It’s showtime!

This is not the spotlights and sparkles type of show - it is the agricultural show which gives Cumbrians the chance to be celebrate and be proud of the industry that remains the backbone of our county.

Ennerdale show is on this week which gives us a perfect opportunity to celebrate not only agriculture but the day on which town meets country.

Those who have never stepped foot on a farm get up close and personal with the animals that literally and figuratively put food on our tables.

I have not had as much chance to attend shows in this area but those I have been to have made me realise that, no matter where in the world you are,the agricultural show remain the same.

First, and most importantly, there are the animals = the sheep, cattle and pigs which the farmer depends for a living.

Then there are the horses. Every agricultural show I have attended on both sides of the world have show jumping and horse classes.

Next is the displays -the gleaming new farming machinery companies are hoping to sell or the old, but equally gleaming, classic and antique tractors, threshing machines and other agricultural implements from years gone by.

There is always entertainment for children, although we didn’t have junior of senior fell racing in my part of New Zealand. What we did have is sheep riding contests, pet shows, tug-o-war and, of course, a fun fair.

Entertainment in the main ring would include such things as sheep dog trials, dressage demonstrations, tractor pulling, hay stacking. and more.

We also had our Show Queen and, much like Wimbledon, show day was when we got our first strawberries of the season, that arrived in large punnets on the back of a flat bed van. Not even a crucial interview could stop this reporter from joining the queue, but it didn’t matter because the interviewee would be right behind me!

And, by the way, if you think our government is having problems with immigration, you should have seen the furore in my town when an attempt was made to introduce “foreign” breeds like Texel sheep into our shows!

Anyway, the reasons for the show, whether here or there, are exactly the same - a time when we can and should celebrate our farms and farmers.