| British Appalachian Fair in Rugby, TN | |
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What a sweet little place, natural and uncommercial. The gentleman who guided me into the parking space, opened my car door for me, and then gave me directions for returning home via Oak Ridge. Admission was $6.00, and worth every penny. |
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The fair is spread out along about 1/2 mile of the road. You cannot call it a highway, although it has its own number. From the little country store to the Hughes house (Thomas Hughes named the town after his school in England, Rugby) to the little Red Schoolhouse, you walked at a leisurely pace through the craft booths and the historic houses offering tours. The crafts were wonderful: whittled goods, pottery, beautiful woven baskets, honey products accompanied by a display of busy bees, with the queen marked with a white dot so you could identify her. Fragrant wreaths made of Kentucky dried herbs, hand-made lye soap, carved wood, and ribboned pillows. All so tempting and reasonably priced. At 11:45, the music began, under the huge white tent set up behind the Hughes house. The first performers were a man and woman. She played auto-harp and he played guitar and fiddle. Her voice was a beautiful sweet soprano and provided a wonderful counterpoint to his deeper , less textured voice. I knew all the folk songs and ballads they sang, and they were beautiful.
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Along the "highway" I had seen a bagpiper, in full Scottish garb (kilt and cute legs) playing the bagpipes, to pipe people into the fair. That sound remained as a backdrop for the performers on the stage. The tent smelled fragrant with the hay bales that bordered the stage. |
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At 12:15, the Nashville Weather Celtic Band came on stage, with an easy informal manner and some great songs. Funny, energetically played. Jigs and reels and comic drinking songs. They were great. There was continuous music from 11:45 till closing at 5:00. Between sets I walked to a nearby booth and bought my first funnel cake, genuine Pennsylvania Dutch treat. Deep fat fried tear drops of dough, liberally sprinkled with confectionary sugar, AND cinnamon sugar. Delicious!! And best eaten fresh from the fryer. As I walked back to my car, laden with bags and with Celtic music dancing in my brain, I glimpsed a large lily pond to my left. Intrigued, I walked down to the lake's edge and snapped a picture. Many of the lilies were beginning to bloom. In another few days the lake will be a sheet of glorious flowers. Monet would have felt very comfortable nearby. |