THERE was all the fun of the medieval fair in Kendal on Bank Holiday Monday as thousands of visitors flooded in to the 14th annual market.

A record number of stalls attracted plenty of families, and many of the stallholders had entered into the spirit of the event by donning costumes with a distinctly medieval flavour.

The new Mayor of Kendal, Coun Tony Rothwell, opened proceedings by welcoming people and encouraging everyone to spend plenty of money.

"It's a better day than last year, there are more stalls and more people here," he told the crowds.

Coun Rothwell spent the morning looking around the market and said he was pleased that the weather had been dry.

MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Collins was also on hand, and found himself drawn into the fun when Dickie Doodle, King Richard's drunk messenger, arrived with the town's market charter. The medieval character soon found himself stuck in the stocks, as did many people throughout the day.

The strolling entertainers and performers proved as popular with the visitors as the 80-plus stalls.

Also proving to be a big draw was the team from High Bentham's Corio Raptor Centre.

Children were thrilled to be able to stroke a beautiful barn owl, while an enormous eagle owl, a tawny owl, a kestrel and a turkey vulture called George looked on.

Angie Henderson from the centre said they were delighted to be able to set up stall in the Westmorland Shopping Centre because it was an opportunity to raise much-needed funds and to educate people about birds of prey.

The centre aimed to rehabilitate birds and release them back into the wild, although some of the birds, like those on display, which had been raised in captivity had been "imprinted" and believed they were people. These birds would not be able to fend for themselves in the wild, she said.

"These are the birds that go round to schools in our education programme, so hopefully it will stop people buying them in the first place."

The centre was very busy with tawny owl chicks which well-meaning people had brought in, she said. The chicks should be left alone, unless they were in danger in the middle of a road in which case they could be moved to safety. It was usual for them to be found in various places, and they had not been abandoned, she added.

The Birdcage on Finkle Street was busy with an entertainer who had brought along some very popular dancing sheep, while volunteers trying to buy Kendal's Castle Street Centre and put it to community use were selling raffle tickets for a wide range of prizes.

May 29, 2003 14:00