A day off! Or ought I say a day off which was pre planned. Everyone I worked for knew that Saturday 9th June was going to be a day off; no one would have dared suggest Shep changed her mind. It was time to head away and catch up with some crack, view some decent sheep and basically enjoy a leisurely day at the Twicey show. Which was exactly what I did.
Once again old Glen and myself disappeared off for the day and headed away for our annual trip to Hadrians Wall and it's annual sheep show.
A beautiful setting for a show, even when the weather is somewhat anti social as it was on Saturday.
The weather was threatening as these clipped tup hoggs were showing themselves off in the ring, it must feel strange to get the rain on your backs when a good covering of wool had been the norm for the preceding months, but they aren't the only ones bare, Shep has already clipped ewe hoggs on a couple of farms and there are many more to do.
By the time the Blackfaced tup lambs were being judged the weather had indeed broken. It didn't just rain, it poured down, like a thunder spate, all that was missing was the rumble of thunder itself. A true cloudburst which seemed to be relentless.
There are some wiser than myself, these two retired shepherds took me by surprise when an umbrella surfaced. I had been enjoying their company and crack but there wasn't room for me under there as well, I took shelter behind them instead. Two very sound sheep men from which much can be learnt if you take heed. They did inform me that they thought the umbrella ought to be fitted with down spouts - just shows how wet it was!
The mule men seemed to hold off judging their lambs until the downpour subsided, the sun even came out! As did the midges!
The rain held off whilst the blackfaced championship was judged, all the first prize winners from the various classes, both male and female were in the ring together before the judge decided which one he deemed the best of the lot, this year it went to a ewe lamb from Wanwood Hill. The mule ewe lamb championship was won by Carry House.
There was a good turnout of sheep on the day and of a high standard too, although there may have been slightly fewer entries in the classes than previous years, the weather may have been responsible for this or maybes the change of date for the Cumberland show may have had a slight affect on the show, regardless there was still plenty of sheep for the judges to scrutinize.
It would seem this Swaledale tup collected more than one rosette, in actual fact there was more than one sheep in the pen, I just zoomed in!
I had decided upon arrival at the show not to show old Glen, he got out of the car and seemed a bit lame and wobbly, he is 12 year old now and suffering badly from arthritis so it was asking a bit much, however, a friend suggested I really ought to, so I got him out of the car and took him onto the field, he really perked up when poddling around meeting other dogs and children who wanted to stroke him.
He seemed quite cheerful when he met this pack of Border terriers, showing his best side and trying to woo the girls amongst them! Anyhow, to cut a long story short, somehow we missed the judging. It must have been meant to be is all I can say! He has won there for the past two years by sheer luck and now, even older and wobblier, it was really asking a bit much, so we were saved the embarrassment of not being chosen by actually not even competing - a fine way to bow out I would say! (I have since met the judge of the day on the road and had a crack with him, the first thing he asked was why I hadn't shown old Glen! Oops!!)
The day came to an end. It had been a most enjoyable day off. Fortunately I had been wise enough not to park on the field upon arrival and there is no doubt my car would not have got off it at night without this sort of assistance. The day was rounded off nicely by calling on a long standing and very dear friend whom I hadn't seen for a couple of years, supper was offered and accepted with the result Shep didn't arrive home 'til bed time - that's the way to enjoy a day off!
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