On Sunday 10th July (one of my rare Sundays off work!) we woke to blue sky’s & sunshine! What would we do today to make the most of this glorious weather? A quick look in the local paper told us that the ‘Bedfordshire County Show’ was taking place this very weekend…& not half an hours drive away!!!
In the Grounds of the stately Shuttleworth College there were all sorts of stalls, activities & shopping marquees. In the main show arena there was a programme of demonstrations taking place & as we arrived it was the hounds from the local hunt being put through their paces! The sun was still shining!!
The first thing Lee & Alex made a bee-line for was the clay pigeon shooting. Lee has had a go at this once before, but Alex never has. It is not usual for Alex to ‘put himself out there’ preferring to blend into the background…he hates being the focus of attention, but in this instance I think he was there before he knew it & he really enjoyed himself!!
As an avid player of X-Box shooting games, but never having fired a ‘real’ gun, he amazed us all by hitting three out of his five clays…not bad for a first attempt! He was thrilled to beat his Dad, who managed to hit one & just clip a second!!! He’s is also very proud of the bruise on his shoulder from the recoil of the gun!!!
Not to be outdone Nathan not only took a turn at the ‘Sniper’ air rifles, but proved to be a natural with a bow…hitting a bull's-eye with his first arrow!!
Maybe there is something to be said for all those hours playing computer games after all?!!!
After all that excitement we stopped for an ice cream & a wander around the stands…
…we met this lovely little guy, scampering around on the end of a leash…
…which he almost slipped out of so the lady from the ‘Ferret Society’ had to grab him quick…great photo opportunity!!
Then we met these guys…they were so aloof!!
Alex & Nathan both reverted to ‘Toddlerdom’ & insisted on having a go at hooking a duck…winning two toy sniper rifles!! They then proceeded to re-enact their successes of their earlier shooting prowess!!
There were several vintage cars doing the rounds of the show…this was my favourite…doesn’t it just show that originally cars were just ‘horseless carriages’ & it took a while for the design of motor vehicles to get away from actual carriages!!
The boys spotted some enormous inflatable slides & headed off to play…
There were twenty two inflatable steps up that steep inflatable ramp!
It took a fair amount of time & energy to get to the top of that steep ramp…& only seconds to slide back down again!!!
They had six goes for their money & at first I thought that seemed a bit mean but believe me…it was enough!!
Alex’s Diabetes always means we need to watch his sugar levels when he exerts himself…& I can safely say that they were both exerted!! So much so that not only Alex had to have a lie down in the shade of a tree & a Glucose drink when they’d done on the slide!!
We decided on some lunch & headed off to the food area…Pat moved a chair into the shade of a tree as the sun was now really fierce…but just look at that sky!!
I commented to Lee while we queued for our hot-dogs that it looked a bit stormy & he agreed that we may indeed get a shower!!!!
After eating, Lee & the boys headed off to the ‘Army’ exhibit & assault course while Pat & I went to check out the Craft Tent…as you do!! We had not been in there for five minutes when we heard the unmistakable sound of rain beating down on canvas!!!
A quick phone call let us know that Lee & the boys were sheltering in the Army trailer & would join us as soon as the ‘shower’ had passed by!!
We all decided to head off back to the car, agreeing that we’d all seen & done what we wanted & that the sky still looked full of rain!!
As we walked past the show arena, the Pony Club were bravely continuing with their demonstration…British stiff upper lip & all that!! Those poor ponies..not to mention the little girls were all soaked to the skin!!
Once home & out of our wet things we settled down to tea, scones & a Victoria sponge sandwich cake…the perfect way to round off an English Sunday outing!!
Thanks for stopping by…I’m almost up to date now…will be back to share week one of Shimelle’s ‘Explore’ class very soon! I hope you’re all having a great weekend! :)
4 comments:
A typical English afternoon indeed. A little bit of every kind of weather and only one person prepared for the inevitable rain {Mum}.
Sounds like you had a great day, followed by a rather delicious afternoon tea - Yum!
The weather just keeps getting more and more weird doesn't it? But it doesn't look like the rain dampened your spirits one little bit :)
Sounds like a really lovely day! I missed seeing the Beds County Show ads in the paper... did not see any, not one! Would have liked to go there - it looks like fun. We had our local Village Carnival this year (we have a Carnival every-other-year, with an "Open Gardens" event on the in-between years). There was archery there, which was fun - I did quite well actually and DS did very well! Also giant inflatables - J. had fun on one of those elasticated-bungee runs, where you have to try and stick a beanbag to a strip of velcro, as far along the run as possible, while being pulled back by the bungee! He and a friend had a go together and had amazing fun. They also had some of those clear plastic balls, which you climb inside, then float on a large pool of water. Trying to stay upright is a challenge in itself! DS queued for around 40 minutes, for a 5 minute go at this - but he said it was worth the wait.
I'll look out for the Show at Shuttleworth next year - I'd like to go (even if it rains!). Good old British Summer-time! Glad you got all your fun before the weather turned. The cake sounds good too!
I adore county shows and looks like you guys had a fabulous time. I'm glad you all managed to do so much befoe the rains set in.
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