{"id":17102,"date":"2022-06-12T07:53:39","date_gmt":"2022-06-12T05:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=117168"},"modified":"2022-06-12T08:23:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-12T06:23:12","slug":"adam-henson-why-county-shows-are-a-delight-of-summer","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/adam-henson-why-county-shows-are-a-delight-of-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam Henson: Why county shows are a delight of summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Adam Henson\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 12 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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June is the midsummer month, the time for tennis tournaments, strawberries and cream and, this year, a national celebration for Her Majesty the Queen\u2019s Platinum Jubilee, marking the longest reign in British history.<\/p>\n

June has always been a red-letter month in the Henson household though, for a completely different reason \u2013 it\u2019s when we head off to our local county show<\/strong><\/a> and wave the flag for local food, farming and all that\u2019s good about rural life. There are dozens of these events across the country every summer and most are still known as agricultural shows, despite being a diverse showcase for everything from business and the arts to sport and technology.<\/p>\n

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EXETER, ENGLAND \u2013 MAY 18: Cattle are lead as they are judged at the 122nd Devon County Show, 2017. \/Credit: Matt Cardy\/Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

My local show, the Royal Three Counties, is particularly special in that it brings together producers, competitors, entertainers and tens of thousands of visitors from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire on what must be the best show site in the UK, nestled amid picturesque countryside with the magnificent Malvern Hills<\/strong><\/a> as a backdrop.<\/p>\n

I have been going to the Three Counties Show since I was a little boy and, over the years, I have been a spectator, competitor, judge and, for the past few years, an ambassador. Before me, my Dad had been a regular visitor since the 1950s, when he was a student at agricultural college in Cirencester. In those days, the Three Counties, like most agricultural shows, had no permanent home, visiting a different venue every year.<\/p>\n

In the late 1800s, the Hereford Show, as it was originally known, occasionally set up shop in Welsh towns, such as Abergavenny and Brecon, but the best example must be the Bath and West of England Show of 1933, held in Wimbledon. As the newsreels of the day proclaimed: \u201cCountry life \u2013 on London\u2019s doorstep!\u201d<\/p>\n

I was born in N.Devon where we had a dairy herd & pedigree Hereford cattle. Pic of our bull who won Supreme @ N.Devon County Show 1976 ???? pic.twitter.com\/Uw5CaUdNWF<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Farmers Of The UK (@FarmersOfTheUK) November 28, 2016<\/a><\/blockquote>