Barking, Bats and Balls
The Bedales Mem Pitch transformed into a hub of summer activity on Friday 10 May for the ‘Barking, Bats and Balls’ community event organised by the Friends of Bedales Prep and Pre-prep (FoBPs) in support of the School’s John Badley Foundation (JBF). The summer fete-style set up was complete with a variety of stalls, exciting dog show competitions and a thrilling Staff v Parents cricket match.
The warm afternoon sunshine made for perfect cricketing conditions, and as the highly anticipated match got under way, members of the Bedales community enjoyed roaming the fete stalls with their four-legged friends. Visitors had the option to purchase delicious treats and refreshments, pick out outfits for their pooches at the Dogs Trust stall and could even have their dog’s portrait sketched.
The dog show kicked off at 4.30pm and featured six different classes for dogs and their owners to enter, with categories ranging from ‘dog most like its owner’ and ‘best fancy dress’ to ‘waggiest tail’ and ‘best rescue/ rehomed dog’. The dogs in the top three podium spots for each class received colourful Dogs Trust rosettes before parading around the arena for a victory lap.
The Bedales Catering team put on a wonderful ‘match tea’, serving fresh burgers and sausages from the barbecue for attendees to enjoy whilst spectating the close battle between the Parents and Staff sides on the cricket pitch. The parents posted an impressive total of 97 for 8 but technical bowls and skilled batting opportunities ultimately saw the game end in a well-deserved one-wicket victory to the Staff.
Thank you to the Friends of Bedales Prep and Pre-prep for organising, and to everybody who joined, making the event a huge success. The afternoon raised a fantastic amount for the John Badley Foundation, which funds full bursaries for children from difficult home situations in the UK and abroad so that they can attend Bedales Prep and Senior schools. Find out more about the JBF here.
View a gallery of photos from the day here.