The Martinborough Fair first appeared in Martinborough in 1977 and looked set to celebrate its 45 birthday this year. It is a Martinborough icon that attracts thousands of visitors to the town each year and delivers cash to support to a great many South Wairarapa organisations through its success.
Setting up and running the Martinborough Fair is a big job that involves the input and goodwill of many local individuals and groups. Rules and regulations must be adhered to which is not an insignificant task. It is exactly rules and regulations around the Covid Pandemic that sadly, forced them to consider moving this Martinborough icon event to another venue this year.
But what if they had decided to ignore the rules and run the Martinborough Fair ‘protest style’?
First, people would start arriving a week before and parking around the square to get the best spots. As there are no parking limitations in Martinborough it would be difficult to get them to move and as more arrived they would park in the play area, by the Fire Station, under the trees and in any spare driveway they could find. They would shift into the Waihenga Centre to use the loos and showers. The local police would then talk to them nicely to ask that they please go home and the mayor would write them a letter.
Meanwhile, stall holders would set themselves up where ever they pleased and abuse anyone who asked for access to go about their daily business. As there was no Health and Safety plan, electric cables would stretch across walkways, vehicles driven through crowds with little control and a row of portaloos would be placed in front of the Martinborough Hotel. A shower would be installed in P & K’s carpark.
As the crowds increased food stalls would begin churning out hamburgers and fries. None would have food safety plans to ensure the offerings were safe to eat. Rubbish would begin mounting up so it would be dumped outside of the SWDC offices.
The local MP would write them a letter.
It all sounds like a spoof comedy or a market in a third world country. It would never happen here, right?
Well, it certainly would never happen with the Martinborough Fair but with the shenanigans at parliament recently you do start to wonder where our society is heading? People could be forgiven for thinking that rules only apply to those prepared to obey them.
