A More-than Village Show

It is in the New Year that the work really starts on the next Show. The first advert goes in the Newcastle Journal to 'kind of' book the date. It does not stop other people using the same date but it might help. The marquee is booked formally - they were told immediately after the last Show. The same number of tables and chairs are also booked.

The Insurance Brokers have to be contacted, though as they want to see the schedule, it cannot be finalised until shortly before the Show. Insurance is what is causing some country shows to fold. It can be a real battle to keep the premium to a reasonable level. A risk assessment has to be done. Bouncy castles have to have their own insurance. Horse riders/owners have to sign an assurance that they have their own comprehensive insurance.

Loos have to booked and there has to be a disabled toilet included. (The men have a canvas-enclosed hole in the ground for most of their requirements - that is how it was in 1945 and that is how it still is in 2009)

The schedule is a nightmare. A small group gets together to go through the horse classes. Another group sorts out the Industrial (home crafts) and Children's classes. Then there are all the other bits and pieces - Lawn Mower racing, Dog Agility, Fox Hounds, Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling, the Dog Show and the Terrier Racing, and quoits. All have to be in the Schedule.
We have the use of a long field which is called the Show Field, - with parking for horse vehicles on the Village Green and some trailers and most of the cars in another field. The Show Field seems quite big when you drive past it, but it rapidly shrinks when you have to fit 3 rings, a long marquee, Dog ring, Wrestling ring, room for stalls and childrens attractions etc etc into the space. All this has to be worked out before the event. A young lass of 17 took on the task of getting the stall holders, this year and very well she did it. Her Grandfather was one of the 3 soldiers from the hamlet who fought in WW2 and who were the reason for the very first show - to raise money to greet them home. Another person does the publicity - a thankless task which I did for many years. Someone else gets the sponsorship - another horrid job! And so it goes on. G organises a gentleman who provides slides, mini roundabouts etc.

About 4 weeks before the Show, posters are put up and schedules are put in shops etc. I alone do a round of about 50 miles, putting posters in pubs, the Country Store, on village notice boards in Libraries, shops etc. And schedules in three local post offices. One of these gets rid of about 200, so has to be kept topped up.

The three days before the Show are very busy, though the Secretary had been kept hard at it (in amongst working on her parent's farm and that of her husband) taking in the horse/pony entries for a week or two. The Treasurer and his assistant (G and Withy) have also had their work to do. Withy has all the floats and prizes on a spread sheet, with all the different values of notes and coins, so a fortnight or so before the show, G goes off to the Bank to collect a very heavy bag. A number of old biscuit tins are brought down from the attic. Withy sorts all the floats into the respective tins and finally we settle down with small envelopes, copies of the schedule, a pen and the money. G writes the number and name of the class and 1st 2nd or 3rd on and I put in the money. Horses and dogs only get rosettes but all the Industrial and Children's classes have prizes, as do the Wrestling, Hounds, Lawnmowers, etc. We do about 200.

On Wednesday or Thursday morning the marquee arrives plus the Secretaries tent. The marquee is very long and is divided into 3 - the Industrial section, the WI Refreshment tent and the Bar. On Wednesday evening, a band of helpers arrives to drive in stakes and the layout begins to take shape. On Thursday, the ropes go on, the cable is let into the ground for the speaker system and the lights etc fitted in the marquee. The tables are sorted and the chairs put in place. Table cloths are put on the Refreshment tables.

On Friday, at various times, china, drinks, boilers etc etc arrive in the Refreshment tent. The industrial tent is prepared for all the produce etc that will arrive next day. The bar is set up. The buns, sliced ham and pork have to be collected. All over the place, people are cooking for the WI Refreshments or getting it out of the freezer, having cooked it earlier. Sometime in amongst all this, the jumps arrived and were set up. Signs were put up around the neighbourhood. The gazebos, that belong to the Show are got ready to go up. This year it was very windy, so they were not put up until the morning of the Show, which meant stall-holders had to wait a bit.

At last the day arrives. My alarm goes off at 6.15 and I fall out of bed and get dressed with my eyes closed. (My early rising days are long gone!) I have myself to feed, the birds to feed and lots of plants to water before I make my way down to the Show Field. This year, I went down at 8.00 and there was only one horse box on the Green, but they soon started to pour in. In the tent, I was surprised to find several people already hard at work - young and old. The tasks are: Halve buns and butter them, butter cut loaves, butter cheese and fruit scones. Put fillings in the buns and the bread - ham, pork and stuffing, egg, cheese, and salad. The first hungry/thirsty people started to pop their heads in about 9.00 though 9.30 is our official time. We are always ready to give them something because horsey people get up very early to polish the ponies and then arrive here early to polish again!! They fail to feed themselves. They have to be early as the Show/Turnout classes start at 9.00. We finished all that part of the preparations remarkably early this year, not sure why. I popped out to enter my marmalade and photos in the next door bit of the tent, waited in a queue and when I got back the tables had been cleared and wiped down and were ready and waiting for the hungry hords.

Some time was then spent getting the stuff laid out in a sensible manner - removing luscious chocolate cake from amongst quiches and sausage rolls! I was very busy for what seemed a very long time, cutting up quiches and cakes. After that, it was a matter of standing by, helping people to things if they didn't want to help themselves, removing empty dishes and filling up the gaps. I skived off a number of times to see what was going on outside and once to deal with a photographer from a local paper. Once the Industrial Tent re-opened after the judging, I had to go and see whether the judges were good or not. The marmalade judge certainly knew what she was doing - I got 1st. The photo person was not so discerning. I only got one 3rd out of 3 classes. I have to admit that the standard of photos goes up every year - there were some impressive pictures.

This account is written from the point of view of a member of the WI who spends most of the day in the tent. I used to run the Dog Show (which was founded by G, before I came up here.) In those days, although I was tied to the horsebox, taking entries, and then running the actual event, I was able to see what was going on. Now there is much more going on, but I see very little of it.

Once the Show is over there is a great clearing up and the field is empty of all but the tents by the time the dance happens in the evening. Any left-over buns and cheese scones go to the bar for people to help themselves, un-cut cakes are mostly sold, the quiches have all gone. This year, my old legs gave me orders to stay at home in the evening, so I just went to bed to the thump thump of the band coming up the length of the Green.

To give some idea of the scale of the Show, the best year to date was 2005, when we made a profit of £3,236, and we gave £3,200 to local charities. £1,500 went to the Northumbria Air Ambulance and 8 smaller charities received the remainder. It looks as if we will be able togive the odd thousand away this year, but we won't know exactly for some time. One thing is for certain - despite the showers earlier and the fairly heavy rain later - many people had a great time, which makes it worth all the hard work.

PS. The photos do not give a good idea of the Show. I have taken much better ones in previous years, but I was not out and about so much this year. Also one or two better ones show people, so can not be included.

June 1st in the Garden

I have not tried to take a picture of every plant in flower, just some high lights.




Here is one of my white lilacs.







Just a few of these lovely flowers, but it is not meant to flower until June, so it is in good time.


A very beautiful double geranium. It does not produce seed, as is usual with double flowers.

The rhubarb has gone mad

A self-sown Potentilla - this does not give a true picture of the intensity of the yellow.

A tree paeony.

Work in the garden

I have been busy in the garden since I got home. What follows is definite actions - not general weeding.

On Saturday I transplanted some of the first sowing of lettuces to make another row. I also thinned the beetroot.

On Sunday, we spotted the work of a badger in a prostrate conifer. It had dug a hole out sideways, it could not go down because of the rock being only a few inches below the surface. It had damaged the plant a fair amount but not done itself much good. It has not been back. You can see the fawny under-belly hair.

That day, we scattered Elizabethd's French seeds.

Monday was just weeding, hoeing in the veg garden etc. Tuesday, I went with G to the RVI for a check-up by his dermatologist consultant. He was discharged. Wednesday as Monday.

On Thursday, the Tree of Idleness (ref Bitter Lemons http://www.suite101.com/blog/ciaomondo/bitter_lemons_inside_cyprus by Lawrence Durrell) was moved to the front of the house for the summer. I should explain that LD used to drink under the Tree of Idleness. When we visited the place, we found the drinking hole and the owner gave me a handful of seed from the tree. I sowed it and forgot about it for two years, after which one germinated and it is growing nicely in a large pot. It gives me much pleasure.

My two Azaleas were sunk in the ground in front of the greenhouse (as usual) My two original Cymbidiums and the 4 remaining 'babies' from Madeira, now quite old but yet to flower, were moved from the greenhouse to the cold frame. I potted on two Abutilon cuttings (Nabob) that had rooted. I have an orange Abutilon that needed potting on too - it was already quite big and flowering well. It looks happy in its larger pot. Then I tackled the two hanging baskets, a job I do not enjoy, though the result usually gives me much pleasure. I think the colours may clash this year - I wait with baited breath. If they are reasonable, I will post a picture as they mature.

Next day, Friday, Petunias were put in a couple of containers by the front door. Lobelia, Crystal Palace (a very deep blue variety) were planted to line two narrow and short accesses to the two lawns. Mini hard work that - the soil was not exactly receptive - but they look fine now. Yesterday, I planted a Weigela florida 'Monet' in a bed where there was once a cherry. The area where the cherry grew is very difficult and I have tried a number of things. Hoping for better luck with the Weigela.

Maybe that does not sound much, but in amongst it I have hoed the vegetable garden and done quite a lot of work on the ornamental garden, where it is like the Forth Bridge. When you finish the first round, as I did before we went away, you have to start again. I have finished going round the smaller lawn today and tomorrow start on the larger one.

Shortly I will be able to plant the runner beans, which germinated well and are growing fast, and the courgettes should develop proper leaves soon, so will then plant them. They germinated well too. The broad beans will need supporting. Another sowing of lettuces is due and the weeds continue to grow despite the lack of rain for the last few days. Soon, there will be pruning of spring-flowering shrubs ...........I lurve gardening...........

A Few More Odds and Ends

We stayed in a Guest House, Bryngwr in Trefin. The couple who run it are a lovely pair. She does the cooking and mostly is behind the scenes. He is up front. Serves the drinks before dinner and the dinner itself. Who ever is there shows the new arrivals around and explains the system. There are only 6 rooms, 3 up and 3 down. Dogs are welcomed but there are strict rules, for the sake of other guests. (There are 2 house dogs - both black labradors, but they are only seen in the garden) We were lucky in that they were a friendly bunch and we gathered before dinner for a drink and when turfed out of the dining room after dinner because they wanted to clear up, we moved to the lounge and continued our chatter. Repeat guests said that it was much better than usual.

The first day I had my gathering and G did a little walk to himself and a picnic lunch in our room. The second day we went to St David's as told in a previous blog.

Next day we had a look at Fishguard. This was the least rewarding day. It started on a high with a visit to The Last Invasion Tapestry. I bet you thought that was 1066 and the Bayeux Tapestry told the story. Well, you would be wrong! The last invasion was by the French during the Napoleonic wars in 1797. On 22nd February a French force of 1400 men, landed on the Pencaer peninsula just north of Goodwick. The story of their defeat by a much smaller force is too long for me to tell but it can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Invasion_of_Britain

Enjoy it, it is worth reading - or better still, if you can go to Fishguard, study the Community tapestry - a remarkable feat - copying the idea of the Bayeux tapestry, but done by the community. "The internationally famous Last Invasion Tapestry was commissioned as a permanent legacy of the Bicentenary Commemorations in 1997 and depicts the story of the Last Invasion of mainland Britain. It was designed in a similar format to the Bayeux Tapestry and embroidered by seventy-seven local people." This is a simplistic version of the enormous labour of love that produced this fabulous piece.

After a walk up to the new and very modern Information Centre (which did not appeal to us) and then down a steep path towards the sea and a return up a road as we seemed never to be going to reach it, we had lunch in an apparently disappointing cafe which produced the most remarkable tomato soup - full of fresh tomatoes. We then tried to achieve the coastal path but all we managed was a walk through a housing estate, till we gave up and went back to the car and to Trefin. The day was undoubtedly saved by the tapestry.

Thursday was a magical day. The sun shone from a cloudless sky and there was only a light breeze. I set off alone for the Coastal Path and walked north towards Abercastell. I love my own company and it was a joy to go at my own pace, take pictures and just gaze at the view. I did meet one couple who were very chatty and interesting. At about mid-day, I was a familiar figure approaching - G had taken the car to Abercastell and was walking to meet me. We back-tracked a little so that he could see the bluebells and sheets of thrift that have already been seen in a previous blog. Then we went down to the tiny harbour and had our picnic lunch sitting on a rock and absorbing the peace and beauty. I left him to follow later in the car and set off back to Trefin. It was very hot and in the sunk roadway there was no wind at all and it was a long steady climb up for at least 3/4 mile. Shortly after I reached the top, there was a sign to a prehistoric tomb. Absolutely fatal for Withy. Can't resist such things. And it was only .27 of a mile. (.54 both ways - added to what I had to do anyway) I had to go. No question. And there in a field, amongst a flock of sheep were some stones arranged as you would expect, except that I would not expect to find them just solo in a field!

When I got back I found a bewildered G, who had not passed me and yet I was not there! He was soon pacified and retired to his bed for a snooze. I took the Purple Coo Book Club read and went to the far side of the garden and sat in the sun and read, and listened to the silence and was very happy (and burnt my cheeks!) A magic day to end our short holiday

The next day we travelled up through Wales (4 hours) and slowly up the M6 from Manchester to about Blackpool and then the road cleared and we had a lovely drive up through the Lake District and along the Military Road to home.

Flowers on the Coastal Path

This is a short blog re flowers on the coastal path. It was the very best time to visit for the wild flowers.

We expect bluebells to grow under trees. Here, they are growing in profusion on a windswept cliff top. They are the proper English type

There are plenty of these pretty blue flowers

There is much Thrift everywhere

Pembrokeshire Coastal Path

Here are some pictures taken on the Coastal Path






Below is a ruined mill, about which a poem was written, when it closed, that is widely known. Can anyone find it for me?

This ruin is old mine buildings

An excellent example of a natural arch

Flowers on the cliffs and more pictures will come in the next blog.

Trip to the South, stage 2

On Sunday, we wended our way up to the second Severn Bridge and across into Wales. Then all the way to the far West of Pembrokeshire and a Guest House in Trefin. I had picked this place on the Net, but could not have chosen better. We were greeted by the most welcoming host, who gave us a thorough tour and explained the "rules" - only the way things are done there.

When I looked out of our bedroom window, this is what I saw:

I have to admit that that first day, it was cloudy and very windy and the grass had not been cut! This was taken at the end of our stay.

Monday was a rest day for G but exciting for me. Sadly, a message was taken for me early on to say that Celtic Heart would not be able to join us as her mother had been poorly in the night, so could not be left alone, to care for CH's father. However, I set off to Newport, near Fishguard, getting there a few minutes late. There, by the entrance to the car park, were two girls - tall, good-looking and very clearly two Purple Cooers. I waved like mad as I drove in and so the three of us met up - ChrisH and Preselli Mags. We walked up to a caffe called The Canteen - a very strange name for a very nice place. We talked and talked and laughed and analysed our Purple Friends and drank coffee and had soup and all too soon, the others had to make tracks back into their real lives. I returned to base where G had had a pleasant day, recharging his batteries and walking. Not a picture was taken. I had my camera but did not use it. Sorry folks!

On Tuesday, I achieved a long-held dream. A visit to St. David's Cathedral. This time pictures can do the talking -

Cathedral and Bishop's Palace.

The sloping nave

Fan Vaulting in the tower

A good place to make a home.

Just a few from the Bishop's Palace.

This is going up as it is, I will edit it more tomorrow.