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.