Show Time

Mid-August is when places that keep to tradition hold agricultural shows. In Orkney, these are further localised, which means we have the East Mainland Show, the South Ronaldsay & Burray Agricultural Association Show, the Dounby Show (in the centre of Mainland), all leading up to the County Show in Kirkwall at the end of show. (There are also shows on various other islands).

This year, we, for some reason managed to miss the East Mainland Show. But we did get to the others. I took photos at all of them and will take them here one by one. (I hope you don't feel drowned in photos).

So here goes:

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***The Show in St Margarets Hope***

(on the Wednesday)

This was my favourite beastie from all the shows:

He was so big and calm

Another thing I love at the shows is the new agricultural machinery on display. Like this attachment:

It's for stirring mown grass lying on fields and leaving it in neat rows to be picked up by another attachment that makes bales.

Our neighbours had 3 nice calves in the show (one each for grandkids to show)

And of course there were sheep galore

General view of the show last week

...and a hundred-plus years ago.

After a pleasant walk-around, we left the show but I couldn't resist this nice blue trailer:

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I took some shots of houses in the village as we walked back down the hill

which you can see here, 120 years ago, looking up:

And the church

And Robertson's Coffehoose, formely General Merchants:

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***The Dounby Show***

(Thursday)

The Dounby Show is much larger.

One of its best attractions is the sheep-shearing competition:

But it also has lovely farming equipment:

The mechanism of a hay baler

And lots of new tractors

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***The County Show in Kirkwall***

(Saturday)

This, of course, is the big one. Unfortunately, my camera decided to behave like the computer it, in fact, is, and hung. This left me having to take iPhone pics, so I lost heart a bit. We stopped by the stall of the Scottish Family Party, of which I thoroughly approve and am a supporter.

To our amusement, the party stall was being picketed by a Quaker. Scotland, in its nanny-state wisdom, has made smacking one's child a criminal offence; the Quakers evidently prefer more psychologically damaging forms of discipline and she was therefore sidling up to anyone who approached the booth to say "They beat children!' Apart from that, she was perfectly friendly.

There were more wonderful sheep and cows

Some tiny ponies (I could have straddled this one with room to spare)

And of course nice farm equipment, like this giant bin

And that's the shows for another year. I did like this giant, post-office red bin. (I ignored all the noisy fairground rides).