The Runaway Fair was in town today. There were not quite so many attractions as usual, but that could because some of them have been enticed away to the big money of the Mop Fair in Stratford-upon-Avon – a fair like our Michaelmas Fair where people traditionally found employment.

In days gone by people got their annual pay after harvest and went to find their next year’s employment at the Michaelmas Fair. The Runaway Fair, a week or two after, was the chance to escape a bad employment and find something better. Stratford has a traditional Runaway Mop in a week or two.

Stratford is similar to Abingdon in being a riverside town with traffic problems. Like Abingdon, they have had discussions about finding somewhere else, other than the town centre, for the annual fairs. Their District Council even put it to the vote in 2004, and 68% of those responding said it should remain at its current location.