Country shows

I love going to country shows.  The people there are real people.  Real, grounded, earthy people who work the land.  They raise animals, plough fields and grow crops, out in all weathers.  I have sometimes thought I would like to live this kind of life, but I don't think I would have the stamina for the 4am rises to milk the cows or check on the sheep, or all the jobs I imagine a farmer must do. 

Attending a recent show forty miles out of Aberdeen, the place was heaving with folk out for the day.  Men in tweeds and flat caps leaned on shooting sticks and watched the hunting horses in the ring.  Little girls in jodhpurs and riding boots, neat pigtails tied with red ribbons, bobbed along on gleaming ponies.  In between munching on burgers and chips, or licking ice cream cones, of course.  There did not seem to be much else to eat other than burgers.  Luckily they were rather tasty ones. 

There were also some rather lovely vintage cars on show.