We went along this morning and couldn't have timed it worse. Firstly, holiday traffic meant the motorway was pretty clogged but this paled into insignificance compared with the weather. It rained. In fact it was a deluge, starting pretty much just as we got there! Fortunately, the exhibits were undercover but going between tents still meant that we got drenched. Such a shame as Bicton is a grand 19th century country house set in beautiful grounds and it would have been so much more pleasant to stroll around in the sunshine.
As with the Mid Devon Show, I gravitated towards the animals. I'm still making up my mind what sheep breed to go for, so I take every opportunity to check them out. Gotland sheep are on my shortlist (not strictly a British breed, but I do love the wool) so I made for Whitehall Farm. Evidently they can come in black and silvery white as well as various shades of grey. They have animals for sale and usually sell out of stock pretty quickly. The best time to buy is about now as there is more choice; leave it any later and the choice becomes more restricted. Something to bear in mind, when I get round to buying.
We then worked our way around the various tents - a fibre fiend's idea of heaven. I have to say I resisted all temptation to buy any more fleece / yarn as my current stash at home already exceeds life expectancy. Instead I bought buttons - lots of buttons - a shawl pin and a thingy for counting wraps per inch.
Back in the trade marquees, everybody seems to be doing space-dyed yarns, but I think my favourite stalls were those doing naturally-coloured, undyed yarn such as West Yeo Farm and Woolcake. Woolcake's simple, chunky but contemporary designs particularly appealled to me.
The bad weather finally drove us away. We got back home an hour or so later and, what do you know, the sun was shining and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. Ah well!
