Tom Harbour’s Romford Horse Fair – a community report by John

What can I say — it was a great horse fair. Plenty of quality horses, very friendly people, and a good time had by all.

This year’s fair was much bigger than last year and drew many visitors. A few of their comments after the fair on Facebook:

Mary Cassidy: ‘Thank you I had a lovely day at the fair hope to see you next year.’

Karen Davies: ‘Took my 6 Yr old great niece there yesterday and we had a lovely time. We might have been the only non Gypsy there and everyone was so friendly. Nearly came home with a pony in the car.’

Chloe Carr: ‘Karen Davies took my 7 year old son there (was his birthday) and did leave with an empty wallet and a pony. Well done for having more restraint than me!’

Theresa Delacey‑Vallecarde: ‘Beautiful horses, beautiful condition. At least five I would snap their hand off for.’

A contingent travelled over from County Wexford, Ireland, led by Jimmy Goggins, adding to the atmosphere.

On Saturday evening a very good singer kept people entertained. Lenny Buckley commented that at the same time he saw four deals all taking place at once. The Gypsy and Traveller favourite — the seafood stall — did a roaring trade and was said to have stayed open all night. I don’t know if that was true, but it was certainly busy every time I passed. There were other food stalls too: burgers, fries, and Cake & Custard.

The fair was very well organised, with pens for the horses, plenty of haylage and water, and many day visitors enjoying themselves. A donation from the proceeds will be made to the Parkinson Foundation in memory of Tony Port. The fair was originally started a few years ago by his son, Mike Port.

Report and photographs by John for the Travellers Times

(Top photo caption: Saturday morning, watering the horses that had just come in on a 40ft Trailer)