Martin Clunes picks the events not to be missed at this year’s Buckham Fair and shares some of his favourite memories from previous years
1. Dogs on Parade: We have a Corgi Parade, South of England Golden Retrievers and a Dalmation Parade.
2. Stunt Dogs Display: My Doc Martin co-star Dodger (who is currently learning to skate board!) will be making an appearance. Apparently he and his fellow stunt dogs are working on something rather special for Buckham but muzzles have been firmly clamped shut over what this will be!
3. The Devil’s Horseman: You know those gorgeous black horses galloping along a beach in a certain bank ad? Well this is the team that provide those horses along with so many other film and TV credits and they are coming to Buckham Fair to do a special display– how cool is that!
4. A Record Breaking Sit! We are attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the most dogs sitting at the same time, on the command SIT!
5. Heavy Horse Village: Meet different types of heavy horses, and see the cover star from Dorset Magazine, Bruce and his brother Ronnie.
Our Favourite Buckham Moments
Martin : One year at Buckham there was a girl who had a seizure, I went to see her in the ambulance afterwards and we’ve stayed in touch and I have watched her grow-up. She comes every year and now has an assistance dog and seeks me out – it’s one of the highlights of my day. I really enjoy the Best Trick class – possibly my only chance to sit down and take a breather during the day! In some classes there are 200 dogs for me to meet and greet, I feel I have a duty to meet and say hello to every dog.
Philippa: One year Arthur our Labrador went missing at Buckham finally turning up at the end of the afternoon looking very sheepish. He had apparently spent the day at Temptation Alley – a course laid out with treats for dogs to navigate without snaffling – eating the treats. No one knew he was our dog, which is probably quite a good thing!
Men Behaving Wetly
Last year my chum and former ‘flat mate’ Neil joined us at Buckham to judge ‘Dog Most Like Neil Morrissey’. The heavens opened just as we started to judge and a lot of the dogs’ costumes started to wash off. Nevertheless Neil persevered and came up with a winner. He has kindly agreed to judge the ‘Dog Even More Like Neil Morrissey’ and I’ve promised him it won’t rain!.
Global Buckham!
The Clunatics are a group of avid Doc Martin fans who fly in from the USA, New Zealand, Australia, South America and Hungary every year to come to Buckham as sponsors and volunteer their services in all sorts of areas. They are a lovely bunch of people who have been incredibly generous to Buckham and it’s always a treat to see them!
Thank you Barclays!
Barclays have been involved with Buckham Fair for the last three years through its employee volunteering scheme. Zoe Horne, Barclays Branch Manager at Chard, was spurred on to get involved with Buckham Fair after seeing Martin Clunes being interviewed on Daybreak promoting the event. “After contacting Philippa to see how Barclays’ employees could support the Fair, it’s now an annual event that my colleagues are eager to take part in. It’s about giving back our skills, time and energy to support our local communities –we’re thrilled to have raised over £90,000 for charity and look forward to being at Buckham this year.”
For more information visit www.buckhamfair.co.uk/
