The Kirkby Show

Every year, on the second Tuesday in August, the Kirkby Lonsdale Agricultural Show takes place at the rugby ground. I must say I'm not a regular attendee - despite invitations from local businesses to join them at their stall for a glass of wine - not least because it's usually bucketing down.

This year I was roped into putting in an hour or so on the gate, from eight-thirty until ten. As I left the cottage it was, indeed, spitting a bit, so I took my brolly along, alternating between swinging by my side as I walked along and resting it on my shoulder in a manner that, in a more densely populated area, might have had someone's eye out.

Arriving at the main gate, which was already busy, I was told that I was to work on the pedestrian gate on the far side of pitches. By then it had stopped raining completely and the sun was tentatively showing its face, so I was quite pleased at the prospect of a walk through the stalls and passed the showgrounds, especially as it seemed likely someone would be selling coffee.

Sadly, Cath's Country Kitchen only had a contraption one step up from an office vending machine so arrived at the pedestrian gate sans coffee.

In contrast to the busy main gate which had been choc-a-block with horse transports and four wheel drives, the pedestrian gate looked as though it was just waiting for the tumbleweed to show up. The two ladies already there said hello and then resumed their conversation, leaving me to look around aimlessly and prod the turf with the end of my umbrella.

After twenty minutes in which the gate was only used once by a fellow who already had a ticket, I excuse myself and wandered back to the main gate, to see if I could be of more use elsewhere. I paused twice: firstly at a little show area where they were parading small horses and then on the hillside overlooking this shanty town of horse boxes and trailers.

I'm really not sure why this photo came out the way that it did, but it's very 'flat', like a painting or, more specifically, the painting on the front of a jigsaw puzzle box.