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| Saturday, September 09, 2006 |
| Ata's Show Report |
Today was the last day of the Show, and hence Ata's last opportunity to go to the Show. So she went. Despite late hopes that Mr Ata may have been able to accompany her, the anticipated work problems did not occur, so he was required to work after all.
So off to the show went Ata. She ate poffertjes and a jam donut and a baked potato and more samples of dip/bread/olive oil than you can poke a stick at. She considered lining up for a sample of icecream with chocolate sauce - but then realised how long the line was. She paid $1 for a sample scoop of rice and vindaloo, and very nearly wiped out all ability to taste by sampling several flavours of chilli sauce.
But the Show is not all about food. There are animals! Hooray! First stop is the cats - they were judging when Ata got there, so access to the show cats was denied. Ata had to content herself with the Whiskas display, composed of a few purebred cats and some domestic moggies-for-adoption. There was a sheep-woolly Devon Rex and a family of ginger Scottish Folds, and a British Shorthair. Ata joined the tiny cluster admiring a Scottish Fold being shown off by a breeder. Then she wandered across to the rabbits - oddly, the rabbits/guinea pigs/cage birds are in the same area as the cats. A Dwarf Lop rabbit ran an obstacle course set up on a long table, then demanded treats from it's handler with busy scuffing paws on his jacket. After several runs along the course, the handler went to speak to some other rabbit people. The Dwarf Lop stretched out on one end of the table and gazed at the group of admirers. Three children were displaying calm guinea pigs for the judges on little squares of carpet. Ata has never seen such calm guinea pigs.
By the time the above animals had been inspected, judging was over. Ata proceeded through to see the Best Of cats. One or two had had enough and were hiding behind their curtains, but most were inspecting the audience or demanding attention from their show-ers. The Best Balinese Kitten was loudly complaining about being caged, while her neighbour stretched paws through the bars to snag the clothing of her owner. A breeder had a Somali out for admiration by the general public, and the cat reclined in her arms and kneaded it's paws in the air. Two Russian Blues watched passers-by with alert eyes - it is always a little confusing to see show cats that look so much like Bosco and yet not like Bosco. He is more delicately boned than the show standard.
After the cats, Ata went to see the dogs. A standard poodle with a traditional boofy French clip stood grandly on a table while it's handler brushed and sprayed the 'do to perfection. An announcer announced that could whoever owned the Schipperke please come immediately as it was loose. A Basset Hound leaned lovingly into the hand of an admirer who had stopped to speak to the breeder and scratch the dog. Then a child came by, balanced on the hip of her mother, and the dog immediately turned it's attention to the girl while the owner explained that he really loved kids. Ata paused to talk to the owners of a glowingly golden Saluki and went on to stare jealously at the only Wolfhound on display. They were judged yesterday, so today only the "Best Of" was on display.
After having done the rounds of her favourite animal displays, Ata was free to wander the rest of the show. She bought salami and cinnamints and cheap toe-socks and got offered a job by her old employers. She watched the farrier's competition and admired the patient Clydesdales, standing placidly while men banged and clattered on metal and made them lift their hooves repeatedly to check the fit of the shoes they were making. She watched the end of the freestyle motocross display and the beginning of the sheepdog trials - it was the sheepdogs she really wanted to see, but by the time the motocross had finished and the obstacles had been set up and the trials were beginning, it was Cold and Ata was tired, so she stopped briefly at the fairy floss stand and went home.
And that was the Show! |
posted by Ata @ 5:35 pm  |
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| 4 Comments: |
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Shame you missed the sheepdog trials, I love watching them. Haven't been to a show in years though. I don't know you can deal with the crowds.
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I did see the first competitor in the sheepdog trials. And the crowd was actually not too bad - not nearly as many people as usual. Bad weather and early tragedies mean fewer showgoers.
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and got offered a job by her old employers
Was this for the recent opening in the girl-being-shot-out-of-cannon job?
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Heheheh.
No.
I can categorically state that I have never been shot out of a cannon.
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Shame you missed the sheepdog trials, I love watching them. Haven't been to a show in years though. I don't know you can deal with the crowds.