October 6th 2017
Festival fun and nearly £6k raised!
Last weekend saw the inaugural Moulsfest – a fundraising event for SKRUM and the Goedgedacht Trust, the two African charities supported by the Moulsford South Africa Tour 2018. Congratulations to everyone who helped raise the fabulous sum of £5,700 for these two amazing charities.
Excitement mounted as the event drew near, with marquees, bunting and sound systems being put in place. The throb of engines filled the air as classic cars arrived, driven or delivered in trailers by their proud owners. Cars ranged from a world-speed record holding Triumph to the latest offerings from Ferrari and McLaren. Owners generously allowed children to sit in their cars for photos. Congratulations and many thanks to Lance Robinson for bringing his F5000 race car, which took the honours as the car most popular with those attending.
By Saturday afternoon, the Moulsford pitches had been transformed into a festival arena, with Year 7 & 8 boys in place to run their stalls and entertain festival-goers with traditional crowd-pleasers such as Splat the Rat, a coconut shy, Welly Wanging, Pineapple skittles and many more. The pocket money stalls (especially the sweets…) were a huge hit, and the opportunity to throw a wet sponge at the Headmaster in the stocks proved irresistible for some!
Alongside the stalls, inflatables entertained all ages, including an enormous obstacle course, and a rugby inflatable game provided by SKRUM.
To keep everyone fed and watered, a fabulous barbecue was run by Moulsford staff, with a fantastic array of delicious food. The bar and the Tipsy Trailer enjoyed roaring trade, as did the tea tent, selling superb cakes generously made and donated by Year 7 & 8 parents.
Music filled the air, kicking off with the Year 8 boys reprising songs from their spectacular Lion King production in March. A broad range of musical genres followed, with exciting and varied bands including The Annicka Carter Band, the Studmuffins, and Behind the Bike Sheds, and a dance event for the children led by the Divas and Dudes Dance Academy.
As the event drew to a close, Ben Beardmore-Gray surprised everyone with a guest appearance as lead singer for Behind the Bike Sheds, and a surprisingly decent cover of Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’. Full marks for effort, but don’t give up the day job just yet!
Huge thanks go to all the Moulsfest organisers and parents who pulled together this fantastic event, as well as the Moulsford staff, for providing an afternoon of fun and entertainment for all, in pursuit of a superb fundraising effort for SKRUM and the Goedgedacht Trust. Particular mention must go to Sam Pritchard for masterminding the event so successfully.
Sam has asked us to pass on a huge thank you to Valentine Ward and Kate Miller for their huge contribution throughout the whole process, as well as Petrina Bilton, Jo Baker and Tania Nokes for their help and support. Also to Victoria Parry for managing the bookings (no small task for over 800 tickets), Alan at Vicar’s Game for the delicious meat, Juliana Phelps for providing and running her Tipsy Trailer and Sarah Roberts/John Wilder for their event support and BBQ skills! Finally, to all of the band members, car providers and many, many others who gave up their time and shared their talents to help make this a brilliant event.
