September 17th and 18th were the dates for this year's Royal Berkshire County Show. It was our fourth County Show and our first at the Newbury Showground. A quick glance at the first photo will give you an idea of what the weather was up to. This was the 102nd show in Chieveley and saw a record number of livestock. The occasional downpour and economic climate would have made sure visitor numbers didn't reach any records.
Although this show was not as large as The South Of England Show, it felt larger and easier to walk around due to more pathways. It had all the usual stalls and exhibitions one would expect to see at this type of event and was fairly well attended considering the miserable weather.
Breaks in the grey cloud cover reminded us what a summer should feel like and as we were not particularly busy, we both had the chance to wander around and see what was happening in other corners of the showground. An amazing display of bonsai were on show in the Horticulture Marquee and the ladies promoting British wool were an absolute pleasure to meet.
Towering above the showground was a huge 40ft wicker man (woman?) designed and built by schoolchildren to help raise funds for cancer care centres. The rural crafts included bushcraft, thatching, pottery and basket making.
Hunters with their packs of bloodhounds even took to the stage. I had never really paid much attention to fox hunting as I am not from the ranks of the upper class nor do I condemn pest control. What interested me the most was the announcer who continued to praise these groups for adapting their "sport" so as to remain within the realms of legality. This got me wondering about what the laws actually are!
A separate blog with my findings can be found through the following link : Fox Hunting
Further details of this Show can be found through this link : Newbury Showground
