Whatever the weather

I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather these last few days, with a couple of outdoor events in my diary.  Our friend James shared a brilliant new weather app with us which has proved remarkably accurate.  So, when we set out for Wales on Friday morning, where I was judging a competition in Glamorgan and saw what we were heading into, we took a deep breath.

Rain.  Lots of it.

Not that we needed an app to tell us about five minutes later!  I was glad my Hero had offered to drive, needless to say.

The thing is, when the time came to go home, we had to go back through it all again!   

Thankfully, on Saturday morning, the storm had passed through for the village festival which we’d all been looking forward to for so long.

Or had it?  We took refuge in the bar for a short time as the rain pelted down again.  Oh, don’t we love an English Summer?

Thankfully, it cleared enough for us to enjoy watching our friends on stage (they were on before Dick and Dom) and having had the forethought to bring our picnic chairs with us, we didn’t have to crouch!

And the cheese and leek toastie from Hobbs was the best!

You wouldn’t believe what time this traffic jam formed in Wales yesterday morning!  Sometime around 6.15am I was making my way to Llanelwedd for the Royal Welsh Show where at least the sun was shining.

The car park had wonderful views but was a little far from where I needed to be.  I spent a few minutes editing my kit, thinking it might be a good idea to take a smaller, single bag down with me, but better not forget anything!  As I did, the woman in the car parked next to mine was doing the same.  She had the added challenge of dressing the part too, for she was an equestrian judge and confirmed that yes, she judged classes where she needed to ride each horse herself as part of the judging process, as I’d seen them do at Moreton Show.  Oh my goodness, riding an unfamiliar horse in such a public arena must be tricky at times – at least I don’t have to prove my capabilities beyond applying my wit and wisdom to my comments!

Thankfully, just around the corner, I came across a chap in a pickup truck, providing a shuttle service to the showground, so I hitched up my skirt and hopped into a vehicle far better suited to jodphurs and wellies!  Never mind…diolch yn fawr!

I didn’t need to report in until 7.45am, so I had time to wander about and watch the goings on.  I love this time of the day, when there’s so much happening and yet the place is so quiet.

I knew where the kettle would already be boiling, too!

Fuelled by tea and ably assisted by excellent stewards, we worked our way through the entries and identified the winners.  It was a busy morning but so much fun working amongst friends, catching up with their news, sharing stories and admiring the marvellous work in front of us.  I’ll share more of that in another post, but for now, suffice to say I love what I do!

By lunchtime, I’d completed that part of my work and went out to enjoy the sunshine.  It was a glorious day and lovely to see so many people enjoying the show.

I always enjoy watching the livestock judging and hearing a few squeals coming from the small ring nearby, I walked over to see what was going on.  Shall we say the pigs were having fun?

Normally, the judging is a stately affair with beautiful animals being led calmly around the ring by their owners.  Today though, a few of the pigs had other ideas!  Once one decided to scamper off, then so did another…

It was only when seeing these very pigs on the BBC last night that I returned to my photographs to take a closer look and sure enough, yes, there is Kate Humble and the BBC crew filming the fun too.

After lunch (the most delicious roast Welsh lamb!) I went over to the DyfedPowys police stand (family connections there) and as I did, found myself walking alongside a heavily armed officer from the South Wales Police, looking rather out of place in such a countryside setting.  As we walked, I chatted to him about his role there, though actually I found it more interesting observing the reactions he provoked from the crowd.  Clearly many were uncomfortable at the sight of three such armed officers, some were upset and they provoked a few yobbish shouts and verbal aggression from a few.  I dislike seeing armed officers in such settings, however much I appreciate the work they do, so I thanked him and moved along, wondering what my father in law would have made of such a presence?

The trade stands were there in force but I can’t say there was a lot to interest me.

Though some of the visitors were wearing amusing T shirts.  Don’t you love rural humour?

Keeping an eye on my watch – I needed to return to the hall at 2.30 to chat with competitors who might want further information from me – I heard a cheer from the crowd by the main ring, so went over to see what was happening.  Surely, those sheep (however cute) were not the cause of such a reaction?

Hmmm…what was going on in that smaller ring though, to the left?

It was Lorenzo the Flying Frenchman, warming up his act for the main event at 1.30! 

Loud music, a full house in the grandstand and a real showman working up to sixteen horses at times, no wonder the crowd went wild!

It was time for me to return, though and having fulfilled all my obligations, I was ready for home.  As I went, I spotted these fun bits and pieces in Adra.  Not sure about the camping logo but I liked Barod am Antur!   No, I don’t speak Welsh but thankfully, I had a translator by my side

I went off in search of a man with a pickup truck then, passing a few competitors getting the final touches to their beauty treatment.

Actually, around the corner there was a bit of a salon!

The work goes on from dawn till dusk – though judging from the noise coming from the Young Farmers bar, it’s not all about work here!

Thankfully, I found the man and his pickup truck and returned to what must surely be the car park with the best view around.  What do you reckon?

Time for home.