From Deb's Desk: Fair Air

June 24, 2017 - What a great day I had today at the Royal Highland Show that is celebrating its 177th year this year! When I was planning my trip and what to see while in Scotland, I saw the this four day show would be in Edinburgh while I was there and I knew that I had to see it! From what I could tell by reading online it basically looked like a state fair with which I am very familiar!

The dawn comes early here and I got up and got moving. I packed my brolly in my bag just in case and headed to the bus stop. Once in the city centre I had to figure out how to catch the bus out to the show and after a couple of inquiries and walking a few extra blocks I figured it out and boarded the correct bus and headed to the outskirts of Edinburgh and enjoyed the sights out the window along the way.

When we arrived 25 minutes later I was able to move quickly and head straight to a special line for those who had pre-printed tickets that they simply scanned. Easy Peasy! One note: The entry fee for this show was about $35, not a cheap price to get into a fair. Those who crab about the $10 to get into the Illinois State Fair need to reconsider and think about how much overhead there is to put on an event such as this.

After entering I consult my map to get a feel for where I wanted to start out. I breathe deeply and take in the smell of fair - the wonderful Fair Air! Cooking smells and a faint hint of cattle and horses and straw greets me. I am pretty tickled! I decided instead of going right as I usually do, I would go left and start in the vendor area. To get there I first pass an area of several semis that are beautifully painted advertising their companies and one that makes me smile reads, "Livestock Haulage." This is not a typo. There are huge white tents erected and are filled with vendors selling everything from the usual jewelry and children's bibs and clothing to the more unusual to me, Highland cow footstools and felted chairs, Some of these works of art are truly quite magnificent and I marvel at the artisan's work.

I see gorgeous stuffed sheep made with tartan plaid in every color, Fuzzy Highland Coos, plaid clothing of every description, beautiful eclectic necklaces made with recycled old jewelry, some felted designs that are so wonderful I asked if I could take photos and they graciously agreed, (it seems felting is a popular craft here) many beautiful paintings of animals and scenery from the area, carved wooden sculptures, brooches and hat pins made from feathers, framed photography, jigsawed wooden pieces, and lots and lots of woolen clothing. Most of what I am seeing I would not find at the Orion Fall Festival craft show and I take great delight in taking my time and examining the wares. I decide on an item to purchase and select a slate heart (slate is big here as it is mined in the area) with purple thistles. The thistles are molded from clay then hardened and then painted and attached to the slate. Something completely new and different than I would find at home and since the thistle is the national flower of Scotland and my living room is done in purple, it is the perfect souvenir!

After all this looking it is time for something to eat! I have many choices from Aberdeen Angus beef to Scottish seafood, Highland hog roast, Water Buffalo and jumbo sausages, fish and chips and always tea, and I finally decide on "The Goatee." It is a baked potato (tattie) covered with goat cheese, roasted red grapes, and a drizzle of honey. It was delicious eaten at a picnic table with a local older man and his wife. You know, I have to talk with everyone! He was wearing a a tweed plaid jacket and classic wool tartan cap and was sporting a carved walking stick. I loved talking with them and they seemed to enjoy the conversation also. I asked if they had ever visited America and they had not and now the woman is unable to fly due to health reasons. After our meal we said good bye and went our own ways to further explore the show. Interspersed throughout the show are stages where entertainment is taking place, accordion players, singers, a band, so much to see and watch. On note about the way people dress here, it appears that the younger people dress casually in comfortable clothes, jeans and such, but many of the older gentlemen get dressed up in fine wool jackets and caps. It was very interesting to see.

Next I walked through farm equipment. Lots and lots of farm equipment! More types than I imagined there were and finally towards the end of the selection I found the John Deere section. The had displayed several tractors and some other equipment used here. No big harvesters though like Eric works on because corn and beans are not grown here.

There is a huge section of cars on display but not a Chevy or Ford to be found among them! I have seen a few while here in Scotland but there are very few American cars. I see displays of wind turbines, and an area a local funeral director showed off his Range Rover hearse and a vintage Mercedes hearse. Also displayed was an antique hand bier - a wheeled cart on which the coffin would ride. In addition to the vintage items they also had on display modern options such as a wicker coffin and a coffin made of wool. They also had woolen boxes for the ashes of your loved ones to be placed into as well as jewelry that can contain some of the cremains. It was fascinating and I took many photos for Mariah to enjoy.

I saw so much more than can be described here...playground equipment, outdoor furniture, giant metal sculptures and fancy metal gates for your home. The list goes on and on all set on this acreage with rock wall borders and a castle presiding over all of it! It was awesome! Soon I came upon another large tent and it was filled with food vendors. One was making giant pans of paella, another selling a large variety of olives, another baklava, one guy making crepes as fast as his partner could fill and sell them, and a huge variety of nuts. Of course there was plenty of beer to go around too! It was fascinating and I walked slowly drinking in all the wonderful cooking smells and enjoying the sights. Interesting note: not one corn dog or funnel cake to be seen. I did see one lemonade stand but it wasn't all that popular since it was cool. Several ice cream stands but no food on a stick! I found that in Germany a few years ago also and wondered what they would think of how many foods are served on sticks at our local fairs! Or deep fried items! No deep fried Snickers here!

More tents follow with huge storefronts of woolen clothing, jackets, boots, and more crafts. Some animal mounts caught my attention because they were as large as the actual animal but were made from woolen fabric, were colorful, and quite attractive. They had a small midway with a couple of rides but nothing like our carnivals. A few games where you could throw a ball and knock over stuffed animals to win that animal but not much more than that. I saw a Harry Potter store whose sign read "Maker of Fine Wands since 302 BC and a huge display of artificial flowers. Not the cheap kind but the $10 or $15 a stem kind. Beautiful! One vendor was selling bulbs and blooming plants in pots. Calla Lilies, Allium that were covered in bumblebees and more plus a lot of herbs and hanging baskets of annuals.

My next stop is the horse arena where small Shetland ponies and Highland ponies were competing. They were fun to see prancing around the ring being judged and many of then are not and many of them are not any bigger than a large dog. But the best was coming up! The Grand Cattle Parade!

Let me set the scene...there is a quite large grandstand filled to capacity with people overlooking a huge freshly mowed grass arena! It really was huge and I am not good at estimating size but it was big! Being a single I was able to find a spot to sit a few rows up a lo and behold, I was next to a couple from Indiana! We had a lot in common being from farm families and their last child had just completed his final 4-H year. But the parade was about to begin and the announcer began his bit.

From out of the staging area, led by a kilted man, came a child carrying a sign reading the name of the breed of cattle. Following the sign would be the cattle let by their owners or trainers and all of these people were dressed in sparkling white coats. Every type of cattle I have ever heard about were there including many I had not and were representing both beef and dairy breeds. You could tell the cattle and calves were quite used to being led around and behaved nicely including the giant bulls. I tried to count how many were there and I think there were about 150 in the show ring all at one time! It was incredible to watch them follow each other in nice straight lines and when at the end of the arena make a turn and begin another line. By the time they were done the cattle were back and forth the entire arena ribbon fashion and it was quite a sight! By the time they were done parading I was itching to get a closer look.

Heading to the huge cattle barn, much bigger than those I have been in at the state fair, the air was smelling like part of my childhood. Fresh golden straw was bedding the cattle, families were putting their tack away, cattle were munching their feed, it was wonderful! I wandered up and down the lines admiring these show cattle and missing the pleasure I once knew caring for a large animal such as these. The only thing I missed at that point was Sandy and Gin to share this experience with because they were there in my childhood and knew these feelings and experiences too. I wanted to note also that this barn even held a small milking parlor that was being cleaned as I passed by.

Next on the list to see was the horse barn. These gorgeous creatures were just hanging out in their stalls, some munching on hay, and some hanging their heads out to beg for a scratch. I only saw working horses today. I don't know if pleasure horses were ever at this show. But there were a lot of the Clydesdales that we at home are familiar with because of the Budweiser team. I spent plenty of time greeting those who wanted to be petted and enjoyed every minute of it. The tiny horses were in the next barn and I more quickly walked through it to get to the noise I was hearing down the way.

The noise was a horseshoeing competition. There were five competitors and one of them was a woman. They all had a helper to man the forge and keep the shoes in and out the right temperature for hammering. They all had a horse that needed shoeing to start and had to clean the hoof and trim it and get it ready for shoes. Then while they were hammering away on the hot shoe on their anvil, two judges in white coats inspected the horses feet, feeling the hoof with their fingertips and making notes on their judging papers. As the farriers were continuing to bang away on the metal shoes I took my leave and moved on but I am sure it would have been fun to sit there for another hour and see the outcome of the event.

I saw a fun thing next...it was a plastic bubble that little kids would climb into and then roll around inside. This bubble was sitting in a pool of water so they could roll pretty freely although it was tethered by rope with a person holding the end to get them moving again if they got stuck. There was a big line of kids waiting to do it and they looked like they were having a ball!

The final display building held the Open class Arts and Crafts. This was fun to look through and I was especially interested in the classes that we do not have at home. I asked if I could have a listing of the classes for Gin and they gladly gave me a book to take home. You just never know when an idea will strike from reading another fair book!

I wanted to eat again by this time before I went back home so looked over the selections in this area and decided on shrimp and chips - which are not chips as we know them but fries. It was yummy and I was full and ready to get back to my flat. I still had to ride the bus back into the city and then get the second bus to where I am staying but it went very smoothly and I am really starting to get the hang of the bus system here. It was another beautiful day although a bit cooler and some wind but no raid and I am happy since I expected to be rained on at least once this trip! Talk later!