Rural PasTimes

Euston Park Rural Pastimes Event has now been held every June for 20 years. It began as a fundraising show for our local Blackbourne Churches and St Nicholas' Hospice Care with the kind permission of our President The Duke of Grafton, who allowed the event to be held in the magnificent setting of Euston Park.

Together with John Farrow (the farm manager at that time) and Tim Fogden we set up a volunteer committee, which has continued to run this successful one day Show. We have raised over £370,000 for our causes over the years.

The programme has been broadly similar each year, but with increasing entries the demand for space has required more parking and display areas. A new entrance between the stationary engines and stalls, leads past the traction engines to the new Grafton Ring specifically for tractors.

The main Norfolk Ring has a constant programme of events, displays, demonstations and parades.It is surrounded by band music, a busy tea tent and further stalls. Leading past the Craft Tent, the Suffolk Ring is home to a large display of Heavy Horses. Nearby is the start of the hugely popular Farm Rides. It has also been associated with a magnificent display of flowers in Euston Church.
There are several catering outlets, but the most popular are the excellent lunches served in the Hall kitchen.

We will very much keep to the same format and hope we will continue to attract the numbers, which filled the car park completely last year.

Enquiries: postmaster@eustonruralpastimes.org.uk

Giles Smith (Chair - Rural PasTimes)

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Our thanks to everyone involved in organising the annual Euston Park Rural Pastimes Event and all who pay to attend each year and thus support the Hospice as well as local parishes.

St Nicholas Hospice Care is a local charity that provides specialist care for those with life-threatening illness, and support for their families and friends, throughout West Suffolk and Thetford.

To ensure that care is provided without charge, we need to receive £6,000 each and every day from donations and through fundraising, gifts in wills and from major events such as Rural Pastimes. Our annual running costs (2005/06) were £3,200,000.

We already provide in-patient wards, full day hospice facilities, the St Nicholas Macmillan nursing team and family support including chaplaincy. In 2005/2006 we will open two further in-patient beds and also start a Hospice at Home programme to ensure that services are taken out into the community into patients’ homes. St Nicholas Hospice will then indeed be where you are!

Thank you for supporting your local hospice.

St Nicholas Hospice Care,
Hardwick Lane, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 2QY

Telephone:
General Enquiries: 01284 766133.
Fundraising: 01284 747624

Email: enquiries@stnh.org.uk
website http://www.stnh.org.uk