The Echt Show and other things...

It was an awfy fine day on Saturday - just perfect for our annual expedition to the Echt Show. There's nowt like a good, couthy agricultural show once in a while to remind you that life does exist outside of the heaving metropolis aka Aberdeen! Because of course Aberdeen is a prime example a truly metropolitan culture capital...or perhaps not. At least Jerry Springer the Opera is coming here the week of my birthday so that's something to look forward to next year. However I digress from the business at hand.

So what sort of thing do you see at the show? Well horses are kind of high on the list.


Horses


You get the odd coo (cow) as well. Here's a prime example of the ancient Highland Cow.


Highland Coo!

And of course we can't forget about sheep - loads of them.


Black Face Ram

You can have a kids cuddling competition...


Group hug

Or you can have them all trying to squeeze in the one photo for a bit of attention...


Me..no me...no meeeeeeeeee!

And if they misbehave then they get dragged off to get sheared - or perhaps it's a slightly more extreme version of a bunch of drunk blokes and one of them gets an eyebrow shaved off once after he passes out drunk on the sofa!


Sheep Shearing

Then you have to go and find the piper...


Piper

...so that you can go for a bit of a birl around the stage in a bonny kilt.


Birling

And don't forget the Young Farmer's tug o'war. I wouldn't mess with any of these guys. None of them looked overly muscley but the veins certainly stood out on their forearms once they started pulling.


Tug o'War 1

The best 2 teams were New Deer and Nairn.


Tug o'War 2

Nairn finally came out on top. Methinks it was only the gauntlet being thrown down for a season of tug o'war at all the shows.


Tug o'War 3

And of course you can't miss out on your old farmer boy in the beer tent.


Old Boy

So all the gadding about has meant that knitting progress has been a tad up and down. It was a cracking day on Monday (26C - not normal Aberdonian weather) so we puttered about on the patio. I made 2 lots of stitchmarkers for myself.


Black stitchmarkers


Terracota stitchmarkers

And although I should be cracking on with the baby shawl in readiness for Eli's return from Norway I'm having a wee bit of a break to clear out some of the UFO's currently inhabitating my knitting bags. My Cotton Braid jumper, that is being "designed" as we go, is coming along quite nicely.


Fantasy in Orange Jul 05

However to knit the sleeves I need the wire that the Turtleneck Shrug is currently on so I have to finish that first. Ain't life a bitch - nah, not really! It just means I have to knit more. Tee hee!


Teva Shrug