IT was a day of double celebration in Derry Hill at the weekend as hundreds of villagers slapped on their sun cream to enjoy their annual summer fair and the opening of the village hall’s new meeting room.

The colourfully decorated flags of the fair’s parade greeted villagers upon their arrival on Saturday where the usual fun and games awaited them.

Tom Metcalfe, who is part of the fete committee, said: “We have a parade and in previous years the groups decorated wheelbarrows but this year we had flags in a heraldic theme and it went really well.

“At the end of the day we also had a tug of war between the two pubs in the village and the Black Dog Inn came away triumphant with a 3-0 victory. It was a really good climax to the end of the day and both pubs have signed up to do it next year.

“I think our takings are up on last year and that reflects the crowds on the day. We’ll now go back and divvy the money up for all our community groups.”

As well as judging the flags for the parade, Lady Lansdowne officially opened the extension to the Lansdowne Hall, which was funded through grants from the Landfill Communities Fund, Viridor Credits Environment Company and Hills Group, administered through Community First.

Calne Area Board, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Bernard Sunley Foundation and Calne Without Parish Council also provided financial support.

The extension to the meeting room, which is now up and running, was decided by the trustees and the management committee following a decline in hiring.