North Canterbury on Show

Well, what a week it has been. I have been looking forward to this week for some time. This time of year see a lot of the local towns having their annual A&P shows. There just is nothing more country than the rural AMP shows, and I was not disappointed with our own Amberley A&P show yesterday. From point to point, hoof to plate, chop the block, highland dancing, and of course parading your favourite lamb. In church this morning, 3 little girls, 4 - 7 years old showed off their winning ribbons/sashes they received from their pet lambs - proud - just too good. But this story ends there, it starts on Thursday with the FAMOUS Culvedern Fete, just about an hour inland from Amberley. Anna and I had been planning our trip for sometime. Her great friend Stacey came down from the Waikato, and with one of her local gorgeous friends Kate, the 4 of us set off for a day at the Fete.

The fete is held on a farm, but it has now been running for some years, and is a slick machine. Buses come up from Chch, and there are paddocks of parked cars. I reckon there is about 2,000 people there within the first hour. The stalls are all manned by cheerful people who generally know heaps about what they are selling. There is no landfill, just generally good quality options for those Christmas presents or just to cheer oneself up for the onslaught of Christmas. In the centre are various food, coffee, wine of course the famous Pimms tent, with some lovely jazz playing and lots of tables under the trees.

We took our own picnic, which we had in the carpark looking up at the mountains, gee life is hard in the country! We all bought a variety of goods, from hats (as you can see) for Anna and I through to snazzy tops for the girls and some Christmas presents. We left happy and chatty, having had a terrific day together....and that was Thursday. Friday we were supposed to go to Art in the Garden, but time and energy needed preserving. Friday evening I had the girls for dinner, starting with a chocolate martini, a 3 course dinner, and a barrel of laughs, mainly at my expense I think!

A couple of us had a fairly late night, and another couple of us had a really late night! So the A&P Show on Saturday was a little more of a struggle than originally thought, especially as Anna's very excited children wanted rides and treats all at the same time. It was a lovely day, and the Show lived up to all its promises, from the best flowers, best baking, best jams, just the best everything really, and a loads of proud happy people just enjoying each other's company, checking out new farm bike options, and children running wild between the ferris wheel and the candy floss stand. All in all a great 3 days, thank goodness Sunday is a day of rest. The Duchess