Ah, England

[girlyswot]

Today is the first day of the Staffordshire Agricultural Society County Show. The showground is about quarter of a mile from my parents' house, and the car parking is on our fields. So this is an event which has always been part of our lives. Today was grey and drizzly with much better weather forecast for tomorrow, so there weren't many people there. But it was still lots of fun (especially with the member's ticket that gives free entry and, crucially, access to the nice loos). The free lunch wasn't bad either.

I love the WI (Women's Institute) tent and the flower/craft tents. Categories include things like 'A Painted Wellie', 'A Hand-crafted Gift for Less Than £5', 'Novice Cushion', 'Five Decorated Fairy Cakes' and 'A Look Back at the 60's'. The judges' comments are hilarious. One particularly cutting remark on someone's Victoria sponge suggested that her open texture might have been due to the 'all-in-one' method of mixing. Butterfly cakes were disqualified from the fairy cake category, and the square fruit tart was 'not traditional'.  

Then I wandered down to the falconry demonstration, which was okay, though the birds didn't really like the damp weather. I left before the ferrets, just in case Eddie Grundy was around. I watched a bit of the carriage driving and showjumping, but it was getting a bit wet by then, so I went into the real heart of the show - the livestock arena.

The judging ring.

I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of this fellow.

Beautiful Charolais.

This is what we used to farm - Holstein Friesians. 

I know even less about pigs than I do about cattle, but I couldn't resist this one.  Pigling Bland?

Comments

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Nice stamp!

I can just smell that show. We used to go every year to the New Forest Show but it never really recovered from the foot and mouth crisis and the livestock competitions are not what they were. I used to love the driving displays: carriages and especially the shire horses pulling drays; everything, including the drivers, polished up.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

The stamp was from the stylishly_yours Festival of Britain Day and is the only British icon I have. I think I need to remedy that.

That's such a shame about the New Forest Show. I've spent many summers near Lymington and lots of hours stuck in traffic jams of people trying to get to the show!

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see a British country show - we have nothing quite like that here

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're ever in England any time between April and September/October, you can probably find one.

[majolie8007.livejournal.com]

Sounds like so much fun. Our county fairs over here are smaller, but I still enjoy them. I used to enter my sewing projects. This seems closer to the size of our state fair. Our fairs also have tons of other stuff besides the agricultural type stuff: rides, fair food, booths set up by politicians and companies trying to sell you stuff. I prefer the animals, sewing and crafts, produce, baking, flower arranging, etc. I wish our judges made interesting remarks!

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

I've never entered anything but one day I hope to live somewhere long enough to be able to! We don't really have rides (except for the miniature steam train which was my favourite thing as a child) but there are lots of food stalls and corporate hospitality (that was how we got the free lunch today - from the bank!) The judging is hilarious. Have you ever seen the film 'Calendar Girls'? Someone enters a bought cake for a competition and wins first prize - it's very funny.

[majolie8007.livejournal.com]

Calendar Girls is a movie I keep meaning to see. Dear Husband is not really interested, so I never get around to it.

[petitecrivan.livejournal.com]

Hee, it sounds like Calender Girls! Isn't that about the WI? I loved that movie.

:( You are making me miss England! Oh well, I'll be back some day.

[lizarfau.livejournal.com]

I used to cover the showjumping at a few Midland agricultural shows back in the 1980s when I wrote for Horse and Hound. I remember going to the one in Shrewsbury, also Shrewsbury Flower Show, which had showjumping. There was Three Counties at Malvern and the big Royal Show at Stoneleigh, which was brilliant. I must have gone to the one in Staffordshire too, but it's all a bit hazy now. They used to be great fun to attend.

[blonde222.livejournal.com]

i love this kind of thing too.

was this in Stafford?

[mrflyingfingers.livejournal.com]

"Butterfly cakes were disqualified from the fairy cake category, and the square fruit tart was 'not traditional'."

LOL. I love that and I don't know why. Great pictures and descrip, it's just neat to see things like this.