Summer and Everything In The Garden Is Coming Up Knitted

It must be summer because the marquees are out for the great Summer County Shows. Last week we enjoyed a day out with the county at Ardingly, the South of England Show. Of course I was first in the Women's Institute marquee to see what everyone had been doing all winter.

Here you can see the fruits or, rather, vegetables of their labours. As ever there was a lot of whispering behind hands about what the judges had been drinking the night before. Indeed, why were the cherries in the winning cherry cake all sunk to the bottom? Surely that would be enough to disqualify any cake in the good old days? And so we had our personal favourites which were not always the judges'. (Or judges!) I would have given my rosette to the vegetable group below.

Sadly the stitched and quilted items did not inspire me to press the shutter on my camera. So, I went to look at the afternoon tea display.

It wasn't all cake, there was some embroidery on the napkins to admire.

I also admired the ingenuous invitation cards while R looked longingly at the fairy-cakes and sighed. Is the bunting below from Laura and her friends in Hawes and will it have to make the return trip for the tour de France?

And it wasn't all cakes and tea - there was serious judging of animals and the best of breeds were on display and being put through their paces in their traces. I love this working horses.

And when I am not fancying needlework, I find there is a lot to fancy in poultry.

Poor R had a couple of nips getting these shots for me - mum was very protective of her chick - but I do think the odd spot of a comb or hairbrush wouldn't go amiss, mum.

So here's looking at you - just before I give you a nip to nip off!

Were the judges marking the dogs or the huntsmen's coats? No matter how much you disagree with a judging, you could never fail to like a judge - the nearest thing to a teddy bear in a bowler hat.