Stancey Coughlan - the latest in our series meeting influential Monktoners

Article by Paul Wade 

I ask Stancey Coughlan, in relation to one of her projects, MonktonFest, where on earth she got the idea for a mini music Festival in of all places, Bishop Monkton.

 After all, when the demographics of our lovely village are discussed, the (completely untrue, obviously) received wisdom is that Monktoners  are generally tucked up in bed by 8pm every night, dreaming of that crisp autumn day when Strictly starts up again.

Surely the idea of a music festival was counter-intuitive?

‘Actually MonktonFest started in Renton Close a number of years ago, when one of our friends decided he wanted live music to help with his birthday celebrations. This was quickly followed up by another neighbour offering their back garden as the venue. All it needed was someone to pull it all together, so everyone looked at me!’ says Stancey. ‘Then after a few years, when it clearly became impractical to continue to run it in someone’s back garden, we moved it to the Mason’s. The latest iteration took place last year on the Village Hall Playing Fields, when we sold 350 tickets and could have sold a lot more.’

I asked her how many of the 350 tickets were bought by people who live in the village. ’About 90%,’ is the answer.’ There are plenty of people in Bishop Monkton who are interested in music and one of the aims of the day is to attract as wide an age range as possible. Loads of people attended, from babes in arms through to people in their 80’s. It worked really well’

Stancey is a ‘doer’. Her name has appeared as the organiser/key contact/ticket seller for many events in the village in the 14 years since she and her husband Ollie moved here from West Yorkshire. Bishop Monkton was well-known to them both, as Ollie’s parents already lived here and it was conveniently placed  between West Yorkshire and Stancey’s hometown of Blyth in Northumberland. ‘Because we already knew people it was both an easy choice to live here and to get involved early on’, she adds.

‘I imagine that sometimes people get sick of seeing my name, but I have realised over the years that if the  village ‘doers’ don’t ‘do’, then nothing gets done.’ I describe it as the ‘Oh Gawd! Not her again syndrome’ and she smiles knowingly, but continues, ’this village has shown it loves a good celebration or party and I love to see people happy and enjoying themselves.’

This year, maybe due to the pressure of her career as a General Manager for a dental company, where she is responsible for business in Northern Europe and South Africa, she is concentrating on two events. This year’s MonktonFest , but first the Annual Hog Roast and Duck Race on the last Monday in May.

I ask her how she feels about taking over such an established event as the Hog Roast? It is a fundraiser too - does that add pressure?

‘There are a number of people who have run this event very successfully over the years and whoever runs it can be grateful to be part of a very hard working team. I also have to mention my husband Ollie and son Fin, who could not be more supportive behind the scenes. This year we have formed a new committee, which is looking to evolve the event rather than change it’, she explains. ‘Last year for example, amongst other things, we introduced a gin bar, served the food earlier and played music through the day. This year we will be introducing more new ideas, which we will announce nearer the time. In the end these events are judged by the number of people who attend.’

This brings me to the North Yorkshire weather in May. Does she wake on Hog Roast Day and peek through the curtains, to see if it is being kind?

‘Something we can’t control is the weather, but what we can control is what we do about mitigating its impact on the day.’ Clearly the rain risk has been considered carefully. ‘So this year, one way or another before the event we would like to raise enough money to buy a gazebo to run the width of Main Street and as far down it as we can afford. It could also be used as a village resource for other events too. Watch out for details’.

So, like Wimbledon, Bishop Monkton gets a roof to protect it from the rain. You can only hope on behalf of the organisers that it goes unused.

Given that it never rains in Bishop Monkton in August (sic), we confidently return to this year’s Monkton Fest which, unlike the Hog Roast, is a break-even event with tickets last year priced at £11.

‘We are currently aiming for the last Saturday in August depending on how the cricket fixtures fall-but assuming we finalise a date fairly soon, then we are planning a similar format to last year. Live music starting late afternoon going on into the early and late evening, with several bands and probably a DJ. Marcus Swainston, a village resident who worked as a DJ in Ibiza, stepped up into the latter role last year, but we haven’t finalised the line up yet. The Mason’s will be serving food and drinks too.’

‘We might be able to sell even more tickets this year, which will make the aim of breaking even a little easier, but of course we have to respect the capacity of the facilities’.

Finally I ask her what her hopes are for Bishop Monkton over the next few years.

‘That we continue to be kind to each other. That we let the children play without complaint. And maybe like the Hog Roast, that MonktonFest becomes an event people put in their diaries months in advance’.

Pencil in August 30th. It is well before Strictly starts.

For our previous features in this series- for Adrian ‘Gunner’ Mardon click here - and for Chris Higgins click here