Winter Droving 2024

Penrith, Cumbria. Saturday 27th-October -2024.

Our eighth winter driving and the first time as a participant rather than a spectator. This year we helped organise and staff a stall for Friends of Carlisle Victorian and Turkish Baths. We were allocated a good pitch next to the Melodrome in King Street where they hold the Drovers Cup competition. We were figured that it would attract a good footfall and we were not wrong.

We were there early to set up the stall using our old garden gazebo which we donated to the Friends as we no longer have need for it. There was a last-minute panic because Eden Arts only informed us at the start of the week that we had to have at least 25 kg per leg in case hurricane Betsy swept through Penrith and whisked the gazebo away. This meant an emergency purchase of extra weights and bags of cement to meet their exacting requirements. What a pain!

We had two tables at the front of the stall: one for our merchandising and one for the tombola prizes. We actually had nearly 200 prizes generously donated by all manner of people, so many that we could only put a fraction of them on display. 

I had not realised how much organisation is required for a tombola with that many prizes. Other volunteers had created a list of all the winning numbers and corresponding prizes with the non-display prizes in boxes labelled e.g. Blue 50 to 200, so when somebody won a prize not on display we knew what it was and which box to look in. 

The Winter Droving programme was remarkably similar to previous years. A number of stages for the bands, a variety of food stalls around the Musgrave monument, aka clock tower, with craft stalls along the streets radiating out from Cornmarket.

A number of fellow volunteers took it in turns to staff the stall so Mary and I were able to have a lunch break and wander around the town.

Most of the day was pretty frenetic. Although we sold a number of tea towels and other merchandise, the main attraction was the tombola. At times we had people queueing up to buy three tickets for a pound. Any ticket ending with a 0 or a 5 won a prize so the odds were reasonable and almost everyone walked away with something. Occasionally some unlucky soul drew a run of dud tickets but they were the exception.

It was my first experience of using the SumUp app which we used to record all our sales and tombola takings. Fortunately almost everyone wanted to pay cash as we were unable to connect our phones to the card reader widget.

By the time it was time for the big parade we were almost completely sold out of prizes so called it a day, especially as it had started drizzling. We retired to Fell Bar for a quick drink and to watch the parade from the comfort of our window seat.

It was the usual parade of giant animals, marching bands of drummers and general merriment.

Once the parade had passed, it was time to break down the gazebo. The marshals were particularly strict and would not let us drive up the empty street even though the stated end time had passed. They maintained that since there was a band playing in the bandstand that Droving was still an active event even though we did not need to pass that way to get to our stall and back out again. 

Instead, we ferried all our equipment back to the car in the pouring rain. By the time we had finished my trainers were sodden so we squelched our way home for a supper of pizza and red wine.

At the end of the day when we came to reckon up it turned out to be our most successful fund raising event ever! The money will go towards paying for a detailed business plan which will then give us the evidence we need to apply for lottery funding and grants from English Heritage and other grant givers.

In summary: We had a hugely successful day at Penrith Winter Droving. The weather was kind to us for most of the day so Droving was busier than previous years. We talked to large numbers of people, some of whom knew about the baths, some had used them and bemoaned their loss, and many who did not know they existed. All were pleased to hear about our plans and we got several offers of support. 

Same time next year!