Halifax Agricultural Show...

It was a grey, windswept morning on the day of the Halifax Agricultural Show and we arrived just after eight to find most of the showground closed. Exhibits were still arriving in the poultry tent and cows were still being washed by the side of the park. It is the first time I have ever been to a show where things got going after we had arrived.

Having said that, once it got going it was a good day out. The showground seemed to be divided into two sections; one for livestock and people interested in that, and the other for punters looking to be entertained by stalls and shops. We definitely preferred the livestock side and spent quite a while chatting to goat and cow owners. Everyone was very accommodating and went out of their way to give Agnieszka an opportunity to take pictures.

I spoke to a goat owner and am in the process of organising a visit with a view to a bit of hands on experience, to boost my knowledge and hopefully to learn how to hand milk. A skill I don’t have but definitely need if we are to keep goats in the future.

Other highlights of the day included the Shire horses, some very large bulls, a packed poultry tent, the mice section and the horticulture tent. Local people seemed to make up the bulk of the estimated 10,000 visitors and plenty entered things into the cakes, beans and art sections.

We spent nearly eight hours there, from the drizzly early dawn to a bright and sunny afternoon. It felt right to be around the animals and I hope one day we might even turn up with our own.