Watercress festival 2016

Alresford

narrated by Shu Li

illustrated by Seer Oon Hor

Once there was a little boy who dreamed of going to a festival. He imagined that it would be a fascinating experience and a whole lot of fun! One day, he heard that there was a Watercress festival being held near where he lived. He was truly excited to go and invited his friends along. As his friend drove through the twisting narrow roads, he admired the view of the rolling countryside greens and blossoming fields of flowers. Short bursts of wind swept his hair to one side with a little gap from the car window. His excitement was building up from the journey knowing that there will be a steam engine to take him to the festival. 

It was a lovely cool but sunny day with the sun basking down on his face as he trotted towards the quaint little train station with his friends. He shirked with excitement as he saw the steam train puffing away waiting for him on the tracks. Choo-choo! His face was beaming with joy as they shuffled through the sea of people to step into one of the many carriages of the green train. The train had wooden seats, levered windows and engraved seat numbers with manual dials for heating. As soon as the railway masters all dressed in smart uniform raised their hands and blew the whistle, it started chugging along its tracks towards the town of Alresford where the festival was held.

As the train arrived at the station, the little boy and his friends were shown a crossing on the railway tracks to go to the opposite platform. He followed the signs of Stop, Look and Listen and trod along the path with his friends. The steam train said goodbye by letting off bursts of fluffy white steam into the blue skies. Watercress festival, here we come! 

There were streams of people all over the streets of this small village. He quickly took his camera out and started capturing the sights all around him. He was buzzing with excitement! He has not seen so many happy faces and people of various ages all coming together to have a good time in a long while. There were stalls decked out along the streets selling various items. Intrigued, he went closer and inspected some of the local delights and handicrafts. Creativity was shown in abundance he thought. As they strolled the streets, they paused to see people dancing and singing on the streets all dressed in queer outfits. It was all very festive as they clapped and cheered with the steps the dancers were making. 

Suddenly, something caught the eye of this little boy! Alongside came a whiff of smokiness with it. A hog roast stall! Without hesitation, he took out some money he had in his pocket to buy a hog roast roll! Yummy! The scorching sun was out in full force by now as the crowd started to fill the streets. He and his friends decided to cool down with some local ice cream. It delighted him that they had a cone in the shape of a bear. The ice cream was a produce of a farm not far where he lived and it was very creamy and delicious. After a number of licks they were truly satisfied. It isn't a summer festival without ice cream.

As the festival came to a closure, they made their way back to the train station and this time they took the diesel fuelled train back for a change. As the train started chugging departing the station, the steam train arrived. They exchanged greetings with a loud horn. Everyone in the train looked like they had a great time he thought. Soon, he was back home feeling tired but contentedly happy. This little boy had a great time with his friends at his outing at the Watercress Festival and lots of happy memories to cherish. 

- The End -