the future."

Ann Thompson, Kelbrook and Sough Parish Council's representative on the country fair committee, broke the news to fellow members when the parish council met this week.

Most already knew of the collapse, with rumours of "stormy" meetings and "rifts" in the committee running rife in Kelbrook.

Coun Thompson added: "I think people just became complacent about it and assumed it would happen. There's not been the heart in it right from the start this time."

Coun Stuart Duncan commented: "As with anything else in Kelbrook, apathy reigns.

"I think it's a great shame that it's happened, but we've now got to look ahead.

"We've got to make sure that, come next year, we recruit enough people to organise the event."

Members hinted at some of the 'organisational difficulties", linked to splits in other village organisations and, in some cases, personal grievances.

Coun Shirley Oldfield didn't pull her punches, commenting: "Really it's all petty childishness, that's all it amounts to."

She said the parish council should attend in full at the first meeting for next year's event and be prepared to get actively involved in organising it.

"They need to start in good time and everybody needs to work together," she said.

* The country fair was designed to build on the annual YFC show, which has been attracting good crowds for almost half a century.

This year, as well as judging in the animal classes on Church Meadow, entries in the domestic classes will again be on display in the Parish Hall.

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