Vintage enthusiasts in South Cambs and North Herts should head over to Orwell this weekend, as the vintage and antique fair is back and will be raising money for a good cause.

Royston Crow: Karen Beaumont with her husband James.Karen Beaumont with her husband James. (Image: Archant)

Karen Beaumont left her London accountancy job to start her vintage and antiques business, Rural Magpie, and moved to South Cambs with her partner James two years ago – tying the knot last year.

When the opportunity arose to take over the Orwell event, she jumped at the chance to keep the twice-yearly fair in the village’s calendar going and raise money for charity.

She said: “I started out selling things on eBay, and it grew from there. My husband James said I should get my own online shop, and then I started going to fairs and now I’m running my own fair.

“I wanted to keep the Orwell fair going because it is popular and important to the community, and it brings people of different ages together.”

Karen will have a stall at the event to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society – a charity close to her heart as she lost her grandmother and her husband James lost his mum to the disease.

She added: “I want to promote the fair and do as much as I can for Alzheimer’s, as more and more people are getting diagnosed.”

The fair has been going for more than 20 years, and in previous years there have been queues out the doors, something Karen is hoping will be the case this year as the trend for vintage items is still going strong.

The fair is on Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Karen is also looking for anyone who knows the hisory of the fair, or has any old photographs of past events to get in touch.

If you can help email karen@ruralmagpie.co.uk. For more on Rural Magpie itself, visit www.ruralmagpie.co.uk