All The Fun Of The Fair

This was the view from my bedroom window during the Wolsingham Show. I stayed for the first night, and sure enough, it all got turned off at midnight, but it took another hour or so for all the excited youngsters to decide to leave the area. The rides extend up each of the roads leading out of town as well as filling the Market Place. No complaints, but I'm sure glad I had somewhere else to go for the next three nights.

Saturday was the start of the community section held at Scotch Isle Park a couple of miles east of town. I walked in along the "Weardale Way" along the river bank and it was so lovely. Then I back-tracked through the farm and along the road to the entry.

I arrived at 11am and judging was still continuing in some tents, so I had a general look around. The foot and mouth crisis had ended but not in time to release permission to transport livestock for the show, so there were no sheep, pigs or cattle and therefore, sadly to me, no sheepdog trials. But lots of dogs, horses, chickens, pigeons, rabbits and guinea pigs. There were farmers markets and I had some wonderful ice-cream from "Archer's". Real Jersey cow ice-cream made by them on their farm, in an old fashioned sugar-cone.

I always love the tent with all the produce in it. I couldn't believe the real size of these vegies. The bloke there is pointing to some ONIONS, each one the size of a small soccer ball and each of the leeks would make a vat of soup. The white things in between are the "longest parsnip" category!

There were slim pickings in the Knitting section after being used to the Sheep and Wool show in Bendigo, Australia, but that did not reduce the skill, talent or flair. My photo does not do justice to the excellent needlecraft that was on show. After a visit to a friend on her "Aloe Vera" stall and another wander around and watching a show put on by the local dog agility group, I settled in at a free place on the fence to watch this lot.

These are the ones who do displays at the Edinburgh Tattoo in the small arena. They gave them a bit more space here but for safety's sake, kept us all well back from them. They warmed up with the routine where every bike misses every other bike by about two inches in the middle of the field. Then the Gorilla came on and then the jumping over the cars began.

If you look closely you can see Danny, motorbike-leaping four cars. In this sorry photo he looks as if he is about to land on the second one but believe me, he made it.

After that I walked home along the road, regretting the fact that three buses made it back before me.

Then I went up to the caravan and spent a happy couple of days doing...

Sudokus, crosswords, reading, knitting nancy stuff with some stonewash white cotton (one day to become a braided bath rug), reading (a Hilary Norman), fixing the toilet leak (no success yet), getting my feet warm in the morning (yes! my own knitted socks worked) and watching the RAF fly low on their way to and from Otterburn and lastly, on the way home today....a red kite soaring above the dale. I'm not telling you where.

I might become a twitcher!

Cheers Gillian