West Yorkshire

[Sundae]

Traditional entertainment of one kind...


... or another.

[Sundae]

A more modern attraction.


Although this could be steam driven and fit in anywhere in the last century or more.


There are old fashioned swing boats in the background, which are "powered" simply by each child pulling the ropes inside.
I was a child of my time and adored rollercoasters and fast rides - still do - but those little boats would have made me equally happy.

[Sundae]

No rabbits this year. No idea why
So I took photos of pigeons instead.

Nothing like my minions in the park. These babies look like they're dressed for a night on the town.

[Sundae]

This one looks like it's been permed. All over!


And this one's Mum may have dallied with a peacock.

[Sundae]

And of course the poultry.

Inflatable.


Teenage eye roll


Mad as all hell


Backdoor explosion


Excuse my technical jargon there.

[Sundae]

The stunt riders were back, but their show wasn't as good as last year.
I thought it was just me, that the cold was making me grumpy, but I heard the same sentiment expressed by two other people.

It didn't help that the displays of skill were stymied by the wind. The targets kept being blown over, even the portable rails. And the premise - that the riders were King vs Country for the signing of the Magna Carta needed more explanation than the riding about and whooping of last year. Except that the radio mike didn't fare well in the wind either.

Still, they were very talented and I was able to sit down to watch them. Small mercies.

[Sundae]

Ridden Heavy Horses.

Winner


Second place


Third, but she got the biggest round of applause. Her horse just would not cooperate. She must have been burning with shame as he chose to go and stand in the centre and look around when he should have been showing off his canter. The judge said he was a very young horse. He might not make it to be a very old horse! The rider seemed reasonably unfazed though, bless her.

[Sundae]

And finally!
The overall horse winners, all in one place.
Handy.








I didn't photograph the "grand parade" of the sheep and cattle.
Sorry.
Then off to the funfair which is just outside the Otley Show.

[Sundae]

The fair was rubbish.
I don't know if it's just that Yorkshire doesn't do fairs well...?
The best one I've seen was a mini-fair in Millennium Square. And that missed the whiff of danger you get from real funfairs.

Or maybe the fairs I remember are a thing of the past now?
If so, it's a shame for the current generation of children growing up.

At least it meant I didn't spend any money.

[Sundae]

And then I went home and put a jumper on!

The End

[DanaC]

There are some good funfairs but they tend to show up in odd places. There's a good onethat sets up most years up in Shelf. That's the old fashioned kind of fairground - y'knowthe kind : swarthy young lads running the Waltzer and Speedway - screaming kids on the Egg - loud pop music and lots of flashing lights.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by DanaC

There are some good funfairs but they tend to show up in odd places. There's a good one that sets up most years up in Shelf. That's the old fashioned kind of fairground - y'know the kind : swarthy young lads running the Waltzer and Speedway - screaming kids on the Egg - loud pop music and lots of flashing lights.

That's it! That's the fella!
I think I was spoiled by having Thame Fair every year, where they closed off the whole of the High Street. And that had more than a whiff of danger, as all the pubs were still open, so it wasn't just the roustabouts and roundabouts which could harm you...

[Carruthers]

Thanks for a great write up, Sundae.
Special thanks for the photos of the Shires and the birds of prey.

I'm not that well informed when it comes to breeds of sheep, but I'm pretty sure that's a Swaledale shown in the first photo in Post #557.
I suspect it had a fairly short journey to the show.

ETA Well done for braving the zip wire!

[Clodfobble]

Curly feathers on a pigeon?! That's just cool.

Now I'm picturing dinosaurs with curly feathers too.

[glatt]

I'm so happy for you that you got to try a zip line. Aren't they fantastic?