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There's a tradition in Cumbria, as there is no doubt through the rest of the world,

to organise a local social gathering, to celebrate what people do best, to compare and to compete in a friendly way

and generally bring folk together to celebrate the community in which they live.

The Cumbrian Agricultural Shows are no exception and each late Summer they are held in various communities around the county.

So whether you be a farmer, a local tradesman, a child, a pensioner or a visitor to the area

come along and enjoy "The Show" and through these photos and sound archive, see my record of the valley's day out together.

Parking on the field but take care of traffic approaching on the wrong side of the grass.

So many people have invested time and energy into today, and many have travelled quite a distance,

so it is a great relief after such a wet summer that the show is blessed with a dry spell of weather.

They make a good fell animal as they can withstand hard weather and poor grazing conditions.

I believe these are black faced "Suffolk" Sheep . . . entered under the "any other breed" classification.

The judging of the "Best Sheepdog" ( based on their looks, not performance in the field . . . that's a different competition)

The show is blessed with a commercial section . . . where local traders display and sell their produce.

Over the back in the previous photo, the First Responder's Tent where you can learn about the local volunteers' efforts

and how they assist the Ambulance Service with quick response teams in the event of life threatening incidents such as heart failure here in the valley.

Try your hand at Mouth-to-Mouth resuscitation and Heart Compressions on their training manikin.

The Craft Fair tent . . . buy a Show Raffle ticket outside or dive in to check out the craft stalls.

Pictures, photo prints, cards, pottery, needlework, quilting . . . the choice is yours.

Outside in the first main ring the Children's Pets competition is reaching its conclusion.

After the Pets competitions there were Children's Games and Sports in the arena.

Under Starters Orders . . . the steward gives final instructions and confirms the route . . .

Across the fields . . . target time to the marker on Dodd and back . . . about twenty five minutes.

On the way back to meet Ann and the others I stopped to watch a little of the "Heavy Horse" competition.

There were also competitions for Turnout, Saddle, Heavy, Fell Pony and Shetland Classes.

admiring the expertise of the sheep dogs and their handlers in the adjacent field.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to view the Hound Trailing in the field across the road so no pictures from there.

and were enjoying the events in the ring from the relative comfort of their outdoor armchairs.

Regular viewers of Loweswatercam may recognise Jo, Ian Smith, Andrew and Anne Leaney, Hilton and myself.

Ann's seated position gives an unusual perspective . . . but William was saying the problems of transporting cattle are much greater than sheep

and there has been insufficient interest in having Cattle Class Competitions for the past few years.

Seated in their own little grandstand, the guys study progress of the distant fell runners.

You can just see the marshall high on the fell at the turn-around point. It is a 2.6 mile course with a 1000 ft climb.

Time to check out the Vintage Section before they return . . . starting with this immaculate 1934 Austin 10.

( Don't show your age Roger . . . even though you travelled across mid-Wales in an original one of those many years back !)

An unusual two horse-power 1943 McCormac Deering market garden tractor and its proud owner, Mr Graham I believe.

was this superb 1962 Land Rover Series 2 vehicle in full show condition, complete with winners Cup and rosettes.

- - - o o o - - -

Time to venture into the Industrial Tent now that judging has ended.

Don't panic, the Industrial Section relates to the crafts

and industry of valley people

rather than that of heavy weight industrialists.

- - - o o o - - -

The tent is home to the flower displays . . .

Class 33 . . . "A Right Royal Do".

Class 66 . . . " An individual Starter "



Plenty of competition on the preserves section . . .	. . . and on the teacakes table.

" Three Items for Afternoon Tea on a tea plate."



Julie Scott's colourful iced lion wins "Celebration Cake".	The best " Three Sausage Rolls" in show to Lucy Agnew.

A question posed to Nancy Fearon requires a little thought before answering.



Check out the third prize for Ann's "Cheese Scones".	Her husband gets a second in the "Cob Loaf" section.



" Reflections" in a photo.	Class 30 " Playtime " . . . Ann gains a third.

A delightful competition for the best " School Photo ".



Miscellaneous . . . " An Amusing Tea Towel "	Our one dragged from the bottom drawer gains a prize.

A lot more effort went into making "An animal made from fruit and veg".

The winner Luke Williamson fashioned two penguins out of Aubergines.

There was a competition for the best " Bunch of Herbs ".

The Olympics was the theme behind the " Limerick Competition " (check out the winner !)



There were many cups on offer for special prizes.	Vicki Duns winners cup presented by Vice President Marjorie Lowery

The Winner's Cup presented here was for the individual person gaining the highest number of points in the Industrial Section.

Before returning to the main ring we called in to the Poultry Tent . . . here a prize winning specialty fowl.



The show featured chickens . . .	. . . and ducks.

This beautiful white duck in another cage.

(Apologies but I failed to collect a Poultry Tent programme to know which class was which)

One of the fell runners asked the same question

as I was just about to ask . . .

How do you judge the winner in the Egg Section ?

The answer lies in the consistent size, shape and colour apparently.

Also in the tent at this time, local personality Mr Chris Todd, farmer and TV's " One Man and his Dog " National winner in his time.



Mrs Maud Vickers . . . hard working Secretary of the Industrial Section	. . . and President of the 2012 Show, Mr John Hayton.

Mr Hayton was a long term committee member and judge on the field today. He gave the main speech at the Grand Parade in the ring

where he paid tribute to the hard work of all the exhibitors, officials, the sponsors and to the army of local volunteers

without whom the show could not go on.

[ A full list of Show officials and can be found in the Show Programme.]

We finished the afternoon watching the Carriage Competitions in the main ring.

The first two events were for a " Private Driving Carriage " and a competition for an " Exercise Vehicle ".

This was followed by the " Cone Driving Competition ".



The Fancy Dress . . . "Chimney Sweep for Hire ".	John Hayton present the winning rosette to " Clowning Around"

The afternoon continued with the Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling.

There was a record breaking entry in the children's section.

Sometimes the draw brought together two rather unequally-sized competitors.

There were several predictable winners on the way to the finals . . .

Occasionally table were turned against the odds . . .

But many equal matches provided great competition.

- - - o o o - - -

Time constraints on us meant that we had to leave before the end of the show so we had no photos of the later adult sections

but the day progressed to a conclusion soon after.

- - - o o o - - -

Another successful show with the weather coming up trumps on the day

complimenting everyone's hard work that went into the production of the 2012 Loweswater Show.


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