Reflections from the Village Fete

We were very fortunate to have glorious weather for the Balcombe Village Fete. The Sussex sun appeared most appropriately, and bathed the entire event in solar beams – matching the sunny scene on the REPOWERBalcombe beer mats which decked the crowded beer tent.

Our colourful and eye-catching stand invited visitors to find out more about community renewable energy. There were large displays of information and a variety of news hand-outs, showing REPOWERBalcombe’s progress and our media coverage. All visitors were offered complimentary cakes and badges while they perused the range of solar-powered gadgets activated by the sun. Keith’s specially made buzzer games, based on simple electrical circuits tested the hand-eye coordination of children and adults alike.

We all took the opportunity to talk to visitors about the co-operative scheme. Tom was particularly good at explaining all the technical facts and figures and answered every question in his own inspiring way.

Joe staged a ‘bicycle power challenge’ which attracted a range of participants, keen to discover how much energy could be generated by pedal power alone. They also learned what their watts would power, out of a range of household appliances; could they manage the equivalent of a microwave or a torch? It provided a very real insight into the amount of energy we all use in our homes.

To compliment this, Diane had made a chart showing just how much electricity home appliances consume, with practical advice on how to avoid unnecessary costs and reduce energy bills.

Many interested people signed up to our contact list, wanting to be kept informed about the progress of the Co-operative and to learn about being part of the Phase 1 REPOWERBalcombe share offer when it is launched.

Everyone agreed that it was a very successful day. We look forward to engaging the community more in this project in the future.