Words of Wisdom

Youth is wasted on the young.

Monday 30 September 2013

The Photo Heavy Royal Show 2013 Post

My sister commented recently that my posts and answers to her various messages seemed very brief. There's no one like a sister to hit the nail on the head.

Life has been challenging of late. My foundations have been shaken and I have had to re-evaluate a whole lot of 'stuff'. In the wake of this I made a concerted decision to visit this year's  Royal Adelaide Show.

Errrrrr....I hear you say....re-evaluating 'stuff', like life stuff? How is the Show any part of that?? Well, it's kind of symbolic really. Symbolic of parts of my life which have been on hold over the last few years......

The Royal Adelaide Show is a cultural icon in South Australia. Radio stations decamp to its environs and broadcast willy nilly for a week; schools have a free 'Show Day'; speed limits are reduced, traffic is stopped in every direction and parking is anathema. I have posted about The Show before (and in fact, that post is rather indicative of some of the 'stuff' I have been having to re-evaluate of late) and continue to hold it dear to my heart as yearly tradition. Last year I didn't go. Back to that 'stuff' I was referring to.

Well THIS year I decided I was going by hook or by crook. I love The Show! If I didn't have anyone to go with, I figured I would go on my own!! As it turned out, I ended up going three times with three different people!! My first trip was with a new work colleague who has proved to be an enormous boon as a worker and a friend. She was also a keen Show fan and had purchased a family ticket for the week which meant she could go as many times as she liked and even take a guest :-D (pick me, pick me!!). We went with an oestrogen fuelled desire to see all the Arts and Crafts, unhindered and unhurried by impatient testosterone. Which we did.

These are from the Junior section:
Made entirely of nuts, bolts, hinges and O-rings etc.


This one is a teapot.


This last one is hard to see as I took it through glass and the ceiling lights reflected but it's a dragon made entirely from tissue paper. Like a pinata I suppose.


Having made our way through Arts and Crafts we checked out the flower arranging:


Yeah..I know......but hey, clever!


Weird.



More traditional. This one is entitled, "Forest Fruits" or something....

This next one had something to do with Shamrocks, or Leprechauns, or something......


Yes, that is a pot of gold hanging from a branch there.....

 This one was beach themed.....


This amazing Christmas Tree like arrangement of lilies was going to develop during the week.


We started to wander through the handicrafts area looking at knitted, crocheted and hand sewn articles.


But we were totally arrested by the quilt display.


No prize for this one but I rather liked it.


 Maybe too garish for my taste. What do you think?


This appealed

more so close up


The handwork on this was impressive...

 Well, I assume it was handwork




 This one was a bit kitsch


And this was over the top and possibly doesn't qualify as quilting, but it was fascinating to look at and included a list of objects to 'find'....



This was the Grand Champion.


I really need to get into quilting........

So that was the first visit to The Show. I had plans to attend with the Bestie on the following Friday but the BA surprised me by requesting that we go together. Since her mid teens she has tended to go with friends, as it should be, but with her extended o/s trip coming up scarily fast she was feeling a bit nostalgic.

We went after school on Thursday night as a light rain was starting to fall.


We made it in time to see the baby animals (no photos! amazing)

and possibly the most ridiculous looking chicken I have ever seen.
I noticed the Lily Tree had opened.


Now this is what an agricultural show is all about: Scarecrow competitions.




After our obligatory ride on the Crazy Coaster, now inexplicably renamed the Spinning Coaster, The BA and I had a lovely time wandering the aisles of the pavilion where new gadgets and products are showcased. We bought Stubby Strips for Christmas presents, sampled hand creams and experienced an eye massage complete with warming eye pads and ambient birdsong soundtrack. We heard the rain start.

This ruled out any more rides (thank you God) and so we looked at the cake decorating section.
Amazing....





How do you cut that then????

Finally, as things drew to a close for that evening, we bemoaned the rainsoaked cancellation of the ubiquitous 9pm fireworks. We saw a break in the skies so we made our way through the fine drizzle towards the car. As we passed the main arena, we could hear the sounds of revving engines and smell the burning rubber that heralds the motorcycle stunt team. Apparently the rain had not put them off. Once more my aging head could only think of those three words: 'Health and Safety'. And I used to be such a rebel. 

We were nearly to the gates when we heard the countdown. The fireworks were on after all! A quick glance at each other and we bolted back towards the stadium in time to see the start.


With the mist, smoke and drizzle, it was actually quite atmospheric.


And the rain stopped in time for us to walk back to the car.

The third trip was with the Bestie. Her agenda was very different. We didn't go near the craft hall but instead sought out the animals. The Bestie loves animals, a fact she recently confirmed by taking on the position of Voluntary Secretary of the Zoo Go-ers Anonymous Association (or some such Zoo-y society. Names changed to protect the innocent.) Anyway, as soon as we hit the Showgrounds we hightailed it over to the Farm Barn where we saw piglets, rabbits and baby chicks. Off next to see the alpaca and the goats and then on to the Petting Barn where there was a baby camel, baby emu chicks, Minature Hereford cattle and an albino wombat! Pausing for the ubiquitous cinnamon donuts (my third pack for the week), we watched the woodchoppers compete. I should have taken photos but I was eating my donuts at the time so I had to pinch this photo from another blog, but I must say these guys are impressive.


Image credit (there are a lot of lovely Show images on this blog. Much better than mine!!)

But the key purpose of Bestie's visit to The Show was to purchase a new gadget for grooming the puppy, Q. On our pet purchase travels, we also came across these guys...




And we even managed to find the grooming tools we were after! 


Our purpose fulfilled, her back starting to give out and a showbag full of cheese from the dairy pavilion safely under my arm; we made our way to the exit and said farewell to The Show for 2013.

I think this year was a record; three visits! It is indicative of my need to change my life significantly. I am really hoping this happens in a positive, productive way for our family but I am also resigned to the fact that things cannot continue as they are. At the very least I must proactively fill the holes in my life rather than moaning and waiting for someone else to fill them for me.

Wish me luck with that!








4 comments:

MissKate said...

Good luck! Lovely photos almost making me wish we had re-visited the crafts hall... Never mind, I am inspired to accompany you to something other than the animal enclosures next year!

dawn marie giegerich said...

I love the new quilts. They tell stories . . .

Arizaphale said...

MissKate! You are no longer Anonymous :-D...

Dawn: yes, I love a quilt that has a story. One I didn't load up here contained squares with the names and personalities of members of a family embroidered in. Lots of thought....

Stacy said...

That looks like it was a lovely time! Those quilts are so very impressive, and I can only imagine the sheer number of hours that went into them. All the handmade items are impressive, truly.

Glad you were able to get out and "fill the hole". I have to do that from time to time, too. In fact this weekend brought it forward again, as my hubby and I attended a wedding. All he wanted to do was sit back and drink beer at the reception wilst I watched all the other people dancing and having fun. This is number one reason why I go out with my girlfriends to dance with them. No need to bring him along to hold up the wall!