Welcome to the Show Season!

A strange thing occurred to me the other day while reviewing our weekends over the last couple of months. Actually since Christmas.

You see, it appears that if it is -10C, snowing, and both of us are in real danger of slipping off the side of a mountain we simply cannot wait to get outside and haul our crazy asses around the English countryside.

But as soon as the sun comes out and the temperature goes up we cannot seem to bring ourselves to leave the backyard let alone trek around the Peak District or Thames Estuary in gaiters and gortex.

I mentioned this to Dave. His insight was, uh, insightful.

One cannot sit out in the backyard, tend the garden, BBQ, or amble about in the freezing cold and driving rain. We both love getting outside whenever we can and in the dark of the year the only way to endure the outdoors is to march.

I think I said "hmph" in response to this more thoughtful than usual analysis from the bear. And there is indeed so much ambling to be done between April and October in Britain. This is Show season.

An insight of my own I will add here:

The life of the British countryside, as it was before the industrial revolution, holds a mythical and romantic place in the British heart. Hardly anyone here lives or works or even understands the agricultural life of their own country. Thoroughbred horses, tweed, sherry, and Hunters are what the English like to think is the part and parcel of the life of the countryside.


And they celebrate it. This idealised and idyllic lifestyle of gentle fields, bleating lambs, steam powered threshing machines, and country houses full of hounds and family plate.

And thank goodness they do or Dave and I would have nothing to do on weekends.

From April to October there is hardly a week goes by without at least one Game Show, Country Fair (or Fayre if you prefeyer), Food Festival, or Rally. North and South people flock to these outdoor events the soul purpose of which is to promote the British countryside, agricultural life, and utterly unattainable lord-of-the-manor lifestyle that we plebs would like to think all farmers and landed gentry live.

This is utterly removed from my experience of country life. Being of Canadian farming stock and growing up with people who were hardly more than one or two generations removed from the same, I am very aware of the harshness of farming life. Dirt, pest, disease, weather, and endless hard graft do not figure in the English imagination of agricultural existence. In Canada this life in itself is not cause for celebration. In the autumn communities celebrate the harvest and show off the best of their produce at district fairs. It does not include the flogging of luxury goods. Canadians don't hunt moose for fun. They do it because it means they will have meat for the winter.

So much for insight.

You would think that it would be fairly easy to find out what is going on for the season but it takes quite a lot of research. Unless you live local to where the event is taking place you would never hear of it or think to look for it. This is especially true for the food festivals. These are usually limited to an item produced very locally by a particular county or even particular town or village.

There is a lot of relentless googling of terms like "showground", "country show", and "game fair" but even the big ones don't have official sites that figure high in the SE rankings.

There are a number of events organisers around and if you go to one show take note of the organiser. They are bound to have a website publicising other events. This is how I filled up the majority of our calendar. Another good way to find events is to look for exhibitor stall availability.


If you are out and about in the English countryside take note of the (often) bright yellow PVC signs cable tied to telephone poles and crash barriers. This is the best method for finding these events and you can end up with a gem. This is how we knew about the Steam Rally at Astle Park last year.

I will be posting on one of my pages here the best sites for finding shows and fairs and I will also be rating the ones we attend this year.

Our first show of the season was the South of England Agricultural Society Spring Garden and Leisure Show.

Click HERE to see how we faired (ha ha ha. Oh come on now. Admit it. It is a  BIT funny)