Thread: Joys of the countryside Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Anyone else enjoy country shows - the sort with cows and pigs, mini farmers' markets, sheep-shearing competitions, quirky events like ferret racing, etc?

It's the animals that make it for me - you get to see some beautiful animals and sometimes the chance to see rare breeds close up. Here's one of my favourites - Cotswold sheep, instantly recognizable by their dreadlocks.

There are many joys of life in rural areas - too many to list, or perhaps I'm just lucky in this area - but one of the joys of the morning commute is occasionally seeing deer in the fields from the train window, or a grey heron by a stream.

I love seeing the fields slowly turn from bare earth to green, then gold over the months, and the little streams that sparkle, with narrowboats moored peacefully, and the smoke drifting up lazily from their chimneys into the morning air.

What's your particular countryside pleasures? Going for long walks, blackberrying in the autumn, spring lambs? Forests in autumn? Village fetes? Share it with your shipmates.
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I'm a country boy, and I like this kind of things. Especially if they have demonstrations of how they harvested wheat 100 years ago and things like that.
 

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Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
I love things like that. When we were in Belfast we went to the Royal Agricultural Show (if that was the name of it). My husband was staggered by the size of the pigs.

In New Hampshire the biggest agricultural fair of the year was held at the beginning of October. It was pleasantly cool then, and I always attended. I liked looking at all the different animals. I especially enjoyed the horse pulling contests, which were held in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, I haven't been to any fairs since I came back to Virginia. The closest is held at the end of July, and events like the horse pulling are held in the evening. The older I get, the more heat-intolerant I am. I also don't like driving on unfamiliar roads after dark.

I really miss the fairs.

Moo
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
I love the colours. At the moment we have yellow broom, yellow gorse, pink campion, and white cow parsley in great drifts by the side of the roads.

The lambs are cute. The lambs this far north are born too late to be slaughtered for spring eating, so I won't be eating the lambs I can see until Sept / Oct, after a whole summer on grass. Yum! Our lamb and pork come from farms in the parish, and the strawberries and raspberries which have just hit the shops are from the next parish but one. I've just eaten courgettes from three parishes away, cooked in rapeseed oil from a neighbouring parish. Knowing where my food comes from is one of the great joys of country living.
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
Mirfield Agricultural Fair doesn't have ferret racing but does have a llama gymkhana.
 

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Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :
 
Small town country two day celebration. Love the horses all fixed up fancy for the parade each year. Hand crafts, chili cook off and such and music in the town square. Breakfast in the fire house and dancing under the stars. Every one knows each other which makes it special.
 

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Posted by Barnabas Aus (# 15869) on :
 
Here in Australia, most country towns of any reasonable size will have an annual agricultural show, with displays of produce, equestrian events, sheepdog trials, cattle judging, woodchopping among the attractions. The culmination of the year is always the capital city show, with the Royal Easter Show in Sydney probably the best-known, especially for its Grand Parade.

The availability of fresh produce from home gardens or local farms is a joy. There is a citrus glut in some of our friends' yards at the moment, but I'm not sure that I'll have sufficient time for marmalade making, unlike last year when we churned out five or six different varieties.
 

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Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
I see some of the seasonal changes on the first section of my commute which runs through fields, not as much as I used to cycling through the lanes to work. That I miss. I loved hearing the larks in season, the yellow hammers, turtle doves and cuckoos, spotting the orchids in amongst the grasses on the verges and seeing the old churchyard full of cowslips.

There was the week of the nightjar. Every night for a week one patch of hedgerow erupted into this bizarre noise, which had to be a nightjar. (I confirmed it on the RSPB website).

One cold night there was a deep exhalation of breath in my ear from the hedgerow. That and the gleaming eyes in minimal light showed a herd of deer waiting for me to pass so they could cross the road. So close I could have reached out and touched them.

Here the country shows don't match the Dorset ones I grew up with, where bowling for a pig and hog roasts always featured. Our Town Show is in a couple of weeks, usually planned to coincide with the annual fair visit. One end of the recreation ground has the fun fair, the rest has stalls and a central circle. We do have ferret racing at both that one and the May Fair, plus country crafts, including spinning and weaving.

The May Fair tends to have beekeeping and more rural crafts: maypole dancing, hedge laying, the local owl and birds of prey trust, llamas, led nature walks ... because that one is on a local nature reserve.

We seem to have lost the other town fair this year - stalls in the High Street with a fire-engine pull, stage in the market square with live music all day. Those stalls are usually run by all the local businesses and societies. In some ways it's less work as I usually end up helping on a stall, but in others it was a good showcase for the town.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
They do blacksmithing competitions at the Three Counties, which I always liked seeing: mostly it's making a set of horseshoes and fitting them on the horse, but sometimes it's making other items as well. I love seeing craftsmen at work, watching as the raw materials start to take shape and become something beautiful and polished. I think I liked the blacksmithing the best of all the crafts I've seen.

The Three Counties also used to have hounds as well, who would chase after a scent in one of the arenas. The sheer energy of the dogs was amazing: they were a constant swirl of motion, barely still for more than a second or so, just fluid movement. The Royal Show used to be very good for horses - that was where I first saw Cleveland Bay horses, which I thought were really beautiful. They're designated as a rare breed.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
I would be one of a small (I suspect) number who remember blacksmithing as an everyday trade. My uncle kept two shire horses on the farm and shod them himself. He would have learnt from my grandfather who, besides farming and smithing, was also a carpenter, stonemason and occasional cobbler.

I would love the small, local, in the streets kind of agricultural show - but unfortunately, being a capital city/tourist magnet we have the Royal Highland Show which is out by the airport and costs £20+ to get in.
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I spent a couple of days in the Netherlands last month (after almost 2 years), and I took my niece and nephew to a sheep / goat farm. It's a commercial farm, but they have a lot of educational activities and games for children.

It was wonderful (although admittedly this was caused in no small part by the delight of my niece and nephew in spending some time with their uncle).
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
My grandfather was a blacksmith, though he had stopped by the time I was born, and just farmed 20 acres. His son, my uncle, also became a blacksmith, but moved into wrought iron work.

Our church was fortunate enough to have a blacksmith in the congregation who provided us with all manner of fancy brackets, flower stands, hand rails and a sword of justice which is nailed to the lectern.
 

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Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I saw two blacksmiths at work today. It wasn't the first time but I always like it.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by ArachnidinElmet:
Mirfield Agricultural Fair doesn't have ferret racing but does have a llama gymkhana.

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quote:

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Originally posted by MrsBeaky:
I spent 10 years teaching at a special school in a very rural setting. Part of the curriculum included "Land based Studies" and each year the pupils would show our Jacob's sheep at two different rare breed shows. It was a glorious experience for all involved- they were involved from lambing right through rearing, preparing and showing. All in one of the most beautiful places I've ever known.
Education at its very best.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Firenze:
unfortunately, being a capital city/tourist magnet we have the Royal Highland Show which is out by the airport and costs £20+ to get in.

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which for those whose commute takes them anywhere near the Western edges of Embra, or need to go to the airport - is gathering a similar sort of resentment to those inconvenienced by the other "festivals" the city enjoys
 

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Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I'd call myself a "small-townie", having grown up in Kirkwall (population c.5,000) which is the county town (and if we're being pedantic, a City and Royal Burgh). The local County Agricultural Show takes place every August in a large park that backs onto the garden of my old house, and when I was a kid we always used to sneak in over the back wall, until the organisers decided to move the cattle to that side of the park ...

I used to quite enjoy going, but as much as anything for the chance to run into old friends - I can't really say I have a huge interest in cows, sheep or tractors (Orkney farmers don't generally keep piggies, which I always thought was rather a shame).
 

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Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
This year's Suffolk Show was brilliant - and the weather was better than anyone had dared to expect! We think it's much better than the Royal Norfolk Show (boo! hiss!), but then we're biased ...

My wife spent both days (as she always does) face-painting in the Diocesan Tent: - the CofE have a good presence here and always draw a good crowd. (My wife managed to evade the camera, though - possibly to avoid any safeguarding issues if children got snapped!)

[ 22. June 2015, 15:15: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
 

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Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 
Many years ago at the Suffolk Show, my mother trod on someone's foot. She turned round to apologise, realised she'd just stood on John Selwyn Gummer, so gave him a good stamp just to make sure!

AG
 

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Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
Well, he was (and is) very local. His son, Ben Gummer, is one of our local MPs: although I don't agree with his politics, I do think that he is an honest and thoughtful man and an outstanding constituency MP. (His office is very close to our church, so we've got to know him quite well).

Of course, it wasn't he who was given that famous burger, but his sister!

By the way, was your mother wearing high heels or welly-boots? It makes a difference!

[ 22. June 2015, 16:11: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
She should have offered him a burger and not taken no for an answer.

Speaking of which, I was just fitting my face into a large, juicy Aberdeen Angus burger bun at the Three Counties one year when suddenly Charles and Camilla came round the corner and started meeting and greeting people. I hastily shoved the burger into my handbag and wiped my greasy hands as best as I could, but although Camilla greeted the ladies on my right and left, and a small child nearby, somehow I failed to be noticed. Perhaps it was just as well as I hadn't entirely managed to get rid of all the grease on my fingers. In such circumstances all you can really do is shrug philosophically, retrieve the burger from your handbag and carry on where you left off.
 

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Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
My mother-in-law was arranging flowers in a tent at the Royal show somewhere in Warwickshire one year, when an annoying man came up behind her and started asking questions. It was only when she turned round she realised it was the Duke of Edinburgh!

We've just had the Big Skill at our local castle, which is a country craft weekend - basket weaving, workshops on stool making, pyrography, and so on. While I was there, two little boys were having their names burnt into the tops of the stools they had just made, and they looked pleased as Punch!

More generally in the countryside, seeing a red kite always makes me happy.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
The countryside! This brings back such wonderful memories.

I grew up way out in the country; there were very few people and it took a while to get from our house to our friends' homes. We were surrounded by forests, streams and wildlife.

My younger brother and sister and I would run through the fields to the woods almost daily during the summer time. We would play in the creek that was about a mile below our house, watching water skippers and minnows, skipping stones and then finding wild hickory nuts and blackberries. Some of the old homestead ruins would have grapes and berry brambles that we would pick and carry home for Mom to make jelly or pie. Wild strawberries that grew along side the roads were abundant and tasted so much better than the cultivated variety!

Those memories are ones I go back to frequently. I can almost feel the warm breezes and hear the birds from my childhood right now. If only I could catch some lightening bugs tonight!
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
The good thing about a field at the bottom of your garden was haymaking time. The farmer would mow from the edges of the field towards the centre.

Then all the local cats would gather first fighting for position among themselves, then focussing as the central long grass got very small.

Then the mice which had beem driven into the centre would escape, make a run for it and chaos would break out.

Fun.
 

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Posted by Yangtze (# 4965) on :
 
I love them. Especially the ferret racing. And the flower and produce show section. And the WI stall. And those sheep with rasta fleeces. And the giant rabbits. And the tea tent. And the beer tent.
 

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Posted by Diomedes (# 13482) on :
 
When I was at school my father would get my brother and I special permission for a day off so that we could go to the Essex County Show. He would be showing stock and doing general farm business. It always felt like a very long, hard-working day and I think we would have preferred to stay at school. Nowadays, of course, I enjoy these Shows enormously and am overcome with nostalgia!
 

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Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 
Sadly the Essex Show is long gone (one of Mum's goats once won Reserve Best in Show there, circa 1980), and its ground is now a racecourse with a somewhat tenuous grasp on solvency.

Mind you, the Essex Young Farmers Show is doing its best to make up for it - smaller, but considerably better formed than the county show was in its fading years.

I always used to love seeing Stuart Surridge's stand with all the cricket bats being made from finest Essex willow. Nowadays I'm just amused that the rough timbers are known as clefts...

AG
 

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Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by jedijudy:
The countryside! This brings back such wonderful memories.

I grew up way out in the country; there were very few people and it took a while to get from our house to our friends' homes. We were surrounded by forests, streams and wildlife.

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That's my experience as well. It never leaves me and I've never really left it. Going out for a walk near to sunset is the closest I ever get to the joy of Heaven.

My parents came from London to take up a small farm in SW England during the early 50s. I was born into a world that now seems like a time-warp. We weren't a family for show going, burying ourselves in labour and soaking up the idyll was what we were about. Even now, when a Summer is like this one, my mind inevitably goes back to hay-making the old way
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I just about remember being in the fields during harvestin what must have been the late 40s or early 50s, sitting in the little tent of a stook of corn (that's either wheat or barley, if you have the more limited use of the term) and smelling the straw and feeling the warmth. There must have been a reaper and binder, and my parents helping on my mother's friend's farm, loading sheaves onto the cart. Being on clay in the Weald, there were narrow ditches, a spade width, around the field, and I remember looking down into the miniature world of tiny plants by the little streamlet, overshadowed by grasses. Borrower country.

[ 26. June 2015, 22:07: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Walking out of my front door and knowing that I could walk for 20 miles without hardly seeing another person, shop, traffic light or car. That's pretty good. Lots of sheep, horses and cows, though. Everywhere there is so much green, a colour I find very peaceful. And, at the right time of year, munching on the produce of the hedgerows, on blackberries or wild strawberries, as I walk.
 

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Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on :
 
I went fly fishing for the first time this morning.

We have trout for supper in a couple of hours.

The two facts are intimately linked.


(unless you are a trout)

AG
 

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Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :
 
In the region where I live, there are sometimes, perhaps once annually, gatherings focused on old steam-powered farm vehicles. Usually there are lots of other things going on as well.
 

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Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :
 
When we lived on the North Somerset coast, I used to drive to work in Taunton across the Quantock Hills (if I was very lucky, with the roof down on the car) and think 'Oh God, don't ever think I'm taking all this beauty for granted'.

I still think that's some of the loveliest countryside in the realm.

The Nostalgic Mrs S
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Sandemaniac, I think fishing for trout is a little bit of Heaven! We didn't fly fish, as the line and carefully tied flies would get treed more often than not because we fished in small streams that were often overhung by a multitude of trees.

Pan fried trout is another piece of Heaven!
 

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Posted by Pomona (# 17175) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by The Intrepid Mrs S:
When we lived on the North Somerset coast, I used to drive to work in Taunton across the Quantock Hills (if I was very lucky, with the roof down on the car) and think 'Oh God, don't ever think I'm taking all this beauty for granted'.

I still think that's some of the loveliest countryside in the realm.

The Nostalgic Mrs S

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I generally prefer the wilder moors and heathland, but surely the Wye Valley competes for some of the most beautiful countryside in the land?
 

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Posted by The Intrepid Mrs S (# 17002) on :
 
Yes - and the Dovey Valley as well

There's lots of wonderful scenery left, thank God!

Mrs S, who now has a different lot of lovely scenery on her doorstep
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Can't beat the Cotswolds.
 

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Posted by Beethoven (# 114) on :
 
I'm lucky enough to live in the countryside, and count my blessings almost every day! The peace and quiet - and the cacophany of birds; the sunrise and sunsets; walking the dog through ever-changing fields; the colours, oh Good Lord, the colours! There is simply no better way to see the wonder of creation.
 

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