Wednesday 2 October 2019

Pigs And Flowers (And More Besides)

There's a rather wonderful short story by Saki (H H Munro) which concerns a young man telling a story to two children on a train journey. In the story there is a king who is very fond of pigs and flowers but is advised that he can't have both in his garden. The king very wisely chooses to have pigs.


But in an act of incredible generosity I can let you have both pigs and flowers today...


Yes, we're back at Gransden Show for a few more pictures. You can have some more flowers if you like....


There were even elaborate flower arrangements highlighting some of the expensive tractors on display. Someone had matched these with a rather tongue-in-cheek decoration for this rusty wreck.....


In fairness this rusty old machine, it was explained, has just been acquired by its owner, who plans to have it restored to immaculate condition by next year's show. I can only wish him or her luck with the project.

What else?


One of the more understated beauties in the Fancy Pigeon marquee.

And I spotted a few breeds of farm animals that I've not shown you before...


These two cuddly characters (the sheep, not the exhibitors) are, I'm fairly certain, Hampshire Downs. They are not a rare breed but they are nice-looking creatures.


The Teeswater (above) is a vulnerable breed however with under 1,500 in the country. There are several breeds of "longwool" sheep which are thought to be descended from the sheep brought over by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago.


And this is a Lincoln Red, one of less than 500 representatives of the breed. 

I'm not sure what to say about this trio of wooden puppets....


…..supply your own caption!


Take care.




25 comments:

  1. Love the livestock shows at a fair. Coming from a farming community, we attended many of these. We had hogs but not the show class.

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  2. That last photo is priceless, John. May I share it with friends?

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  3. Love posts with animals! And puppets!

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  4. The Teeswater and Lincoln Red are new to me.

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  5. Lovely mixture of animals and flowers.

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  6. I think Pinocchio has handlers. Those suited puppets look like they exercise far too much control over him. We should amass a peoples' army and set him free.

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  7. I've never seen a Teeswater, but I have heard of Lincoln Red.

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  8. I love the Teeswater...and the Lincoln Red...I had not heard of either.

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  9. Hi John - stunning flowers ... while the Saddlebacks are a delight to see ... I've always loved pigs. Brilliant to see the other breeds ... and that tractor - looking forward to that restoration! ... cheers Hilary

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  10. A great spot to walk around with a camera. Lovely captures of the pigs and sheep.

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  11. I don't know if I am giving too much away but Pigs are one of my favourite animals together with hippos especially the pygmy ones.

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  12. Oh my the rusty old tractor is in serious need of LOTS of tender loving care 😱 Beautiful flowers amongst the farm animals. If the puppets on either side of Pinocchio are meant to be Chump, Pinocchio is way out of his depth as far as lying is concerned 😁

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  13. Great photos and an educational tour!

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  14. Love the flowers and critters there. The Teeswater is so interesting, its fur looks like hay.

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  15. The Three Liars, or Liars Bench, would be my caption. The flowers are beautiful, such thought in their arrangement. Like that long-wool sheep too, and the red cattle breed.

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  16. Thanks for showing us both flowers and pigs. Pigs always remind me how I love the Wodehouse books about Lord Emsworth and his prize winning pig. I like to know that old breeds of farm animals are being preserved.

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    1. Lord Emsworth's pig was a Berkshire. There were a couple of these at the show but I didn't get a decent picture.

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  17. You know Lincolnshire Reds were a common breed when I was a child (in Lincolnshire of course). We do see a few Teeswater sheep down here - we are not too far from their 'home country',

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    1. I too find it difficult to believe that breeds of farm animals that were common when I was growing up have now become threatened with extinction.

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  18. I never seen or heard of a Teeswater sheep before but I like it.

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  19. Super photos. Love the sheep and the 'rusty' flower display:)

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  20. Fine animals and gorgeous flowers. The wool from those long haired sheep would be a joy to spin. It looks like they have dreadlocks!

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