It's the first Sunday in September, it's the Vale of Lorton and it's the time for the Loweswater Show.

The local Cumbrian tradition of display and competition of farm animals and the industry of the farming community in general, has given rise to the classic "Agricultural Show".

Some shows around the country are huge and full of commercial stands, but here in Loweswater, this one is a more manageable size, organised by the people of the valley themselves.

Welcome to the Loweswater Show.

The signs have been up for several weeks now and ten months of planning will come to fruition this weekend.

The Marquees are professionally erected during the week and Saturday morning sees both committee members and volunteers on the field putting the final touches to the basic layout.

Next morning the trade stand exhibitors and charities will arrive early to set up trailers, tents and gazebos, to lay out there wares and to promote their many good causes.

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The local Mountain Rescue lads have set up their display ready for the day.

Helen's Herbs are ready to sell plants, the Hyperfast Broadband display will explain why there are so many road works in the valley this year

and a friend Brian is manning the RABI Farmers stand . . . they offer practical, financial and well being support to our farming communities all around the country.

This year our Community First Responders (including myself) have decided to put up our own stand

to promote the small team here in the valley and to offer CPR demonstrations and hopefully practical advice on life saving first aid.

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It's ten o'clock and the gates are open to the public.

The small trailer on the left is gathering an internet signal and pushing out local wi-fi, to run the card machines in this ever increasingly cash-less society.

The industrious locals, be they farmers or not, have been knitting, painting, growing and cooking on the run up to the show.

Ten o'clock means its time to bring your entries to the 'Industrial Tent' and Keith and Gill lay our theirs in the jams and preserved section.

Slowly but surely the tent fills with tables-full of entries.

I layout my entries along with all the others, the folded entry ticket hides the participants name from the judges,

to help make it a fairer competition.

A children's competition . . . "A vehicle made from fruit and veg".

The Ladies Committee have been selling raffle tickets over the last few months and their prize stall is ready to sell more !

Well done Lyn, Jenny and Jan (amongst others).

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Outside the sheep and Goat pens were put up yesterday and are now full of animals.

Sadly farm health regulations have prevented cattle and pig competitions since foot and mouth and this year there's no Poultry Tent either, due to Avian Flue considerations.

Unusually several of the pens have rain covers on them . . . do they expect rain ? . . . well sadly rain and wind is forecasted for later in the day.

Still, it's dry now and judging can get underway . . .

The Herdwick Class is always a popular one.

Success in these local shows is noted within the community and success is reflected in the future value of the animals

should the farm sell the sheep on for breeding on other farms, or for meat sales via the auctions.

The yellow colour of these texel sheep is a 'ruddle' or colour wash, traditionally used to "dress the sheep in their best" for the judges.

A mixed class of sheep, notably being shown by the "Young Handlers" . . . they are judged on both presentation and handling.

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Time is short for me today as I'm taking turns on the First Responders stand, but I do get chance to wonder about the field.

There's a good turnout in the classic cars section, from the grand touring cars, to Chris Spencer's working van and other private cars.

An American Willys Jeep the classic general purpose off-roader for the military in the past and now a classic 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Private cars were well represented, including the Jaguar, the Lotus, the MGB convertible and the iconic Ford Escort.

Old and new tractors have become classics of their day.

There was also a display of 'stationery engine' . . . the first type of motive power that started to be used on farms.

They were very simple, often single cylinder engines, used to churn milk, pump water or provide power for milking machines.

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Appearing in these competitions has been looked forward to for months.

Sadly the lack of vehicles at the back by the hedge this year reflects a lack of entrants on the day, possibly due to the poor weather forecast.

However in the cool conditions, the refreshment trailers are doing good business.

There were tables and chairs to allow people to relax, to chat and to watch the ring side competitions.

Being Sunday, the Church has come to the people, in the form of a midday Service at the Music Tent.

The Cockermouth Mechanics Band provide the musical accompaniment to the clergy from the Mellbreak Diocese.

[ Time is moving on an as you can see by the photo, the bad weather is arriving a little earlier than expected.]

The welcome the return of the Fell Falconry Group, but the owls will appreciate the protection from the rain afforded by their tent.

In the main ring the horse classes have continued,

but sadly the participants are missing a large appreciative audience due to the weather.

1.30 -ish and the fell running races are underway.

The juniors have a shorter course stating from the field adjacent to the main ring.

1231 was Mike Robinson, a keen veteran fell runner who, I understand, managed a class win (v50's) and was tenth overall on the full senior course.

The winner this year was Sam Holding, who completed the course in 24 minutes, 5 seconds . . . you can see the Show Field way down in the valley, to give you an idea of the course.

[ I was offered these photo by a friend, Ed Jackson. I didn't climb the fell to take them myself !]

Not really . . . they were just waiting their turn to take part in the sheep handling event.

The farmer has to control his dog from the post as the dog traversed the whole length of the field

to gather the sheep being released from a pen at the far end.

Full marks to both the dog and the handler working in these conditions.

You could hardly see the far end of the field due to the rain, let alone hear the whistled instructions in the strong wind.

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1pm and the Industrial Tent is re-opened after the class judges have completed their work and decided who deserve the prizes.

The tent fills with people who have come to see who has competed and how well they've done.

The 'Celebration Cake' class was won by Barbara Robinson, the Vicar, with a second to Margaret McCartney.

[ The clear cellophane protects the items from straying fingers and keeps them clear and ultimately edible once they return home.]

An impressive display of eggs, some broken open to show the quality and colour of the yolks.

That bloke's won a bread prize again this year!

Another class was "Views over a Gate"

Don't ask me how they judge the jam and marmalade classes . . . . mine sadly seems to be missing one of those coloured tickets !

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With the poor weather outside, the Craft Tent was full of people . . .

Chatting about crafts and how to make them . . .

. . . and hopefully buying many of the items on display.

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I was just finishing my look around when I had an urgent phone call to come an help at the First Responder's tent . . .

Fortunately not a medical emergency . . . but one of a structural nature.

During the morning we had parked the car (protectively) next to the tent, later we had tied the tent to the car to hold it steady . . .

. . . but despite all that, a sudden gust of wind had lifted the gazebo and broken several of the poles.

The tent was a few years old but due to simple nature of the structure, the results were terminal and we had to take it down and pack away the display.

We were not the only ones . . .

within half an hour most of the trade stands had been dismantled and packed away, a most disappointing end to their afternoon.

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The Show continued on for a while but it seemed that the conditions were getting wetter and windier.

The Cockermouth Mechanics, true to their calling, played on till the end.

"Gentlemen . . . it was an honour playing with you" I think is the classic remark today.

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