And finally - flowers

There are always flowers at these agricultural shows - and beautiful, colourful blooms they were too, despite the dry and dusty summer we've had. 

This time of year sees dahlias in bloom. Those below were quite an unusual variety, a gorgeous colour too. 

Such perfect 'lollipops'... 

I rather enjoyed this little cactus in bloom. They are rather underrated plants, I think, having such varied and exquisite forms and flowers. 

The arrangement above - Mirror Image -  had won numerous awards. It was certainly unusual and the little 'make-up brushes' fashioned from carnations had caught the judge's eye. 

I quite liked the one below - Teddy Bear's Picnic - simpler but effective. 

Some of the arrangements are auctioned off later in the day, to raise money for charity. 

In the Horticulture tent

One can only marvel at the perfection on display in the Horticulture categories. I don't know how the judges could come to a decision between all the entrants of 'Six Medium Tomatoes'! They do make a pleasing pattern picture. 

The red onions almost looked as though they were lit from inside, so polished, so glossy. 

The carrots... a cut above those you find in the supermarket, straight and unblemished. 

And then there are the 'Wonky veg'... won by a carrot that clearly wanted to feed a whole family all by itself. 

There were only a couple of entries in the 'corn dolly' competition, narrowly won by the 'Harvest Maid' over the 'Fish Fan'. It must take a lot of patience and skill to weave these. It's pleasing that a few folk still keep these traditional crafts alive. 

Sheepish

As well as the horses and cattle, there were quite a few sheep at Keighley Show, although not the wide variety of breeds that you see at the bigger shows like Kilnsey. Few of them were labelled either so, for a townie like me, working out what the breeds are is difficult.

I was very impressed with the poise and confidence of the young ladies handling these. Some of the lambs are rather skittish, so they had to keep their cool. Do you think that's dad in the background? He looks quite proud of them. There are 'young handler' categories at the show, recognising the developing skills of these youngsters as they help on their family farms. When I was a girl, one of my school friends lived on a farm so I know how much the whole family (and their friends!) have to get involved, to keep the enterprise running. 

Portraits of sheep are not as intimidating for me as portraits of people! The configuration of the pens meant it was hard to get as close and as low as I'd ideally have liked. 

I much prefer the ones that are left natural; some of them are dyed yellow, for some reason.

The two at the front below are Ouessants - a tiny breed originating from an island off Brittany.  Just 18" or 19" at the shoulder, they are reputed to be the smallest naturally occurring sheep breed in the world. According to the display boards by their pen, they make ideal pets for a smallholding. 

These all seemed to want to be in the same corner of their pen... A sheep knot!

Candid camera

I'm not very brave at taking candid photos of people, although there are lots of opportunities at agricultural shows and similar festivities. Here are a few I tried. It seemed that the young man above was already quite the 'young farmer' with his flat cap and checked shirt. I'm sure he's very capable and knowledgeable already. Let's hope there's a family business for him to take over when the time comes. 

On the other hand, the young lady with the pink hair bows seemed more interested in her phone (mum's phone?) than the sheep surrounding her. 

Time with grandad is always special and these two were having a wonderful conversation about the show jumping. 

Time with your pet ferret is special too. (Is that Travis Kelce in the background?)

There are, of course, lots of food stalls, though you'd be hard-pressed to find anything remotely healthy. Sugar Hut's fare looked enticing but... I was good and took my own little picnic. 

Sheep food is served in buckets - brightly coloured ones! 

It's a dog's life

Every other person at the Keighley Show seemed to have a dog with them. It was lovely to see how engaged they all were, sniffing around and generally being very curious about everything. I enjoyed watching them checking each other out too. There were many brief encounters, mostly very positive. In fact they all seemed extremely well-behaved and chilled. I don't even think I heard one barking - and I usually notice, as it is a sound that reverberates through my hearing aids! 

Moo-ving

I always enjoy the chance to get close to the cattle at the agricultural shows, especially the shaggy highland breeds. This beauty (above) was judged the best of them all.  It had quite a haughty air! I wonder what they see, through all that hair? 

Some of them had calves, very sweet. I loved the way the little one was peeping round its handler. 

I'm not sure if these big fluffy bulls (above and below) were highland cattle or some other breed. They weren't quite as hairy and didn't have the same horns so I guess they are something else but I'm no expert! 

Talk about giving me the side eye! 

I briefly toyed with the idea of trying to throw some loo rolls into a bucket to win a highland cow stuffie... but thought better of it! My hand-eye co-ordination is less than zero so it was hardly worth the punt. (And I wasn't in the moo -d... OK, I'll see myself out!) I did see one lady who managed to land one roll - but you had to get two for a big toy so she only won a small one. The child she was with seemed happy enough with that. 

Horsing around

The first Saturday in September is traditionally the date for Keighley Agricultural Show. Compared with some, it's a relatively small affair but I really enjoy it and it's not far to go (and easy, on the bus).

Much of the day is taken up with equestrian classes - both show jumping, and the judging of different classes of horses. The horses are always turned out smartly and the judges do a thorough job of checking them over: musculature, coat, teeth, gait...

They start young! A tiny tot on a tiny Shetland pony:

There is a category for heavy horses too: Shires, Clydesdales, Percheron and Suffolk Punch. I'm not entirely sure which is which, though I think those in my photos are Shires and Clydesdales. These horses were originally bred as draught horses for heavy farm work, ploughing, logging, and pulling carts, wagons and, of course, barges along the canals. A few do still work but most are now bred for showing. 

I love these horses. My enthusiasm is either in my genes (my great grandfather was a horseman) and/or a memory from my childhood. My dad used to take me to watch my uncle competing, with a horse and a plough, in the ploughing matches that used to be held. 

Heavy horses are still used in certain areas. Kings College in Cambridge has had a wildflower meadow for several years now, which is traditionally harvested using two Shire horses called Cosmo and Bryn. That is so much better for the environment than using tractors. See HERE. 

Sojourn in Paris #8

Paris 2025 - Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione

Probably the highlight of our trip to Paris was the circus on Saturday evening. It's years since I last went to a circus, so it was a novel outing. The oldest circus in the world, founded in 1852, it took place in a purpose-built theatre that looked inside like a circus tent. There were dancers and acrobats, a live orchestra:

and numerous different acts: jugglers, knife throwers, trapeze artists, a clown comedian, contortionists and so on. There were no animals, except for one beautiful horse performing carefully choreographed dressage. 

These three young women gymnasts, the Bello sisters, were amazing - though I was holding my breath so hard during the most amazing bits that I failed to take photos of those! At one point the girl on the bottom of the pile had her right leg over her shoulder, with the whole weight of the other two balanced on her right foot!! They must not only be strong but double-jointed too. 

THE most incredible bit for me was another contortionist, Asia Perris, who did the splits and then, very gracefully, in one elegant and smooth movement, stood back up without using her hands to push or balance, just sheer leg muscle power - she just slid down and then up again as though it was the most natural thing in the world! 👀 Sadly, I didn't get a photo of her either, as I was mesmerised, though there's a YouTube video HERE in which she does this move several times. Her control was absolutely incredible... though I do wonder what her body will be like by the time she's 70! 

Another jaw-dropping performance was Sara Nagyhegyi, who swung from a rope anchored only by her hair, tied in a tight bun! 

I took a couple of videos, don't know if you can watch them... 

The first one is Andrei Pogorelov on 'The Wheel of Death'.  The second is The Empress Troupe of jugglers.

The full programme of acts is HERE. 

The finale was an act that involved actual Parisian firefighters (Pompiers) in full uniform, with ladders and fire hoses that dispensed sparkly streams of light. Elite and fit gymnasts, they joined with some acrobats on the high ropes. Spectacular!

What a night! It was wonderful and I'm so glad we went. 

Sorting out the sheep from the cattle

Keighley Show #2

There were livestock classes, not nearly as many as at the bigger shows but still interesting. It's the only time I dare get close to farm animals. I certainly don't relish meeting them when I'm out walking, especially if there's no fence separating us! 

The shows are a chance for farmers to get together and chat, so you can often snap nice candid shots. 

I liked the very fluffy sheep. I think they're Valais Blacknose, usually kept as pets in the UK. 

I wasn't so sure about the bright yellow ones! I don't think they are naturally this colour but for some reason the farmers dye them. Quite striking, I suppose. 

Onto the cattle. There weren't that many and I kept well away from the big black bull, magnificent though he was. One of my great uncles used to own a dairy farm. I remember vividly visiting there as a child and being introduced to their huge bull, which had a massive ring through its nose. To a small child, it seemed terrifying. I was glad to escape to the farmhouse kitchen, with its comforting warmth from the Aga. I really loved my great aunt, an archetypal, large bosomed, soft featured farmer's wife, invariably in an apron and always baking. She had such a kind face and was usually smiling. 

I enjoy watching the highland cattle. I often wonder how they can see through all that hair.