Marshfield Scarecrow Trail 2013

This year we are proud to be the main sponsor for the Marshfield PTAs Scarecrow Trail. Entry cost £1 and forms are available from Central Stores in Marshfield and there are some great prizes for the winners. One of the scarecrows can be found in the driver’s seat of a certain Citroen van. The trail is open from 9am on the 23rd March to 6pm on the 7th April.

Vintage style wedding at Wick Farm near Bath

The happy couple enjoy an ice cream with Ros and Mary

On the 8th of September we were invited to attend Sarah and Jeff’s lovely wedding at Wick Farm near Bath. Wick Farm is set in the glorious North Somerset countryside only a few miles from where Marshfield Farm ice cream is made .

Ros, Mary and the trike, all set up.

If you would like ice cream at your wedding or special event in 2013 do let us know by calling 0779 043247 or email us at info@icecreamevents.co.uk

The golden age of steam returns to Green Park Station in Bath

It has probably been quite a long time since the canopy of Green Park Station in Bath was filled with clouds of steam but for a brief moment Ice Cream Events brought back some of the old atmosphere. No, we haven’t added a steam engine to our ‘fleet’ of ice cream vehicles but the fan belt to the Citroen broke just before we arrived to serve ice cream at an event there.

The old Citroen made quite an entrance, cloaked in a dense steam cloud and making a hissing sound that the Flying Scotsman would be proud of. The noise was a far cry from the playful chime sound made by  the typical ice cream van.

We needed a gallon of water to cool the Citroen’s burning heart which produced yet more steam.

Green Park Station, Bath

Once the drama was over we set up stall under the beautiful station canopy and served ice cream to lots of hungry families at the So Natural Baby Fest.

Our departure was much less dramatic .

Customer’s eye view of the Citroen

Village Fete and festival

Village Fete

Village Fete

The Citroen H van puts in an appearance at the annual Marshfield Village Day.

Before the event there was a parade of vintage vehicles along the A420 and then through the village, we were invited to join the parade in our 1968 Citroen van. The parade consisted of old sports cars, motor bikes, luxury cars, military vehicles and tractors of all ages. The Citroen is not normally one of the fastest vehicles on the highway however with a good tail wind and a good 1 mile gap before the next on coming vehicle it executed its first and perhaps only overtaking maneuver.  With its sleek aerodynamic design the van raced past a slower vehicle and we watched it for several minutes as the 70 year old tractor slowly disappeared in the rear view mirror.

Horticultural Show

Charity food festival at The Manor House, Castle Combe

We were invited to represent Marshfield Farm Ice Cream at the Food and Family Festival at the Manor House hotel in the picture postcard village of Castle Combe. The van was parked up in this idyllic location beside the river Bybrook in the grounds of the hotel. The gardens were full of people and nostrils filled with the smells of delicious local food.

We donated a percentage of our takings to the hosts chosen charity, Childline.

If you would like us to attend your fundraising event send us an email to discuss your needs.

Charity festival in the grounds of The Manor House hotel, Castle Combe.

Thanks to the wonders of WiFi our customers that were also cycling fans were able to enjoy the final stage of the Tour de France on the tablet computer.

Bertrand the vintage Citroen H van goes to Bath Spa University

We were asked to go along to the graduations at Bath Spa University to serve delicious Marshfield Farm ice cream.  After weeks of non-stop rain the sun finally came out for the new graduates and the H van looked at home amongst the metal chairs and tables outside the main building.

I do some research and teaching work at Bristol and Bath Universities so have access to the UK’s Eduroam free WiFi service so interested customers could follow the progress of Bradley Wiggins and the other UK riders in the penultimate day of the Tour de France live on our tablet computer.

Emily Button celebrating her graduation with a double scoop of ice cream

Tour de France on the tablet. Allez Wiggo!!

Pashley’s ‘cream’ machines

Pashley Ice Cream trike. Image used with the permission of Pashley Ltd.

Pashley have very kindly allowed us to show some of the images from their archive on our blog. The company has been making work bikes for over 80 years and some of the design used in these vehicles was revolutionary even by today’s standards. The trike above has a built in hot and cold water system, fitted hand towel and nail brush locker, cone holders and aerodynamic design. I want one of these!!

The Pashley Superior in the advert below is not quite as curvy as the model above but it is still a radical design and offers many features no longer seen in today’s models such as the optional copper tanks for keeping pies hot in the winter. After the summer we have had so far this year I also like the idea of the air tight lids to “keep out the driving rain”.

While the ice cream boxes used on these trikes have clearly changed over time the classic style and quality workmanship of the frame is still recognisable.

Our Pashley trike from 2012

Playing fantasy Top Trumps at the vintage car show at Bath Racecourse

Spot the HY van

As a child I had a pack of Top Trumps cards for cars. Each card listed the car’s vital statistics including top speed, cubic capacity, acceleration etc. There were a few highly prized cards that could beat all the others in the pack, their only weakness was their woeful MPG values which meant they could be beaten by a humble Austin Mini.

Last weekend Ice Cream Events attended a car pageant at Bath Racecourse. When we arrived in our far from aerodynamic Citroen HY van we chugged past the display of super sleek and mega-expensive super cars I am sure I saw a few barely hidden smirks. If these cars were my Top Trump cards the Citroen van would be the Austin Mini in the pack. The van would be beaten on top speed, acceleration and price but on cubic capacity the little van would win hands down. With both freezers fully loaded it had 112,000cc of top quality Marshfield Farm Ice Cream, beat that Mr Ferrari!

Vintage car show at Bath Racecourse

Over the weekend we set up two points of sale that were staffed by our friendly and efficient team of trained servers. If you would like us to attend your event please email us or give us a call on 0777 904 3247

Our vintage ice cream van enters the Marshfield Mudlark run in the veterans category

The Marshfield Mudlark is a cross country run which takes its name from the undershoe quality of the fields, footpaths and tracks that it follows. Normally it is a mud-bath but thanks to a spell of unseasonably good weather it was actually quite dry. Most years the runners warm up after the run with a bacon sandwich, hot chocolate or perhaps a beer but this year they had ice cream.

The H van had one last hora-ah  of the season, there was even a queue of exhausted runners waiting for a guilt-free ice cream.  We gave a dollop of our takings to Marshfield School PTA.

Marshfield Mudlark – cross country run

If you would like one of our vintage vehicles to sell ice cream at your event send us an email to info@icecreamevents.co.uk

Winner of the veteran’s category

Starting a Citroen H van

Unlike most modern cars our 1968 Citroen H van doesnt always start first time. In fact it sometimes doesnt start at all however, like many vehicles from this period it is fitted with a hand crank. To avoid being run over by your car the vehicle must be in neutral, the choke (remember that?) is pulled out and the crank handle is inserted through a hole at the front of the vehicle. Cars with their engines at the back such as the older VW Beatles had the hole at the back.

If you are lucky it starts after a couple of turns, if you are unlucky it doesnt. If you are really unlucky it starts with a kick and breaks your wrist. This is one of the reasons they no longer fit hand cranks.

Here is a video of me (Nige) starting the van with the hand crank.

If you look closely at the inside of the bonnet you will see some of the old red paint from the vans previous life as a fire engine.

Vintage Citroen ice cream van at ‘T on the Farm’ festival

What a brilliant little festival!! Great music, fantastic food, magical location, lovely people, even the loos had fresh flowers. The Citroen van was on duty serving hot chocolate (with a dollop of Vanilla ice cream) and ice cream to the hungry masses.

Citroen H van at night- T on the Farm Festival

Citroen H van at T on the Farm Festival

We can attend events big and small, if you would like to talk to us about your event call 0777 904 3247 or email us at info@icecreamevents.co.uk

Lacrosse tournament at Bath Rugby Club -taking cover in a vintage ice cream van

We were recently invited to attend a charity fundraising event at The Rec in Bath. Being big Rugby fans we jumped at the chance it was only later in the conversation we discovered the sport we in question was Lacrosse. I didn’t know much about the sport but thought it sounded interesting. When we arrived I am glad we turned up in the Citroen van rather than the trike. The thick corrugated panels of the van provided great protection from the ball.

Lacrosse at The Rec in Bath

Lacrosse is a fast moving sport, many of the players were as big as forwards in rugby. While we were parked a good distance from the field the hard ball still rattled off the roof a few times. While many of the players had ice cream to help them to cool down there were a few players that found it helped to soothe swollen gums and bruised cheeks.

Lacrosse at Bath Rugby Club