Every year the West Ardnamurchan Show and Sports Day simply gets better - except for one thing: the weather, which is consistently, year after year, sunny and dry. Quite how the organising committee arrange this is a well-kept secret.
The annual stock judging saw some changes this year - Angus-John Cameron, who usually does well, didn't show, but the competition was as hard-fought as ever, with the sheep looking very smart, many with their coats dyed. The judge this year was Fiona Bow from Mull, and she selected Rosie Curtis' blackface tup as the Overall Champion.
Watching the judges taste their was through this superb selection of bakery was positively painful. They took a long time about it, and seemed to enjoy what they were doing. The overall winner was Mary Khan.
New events included a poultry competition and a display of a hive of bees. Tom Bryson organised the bees, having to drive to Spean Bridge to collect the special hive, and transfer the queen from his own hive into it for the day.
Above all, this is a day for children, though the adults tend to catch up a bit once the musical entertainments begin in the evening. As well as the excitement of the sports....
....there was an even bigger bouncy castle and this machine, new to the Show, a portable rock face, for the more daring to show off their mountaineering skills.
The event relies heavily on the goodwill of the many who give up hours of their time to the organisation, the preparations, the running of day itself, and the clearing up afterwards. This picture shows the team at the Burger Bar which, as well as the usual sort of fare one would expect, also offered local venison burgers and fresh, barbequed prawns from the Sound of Mull, courtesy of Alasdair MacLachan. The rumour that the bacon came from Hughie's piglets was strongly denied.
Just as the events on the sports field were drawing to an end, the RAF appeared in a Hercules to perform a spectacular, low-level fly-past - the yellow object is the bouncy castle. Just look at the blue of the sky.
Congratulations and 'thank you' to the many who worked so hard towards such a very successful event.
No comments:
Post a Comment