11,000 at Welsh fair
11,000 at Welsh fair
RECORD numbers of people attended the Welsh Winter Fair in Builth Wells on Tuesday (Dec 4) despite there being no cattle, sheep and pigs.
Trade stand income and sponsorship had almost covered staging costs before the gates opened to more than 11,000 visitors, smashing the previous record of 9507 in 1995. Organisers now say serious consideration must be given to making the fair a two-day event.
Opening the fair, the Prince of Wales praised the "countless unsung heroes and heroines" who had helped during foot-and-mouth.
Welsh rural affairs minister Carwyn Jones presented Annette Spratt with the NFU/NatWest Bank Welsh Woman Farmer of the Year award. A plumbers daughter with no farming experience, she now runs a Carmarthenshire dairy farm single-handed so husband Tim can earn off-farm money to stay in business. *