Whitacres and Shustoke Show, brill!

Wonderful weather, crowds of lovely people, hardly any litter on the field at the end of the day, which we ended sitting, hot and weary, with a cold beer, on straw bales listening to the band,

and........

First Prize for my Victoria Sandwich - hurray.

Third prize for a slightly over baked shortbread, but outdone by K, virgin baker.....

Because......he won equal best exhibit in the domestic classes and even a monetary prize!

Will he ever exceed that moment of glory?

At home, the hanging baskets look better than ever and .......

last year's geranium is amazing.

Another lovely, sunny day and dinner The Bull planned for this evening, after a day unpacking from yesterday's bric a brac stall.

Beat that.

Ecco Sale....

I treated myself, twice!

Brown ones road tested and brill.

When size does matter........

Two items from the back of a drawer, just sold on e bay.

So which would you think fetched the better price?

A pen nib by J Perry, one of the foremost pen makers of his day

or a lucky charm sold by Petulengro, King of the Gypsies, early Twentieth Century.

Base metal, unfortunately!

It's a whopper 12cm long nib and just fetched £113.57 at auction!

Amazing.

It's off to France tomorrow.

Anybody want a set of antique drawer pulls with back plates.

Lots to choose from.

The best set to surface so far, are heavy cast brass with Aphrodite on the back plates.

Not flying off the shelves......yet!

Up early, enjoying the cool before getting up for church.

No services to take today, so no rush.

Lawn to finish mowing, the ride on mower is revolting, 3 hours in the sun with the smaller "walk behind and empty the box every 1.5 lengths of the lawn" mower, and still not finished.

Field and outside still to do!

How many pen nibs to buy a new mower?

Whew, or the Welsh equivalent!

We drove to Painscastle yesterday in sweltering heat, stopping at Tenbury Wells for a cold drink at The Spotted Dog, then on to Presteigne for a tootle round and an ice cream.

The Roast Ox was a good overnight stay, basic room and good food.

We drove across the top of the hills, which was magnificent, to Builth Wells, to visit the Royal Welsh Show - a birthday treat!

Great day, a little more of a breeze today thank goodness.

We worked our way through the menu at tha organic milk bar for lunch - vanilla milk shake followed by a banana milk shake followed by frozen yoghurt.

Highlights included :

The lovely 15 minute walk along the River Wye from the car park to the Showground,

The Welsh Cob Stallion competition which took 1.5hours, in the main ring - 40 in class, magnificent animals and we picked the winner.

The pigs, so many breeds and sizes, large whites, enormous pinks, Berkshire Blacks, Tamworth Reds.........

Angora goats.

Dogs retrieving in water, including two spaniels

A sheepdog rounding up Indian runner ducks, getting them through a small diameter tunnel

The climbing of a 190' pole - the oldest climber was 83

And lots more........

Then on to Bishops Castle for a night in The Red Brick House, which must be the best B&B in the Universe.

Everything is perfect.

In a Family Suite.

No children have joined us yet.

We have dined at The Three Tuns - a fantastic meal, concluded with the most amazing summer pudding ever, served with cherry compote and a large ball of clotted cream.

A roll down the hill back to bed to walk it down, a little anyway.

The Cattle Market is here tomorrow, after a good breakfast, no doubt!

Awaiting the phone call, Theresa...............

Not too fussy now that I have been overlooked for the top jobs.

Perhaps a new department, something to do with mature folk in rural communities?

This mature person came in for coffee an hour ago!

Down to Earth again....

All the excitement of Wimbledon over for another year -what a match!

The diet started yesterday, doing well until we ate with friends last night - salmon and salad followed by a mouthwatering strawberry and cinnamon torte (BBC Good Food), which was full of wonderful things and well worth the effort.

Today, I must do the housework.

It's nearly midday and I have yet to make contact with a duster.

Activities have been housework related- finding the Best Buycordless vacuum cleaner on the "Which" site - the Dyson V6 apparently, £149 at John Lewis, but on visiting their site, it was the D6 mattress vacuum at that price.

Who on earth needs a special mattress vacuum cleaner?

What's wrong with the upholstery attachment on the normal vacuum?

Having set my mind on £149, I cannot bring myself to spend £245, so shall have to search all over again.....sometime.

8 e bay sales packed and ready to go to the Post Office and a delivery of Size 4 Jiffy Bags (large letter rather than small parcel, 50 for £10.69), so all set for a rush, if it comes.

Two services yesterday, Sh in church followed by OW in their churchyard, as no one had a key.

A much better alternative, around a bench, in the sunshine, The Good Samaritan much better preached off the cuff!

Garden looking good, field mowed yesterday afternoon, leaving the far side for the bees.

I have invested in a bag of wild flower seeds to plant in the autumn, after a gentle mow.

Lawns still to do but the mower was in a mood....

Last year's geranium, thriving.

Sweet peas to pick....

   

 

Honeysuckle all over the house with flowers all over.

Moles all over the place - time to call in Arthur!

Tubs blooming.

 

Baskets blooming.

 

No Ironing to do......yet!

Dk' balloons thriving!

Destination Denmark....

Some reminders:

DK spent this morning tracking which balloon came downstairs the fastest.

A great visit here on Monday combined with a visit to Bablake, to see their Dad's school.

They were very impressed with the climbing wall!

The strawberries didn't ripen in time.

The geraniums continue to flourish, some even have flowers.

He's back!

With a mate under the tree, tunnelling towards each other?

K mowed them a football pitch.

Herbs doing well.

Honeysuckle everywhere.

I think that this was forgotten - a flat pack football!

Happy Birthday DK.

The present mountain.

The Treasure Map of the day of Adventure (Alton Towers Water Park)

Big Brother.

The "non birthday" gift.

The aftermath -all decorations carefully transported from Denmark for the occasion!