Finally, my day out at the Highland Show 2009
Livejournal RE Highland festival
Ok, I’m going to start doing this now, since I’m kind of avoiding doing that Robin Hood fic thing. My brain serious needs to calm down, so some dry factual diary writing might be the cure. :) [BELATED EDIT: TOOK ME FOR FUCKING EVER, BUT HERE IT IS!]
Right well first note is that there will be much picspam to be had … through linkage. So picspam and linkspam, beware. Also lots of boring ‘LOLZ AT THIS TINY TRACTOR’ comments. Just sayin.
I woke up to the irritating sound of my alarm at an entirely too early 8:40am Saturday morning and somehow convinced my body to get up and into the shower. Amazingly I managed to get ready in less than 20 minutes, but unfortunately I had to stop and chat with my housemate, who was very surprised that I was actually going somewhere on a Saturday XD; (I swear I’m not that reclusive! Honest!) but she did have some good things to say about the Highland Show, so that was encouraging.
I had to get a bus to St Andrew’s Square, which is where the special service was running for the four days that the Highland Show was running. I thankfully managed to find a bus and climb on - first time I got on a full bus so I got out and climbed on the one behind it, which was totally empty! :D yay for grabbing window seats early!! ^_^
We had to wait until the bus filled up, and then we set off. There was a stop or two along the way, but we pretty much went straight to the show grounds. It took almost an hour to get there!! D= I didn’t realise until I actually got there and checked the time - could you believe it was almost 10:30!!! Half my morning was already gone!! DX so had much time to make up.
Look! It’s the Highland Show Entrance banner! Wee! I had to buy my ticket (£22!!!!!!!! 0.0) and then I could enter away! :D there were people shouting around with brochures for sale, but I resisted the urge to waste £3 on one. I knew that despite the map inside making life much easier, I would never stop looking at the program and feeling ridiculously depressed when I realised I would be missing out on a whole lot since so much happens at once at these things. So I opted for just wandering around and finding the cookies for myself.
Can you believe this is just the FOOD and RANDOM SHIT section!? So many people there already! Even though it was cold and the weather was fucking terrible and foggy and misty!! (DAMN YOU LONDON! DAMN YOU AND YOUR PERFECT FUCKING SUNNY WEEKEND) of course it wouldn’t be Scotland without shite Saturday’s. *rolls eyes* But anyway, enough moaning. Here be the map of awesome that helped me try to figure out where to go (though not really coz I just walked along the paths, figuring that they all lead in a big circle anyway XD). So I went towards the food market.
I got slightly distracted on my way there by this cute little Craft display tent. They had heaps on display, and most of it was really beautifully made. it would be your grandma’s dream come true! ^^; My favourite thing was the First Price Self Knitting shawl thing - THAT SHIT WAS MADE BY HAND! LIKE ZOMG WHO DOES THAT?! And there are other awesomeness floating about and it was all very nice. But I had bigger fish to fry!!
Ok, not quite. Because I got distracted again, but this time it is totally justifiable. Who wouldn’t want to watch half naked men Blacksmithing a pair of metal hoof shoes?! And aren’t the horses simply ADORABLE?!! I love them - they are so beautiful. I always giggle whenever I see the hair hanging over their hooves coz I = retarded. ^^;;
Seriously, this time I got to the point. I went into a massive tent that housed a whole bunch of weird and wacky things. I looked around for a while, because they had quite a lot of things on display - clothes and nail shit and jewellery, etc. I was impressed with this dog brush, which would be perfect for our Fox Terrier. And speaking of impressive things, check this out! It’s a massage machine for your back/shoulders/neck/arms/legs/other pained areas!! God I wish it wasn’t like … £50, because I would have bought it, RIGHT THERE. Best investment ever, I reckon.
Once I got out of there I decided to eat, since I was actually hungry and there was a porridge stand conveniently located right outside the tent I was just in! I had no idea what to get, but this guy, who served me, recommended the porridge with raspberries and cream and nuts and yummy stuff. No idea what it’s called [funky Scottish name, that much I remember], but it looks pretty awesome. they also had oat bars for sale, but I decided against getting more crap.
I wondered around, porridge in hand, taking pictures of the really weird costumes that were being used to sell stuff (seriously? Potatoes? Is it to inform those that might not have known they existed before?) and the signs that were outside the same booth. It was for the Co-Operative Food Company, which is a chain of supermarkets across the UK (more prevalent in Scotland though). They had a neat renewable energy blender machine (LOL) but unfortunately I didn’t get to taste the smoothie that chef made, because that was the last one he made. =(
Side note: around this time I noticed Mr Scottish Chicken running around and had to go chase after him. He reminded me so much of Chaz from Chasers that I couldn’t help myself. See my point?? *giggled like a two year old*.
Anyway, back to the Co-operative. They had a wee circle thing in the middle that they used to give out free tasters of food - so everyone would practically line up and shuffle around like a retarded Congo line, just to eat the free snack. XD it was funny, but I got to try some pretty nice shortbread/cakes/strawberries/drinks/cheeses/chips/etc. I also took a picture of the two blokes that somehow managed to keep up a running commentary of shit for most of the day. It was insane! They also pointed out that one of the guys that worked there had an awesome new tattoo (that I went over to check out - very cool, must be said) and they also encouraged us to check out their bee display. I presume it must have been informative, but I was not in the mood for reading [:O SHOCK!] or trying to weave through kids to deal with that shit. So I moved on.
There was this really cute wee tent that had a whole host of different things that you could buy, from specially designed canes to beautiful rings to beds and covers. My favourite thing was probably this here blurry shot of a Hippo Table, which could only be seconded by these awesome cushions of awesome. They had a very enticing and entirely distractful and evil display of adorable children’s clothes at the entering/exiting door, and I was so very tempted to get this totally inappropriate one for Bubby Neffy. Pity that it’s a jumper, because if I could have bought it as a shirt, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME Y/Y??
Just opposite this tent was another corporate cabin thing for ASDA. I stupidly didn’t take pictures or couldn’t or something, but inside they had a cooking advice corner (I presume you got to eat the stuff afterwards?) and this kinda cool but not really Bee mascot floating around. They had some really good food though, including this table for smoked and spiced Salmon and Highland Scottish [and English] tea with biscuits, both of which were amazing. I don’t think I’ve eaten such good Salmon, and tea+biscuits always = win. Final thing of super mega awesome was IRN BRU FLAVOURED ICE CREAM LIKE WHOA! This shit, I want. I am definitely making a trip out to ASDA one day soon to get me this ice cream and that Salmon. OM NOM NOM. Out side they even let you eat before leaving their area!! Awesome, much!
I heard bagpipes~! and went to investigate. LOL practicing in a car park!! XDD *luffs them*
Then I went into this massive arse tent, which was specifically delegated for food. WOOT JACKPOT! You can vaguely see that there are heaps of people - it was PACKED! Especially anywhere that was around free samples. It was amazing - the amount of cheese cubes, salami bits, jams, biscuits, alcohol, chocolate and FOOD that I ate was ridiculous! You wouldn’t need to eat throughout the day - just go down the line of taste testers! I went through the whole place without buying anything … and then I came across the Chocolate fondue strawberry/marshmallows stand. And my resolve crumbled. I bought the yummiest thing I ate all day, and didn’t even mind that it cost £3. or something. SO WORTH IT!
They also had a Black Pudding eating contest? I think? I DON’T EVEN KNOW. It’s hard to see from this photo, but there were so many people that I couldn’t quite get over to check it out properly. And I didn’t quite feel like taking part …
Few more food photos: They had some Toffee Vodka,which I of course had to try. It was really weird, just as you’d think and it definitely didn’t make me stop hating vodka any less. I also bought myself some garlic and tomato seasoned bread (which I ate later in the day) and tried the super mega foxy awesome hot chilli salami. I was really sad that I couldn’t get this for my Uncle Adam, who is apparently a huge lover of chilli. He was the first person I thought of when I saw it. =(
Anyway, after about an hour of wandering around, I decided that I needed to get out of there before I was tempted by even more very lovely smelling food. I had a quick glimpse of a Clydesdale horse all dolled up, going through the “Livestock gate”. It was kinda awesome - they had this ‘highway’ type thing for the animals, so they could be moved from the pens to the showground easily, and when they were going through YOU, people, would have to wait at the gate until they had all gone through. It was quite awesome.
I across the way a little bit too where there was another food shack thing, this time for Morrison’s and Tesco’s. I went into Tesco’s first and went around to each of the booths that were giving away food and stuffed my face. Coz I’m good like that. And for some reason I found it necessary to take a picture of cerel bars. OH WAIT! *snickers geekily* HAHA! I C WOT U DID THAR SME! *crazy Pot head*
Anyway, moving onto Morrison’s. this was actually a really cool booth, and I spent quite a bit of time here talking. They had a chef (WHO HAD MET RICHARD HAMMOND. OH MY ROWLING, THE HAMSTER. I THINK I JUST CREAMED MY PANTS) who was doing a Lamb cutting and cooking demonstration (? Don’t ask me what the point of that was. I expect it was to show people that they were ‘serious’ about having the best meat? Or something? And to give us free food, of course) and this guy who worked for Morrison’s came up to me and we started talking. I felt like I was in my element, because we got talking about big corporate supermarket chains and how awesome Morrison’s is because they actually use LOCAL produce, supporting local farmers, etc. I told him all about how Woolworths can suck my cock for being greedy little fucking bastards, exploiting their farmers, and he told me that there would be no way Morrison’s would do something as stupid as ship Bowen tomatoes down to Brisbane, only to cart them back up again. (didn’t understand any of that? No worries - its just my eternal hatred and anger at Woolies come out. Please feel free to ignore)
Now, I can’t remember how long I talked for, but it was definitely about 10 minutes. They were going to have their next demonstration at 2pm, but I wandered off and didn’t come back. It was the longest time I spent in one place though, when I wasn’t eating. (though I did try their lamb … and felt a little sick. The guy was awesome though, since I told him that I don’t like meat, but just spent ten minutes in the Tesco tent eating all their salami. XDD;; ‘so you’re a confused vegetarian’ was his reply, and I couldn’t agree more! Especially when I ate another piece later on!! XDD;;)
So off I went, heading (unknowingly) towards the young farmer’s centre. How now, Big Cow? I kinda didn’t get the point of this, but I suppose that’s because I don’t have any interesting cattle whatsoever. There were a whole bunch of people standing around in white coats, and I was quite confused at first, thinking they were scientists. XD *is retarded* it took me until much later to realise that they were wearing the coats to keep potential cow fluids off their clothes. But anyway, I went in and had a look around - they had a whole bunch of cowboy displays on … display. It was kind of weird, coz they were all themed cowboy displays … and it was just weird. Yea.
Anyway, moving on to … CLANADONIA!! I heard the bagpipes and drums as I made my way towards the Tractor sector, and stopped by to check it out. They are this really awesome band that I swear to god I know from somewhere. There are about six drummers and one poor bagpiper, and they are all very blokey and Scottish and manly and shirtless/sleeveless and hunky and *drools*. AND THEY WEAR KILTS!!! what more could you want?!?!?! Unfortunately I only came as they finished up their act *sad pandas* so that sucked.
I wandered away up toward the large display of tractors. It amused me greatly. This tractor, for example, was one of the biggest that I saw. AND IT’S SO TINY! LOLOLOLOL!! It wouldn’t even COMPARE to my brother’s massive tractor. It’s about as big as one of the wheels of the landplane!! YOU BRITS HAVE NO CONCEPT OF HUGE.
I did however, find the most awesome four-wheeler addition in the whole place. IT’S FOR PICKING UP COW SHIT! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! *dies laughing* I thought it might be a mini landplane (for digging up dirt) or a mower. But oh no! LOL the look on my face must have been priceless when the woman told me. XD *is ridiculously immature*
Speaking of awesome four wheelers: THEY HAD A MINI TANKER 4 WHEELER LIKE WOW AWESOME!! Talk about brilliant! I seriously, seriously want me one of them. Couldn’t I just test drive it? THAT WOULD BE SO ~TOTALLY AWESOME~!!
Anyway, moving swiftly on. There was a weird tent that had a whole host of … weird things. As I was waiting to go in, there was a flower stand that had really beautiful Heather bouquets, which I was sooooo impressed by. If I was going to buy flowers, those would be the ones I’d get. :) OHOH and look at the first bench inside the tent!! haha! We’re infecting the nation! XD he had some really awesome hats though. Much love for the Aussie’s. :D
This was obviously the place for those that had more money to burn. The jewellery was MUCH more expensive, but really very pretty. I spent a lot of time looking at jewellery because of my book, and also just to note for future when I actually have money to spend on pretty things. xD I also made sure to check out the other stuff though, like this insanely awesome ‘mattress’. That’s just the sign for it, but it’s one of those beds that massages your entire body. I don’t actually know why I didn’t get a picture of it in action (probably thought I didn’t have enough memory for it), but it was pretty cool. I just wish I’d got on it - especially now, my back is killing me. All I had to do was take off my shoes~!! *whines*
Anyway, one last bit of awesome before I left the tent. They were selling beers with names like “Dog Piss”!!! HAHAH AWESOME Y/Y? I think right before this stand as well, they had a ‘Welsh Alcohol’ stand … and one of them was a creamy spirit (like Bailey’s) and I had to try it. XD but because I was more interested in the ‘Welsh’ side of it than the alcohol bit (I swear!). it was nice though, and again I wished I had more money to burn.
Around I went again, this time in the direction of all the Army/Marine services tents. It was kind of weird, because on one side would be the tractors and motorbikes and other vehicle do-dad’s. and then on the other there were these massive ‘Experience It’ rides, propaganda to join the Army, etc. there were a bunch of soldiers in uniform walking around, and it all felt really weird for me. So I high-tailed it out of there and went back toward where the fun was to be had.
Speaking of fun, I heard the sound of bagpipes and came running! I went past at around 3pm, and you can see that they also had Highland Dancers dancing along. It was really cute, but I couldn’t really stay (mainly because I would collapse if I stayed still too long - feet huuuuuuurt), as I still had more to see of the grounds, and only 2 or so more hours to do it in! so I ran off to another section … where I also heard the sound of music. lawl. (they were a nice old people’s Jazz band, but I didn’t stay long to listen)
This bit had a lot of spas out for inspection, and wooden cabin things that WERE ACTUALLY FOR SALE, like little huts you could buy for whatever weird reason. I know the point for them in Aus (nice little ‘get away cottage’ you can put up just about anywhere, but there isn’t ROOM over here!) but I thought it was a bit weird that they were also selling at the Highland Show. But whatever, I guess some people must be buying them!!
There was a tent dedicated to all things Honey and Beeswax. They had this HUGE tables full of cute wee sculpted beeswax candles. I was so tempted to poke and touch them, but there was big signs saying DO NOT TOOOOOOOOOOUCH!!!!!! so I thought I’d better not … >_>; I did have a good look around though and GOD! They were amazing! *uber super jealous* I want cool looking candles like that!! :( *sulks*
Anyway, I also mentioned that there was Honey inside this tent. Oh my god, was there honey. Right at the back there was these two guys that stood in front of four barrels of honey, with a STACK of wee spoons and let you taste each one. They took you through the different types of honey and when they were collected, and why that makes a difference. It was really interesting, coz the first one was for early spring, and tasted so mild (PERFECT FOR CRUMPETS!), the next one was a little bit closer to what I’m used to - normal honey for normal people that you would normally buy in normal stores. Yea? And then there was one that was from a different flower or something, because it tasted very different. Stronger and … really good, actually. I loved it, but cannot for the life of me remember anymore about it. BUT THE LAST ONE. OHMYGOD THE LAST ONE WAS JUST UNF. It’s apparently made really late in the season, so it’s had lots of time to mature or something, and it’s from a particular flower that makes the honey SMACK YOU IN THE FACE with it’s taste. It was soooooo good, but it’s definitely something you would have in small helpings. I reckon it would probably not be best to pile it on the waffles, let’s just put it that way.
Having had my fill of honey and beeswax, I made my way over the lawn once again. I went round the back of the massive circle/show area in the middle, and past by this rather interesting spot. the smoke is coming from the barrels, which are holding fish. Like, massively huge fish, and a lot of it. Right beside said barrels was a stall where you could buy smoked cod/trout/whateverthefuck to your hearts content. I decided against that, since I’m not quite that adventurous when it comes to food.
Moving on, I came across a wee gated area, where a dog judging competition was taking place. it was seriously the cutest things you’ve ever seen in your life. They had cute wee puppies, and a whole bloody lot of them, in the ring and they would have this ‘race’ to catch the squirrel toy thing that would zip across the ring. People from the crowd with dogs were also encouraged to participate, so there were many adorable dogs from that, which were also responsible for many more lulz to be had. There was also this crazy mutt that did a running jump and latched onto the toy in the Mic Guy’s hand, and wouldn’t let go! It was the funniest sight, coz this guy was just ~swinging along~ with the dog just dangling there like no one’s business! It held on for ages too!! T’was insane. LOL.
Right behind the dog ring was a Birds of Prey tent. LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTY BIRDS!! Only don’t get too close or they’ll peck your eye out. Or something equally nasty. They had Eagles and a Hawk that I particularly liked (and they’re the only ones I took photos of XD). Notice that they are all chained to the ground, so they don’t fly away. Aww, poor things. They also had water and foot bowls right beside their chains and perches, so good for them, I guess. There were a couple of helpers, and one guy was prostrating alternative birds for the gathering crowd. I didn’t stick around to watch, because I just noticed the CHICKEN TENT!
Yes, the chicken-in-cages-tent. it reminded me scaringly of home (when we still HAD live chickens), and I spent a long time admiring the purdy winners and LOLing at the other poor chooks and also being bewildered as to why there were random ducks about the place. notice the puffy gay feathery cap on top of that ducks head. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!! *dies of LOL*
Anyway, I finished dying and made my way back towards the main area again. I got stopped at the livestock highway to let some goats through. yay goats! I was kinda upset to learn that I had actually missed the judging, but who cares? I had them all laid out in front of me while they walked back to their tent. Couldn’t get a better seat if I’d tried! (I was right up against the gate). I expect that I followed the goats however, on a subconscious level, because I ended up in the Lamb area. Inside this sheep tenting area, was the fugliest pair of orange sheep I’ve ever seen and I was like O LORD WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! I don’t even know why the sheep were fucking ORANGE!! I mean, look at the poor bastards! HE IS ASHAMED!!
It stunk something fierce in that tent, so I didn’t spend long inside. I spent a lot of time trying to cross back over the highway, because I wanted to see some of the cattle that were in the Main Middle Show Ring. But unfortunately they had just finished and now they were filing the cattle back to their big arse warehouse. I jittered around the place, trying to find a better spot to take pictures, and eventually I used my brain and went back through the Sheep tent and on the other side, I HAD THE WHOLE FENCE TO MYSELF. So I could take heaps of pictures of the cattle with an uninterrupted view. :D yay me!
And this is where I just post the pictures of the fucking cows. I will have small comments if they are needed, but I think the rest of the pictures speak for themselves. I took heaps as they went past on the Livestock Highway, and then I went into the Cow Hall and took more pictures of cuteness. Enjoy!
HUGE FUCKING FAT COW IS FUCKING HUGE!!
THE SHOW HAD FINISHED BUT I FOLLOWED [AVOIDING THE COW SHIT] INTO THE SHED
OMG CUTE HIGHLAND COW IS CUTE!!
INSERT RANDOM HORSE THAT WAS IN WITH CATTLE (? WTF?)
Right, so that being finished, I went over to the HORSES ZOMG HORSES and check out this big bastard! He was getting his mane braided and he must have been at least 2m tall. There were other cute horses like this one, with her foal, and this one was wearing the coat, mane all braided up (LOL). Down the road from the big horses (I looked in pretty much every stall for about 3 seconds in both these sheds), was the wee SHETLAND PONIES!!!!!! OMG ARE THEY JUST THE CUTEST THING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD?! And the funny thing for the adorable Shetland Ponies was that about half of them seemed to be owned by two people - a Mr Jason or Quiney XDDDDDDDDD;
After that I went back into the Food/Hospitality tent and decided to grow a pair and went over to the German Salami stall that I had been stalking all day (seriously, I think I went past at least 5 times) and bought some really yummy German sausage - all for just £10!! Fucking best bargain ever, in my opinion. And afterwards I decided I should get me some Haggis, because I will only be able to eat that awesomeness for as long as I am here. It was soooooo good, with the mashed potato and haggis mixing just so, and I enjoyed it very much. Even if I really didn’t need such a big helping. XD;
Once I had finished eating, I decided that now would probably be a really good idea to leave. I was totally dead, having walked around all day (even if overall it was probably only 2miles tops), and it was later on in the day and the Show was winding down. On the way out, I made sure to drop into The Forge and check out fire welding, staying until my ADD kicked in and I needed to move once again. I believe my feet also started to protest, and I decided to keep walking so I didn’t have to think about foot pain.
I didn’t get very far towards the exit, when I heard baaaaaaaagpipes aaaaaaagaaaaaaaaaaain!! Clanadonia were doing their last show for the day and I was lucky enough to catch the last song! Yay! Don’t they look manly in their drums and kilts? XD; I really like this guys, and the big guy with the long blonde hair went around afterwards yelling out “C-D’S!” in this really funny way, and I couldn’t NOT buy one. They are awesome, and I find it really amusing that all of them seem to have tattoo’s (lol) - even the youngest ginger-bagpipe-playing member!
Eventually though, I made it out the exit door and had to join this monster of a queue to get on the bus. I talked, while in line, with some chick that had come up for the show (originally from Edinburgh) and was staying with her family. She was nice enough, but when I got on the bus I went upstairs and waited till I got back to Edinburgh. From there I believe I got the nearest bus that would take me home, coz fuck having to walk home to Leith.
THE END.
*falls over dead*
Ok, I’m going to start doing this now, since I’m kind of avoiding doing that Robin Hood fic thing. My brain serious needs to calm down, so some dry factual diary writing might be the cure. :) [BELATED EDIT: TOOK ME FOR FUCKING EVER, BUT HERE IT IS!]
Right well first note is that there will be much picspam to be had … through linkage. So picspam and linkspam, beware. Also lots of boring ‘LOLZ AT THIS TINY TRACTOR’ comments. Just sayin.
I woke up to the irritating sound of my alarm at an entirely too early 8:40am Saturday morning and somehow convinced my body to get up and into the shower. Amazingly I managed to get ready in less than 20 minutes, but unfortunately I had to stop and chat with my housemate, who was very surprised that I was actually going somewhere on a Saturday XD; (I swear I’m not that reclusive! Honest!) but she did have some good things to say about the Highland Show, so that was encouraging.
I had to get a bus to St Andrew’s Square, which is where the special service was running for the four days that the Highland Show was running. I thankfully managed to find a bus and climb on - first time I got on a full bus so I got out and climbed on the one behind it, which was totally empty! :D yay for grabbing window seats early!! ^_^
We had to wait until the bus filled up, and then we set off. There was a stop or two along the way, but we pretty much went straight to the show grounds. It took almost an hour to get there!! D= I didn’t realise until I actually got there and checked the time - could you believe it was almost 10:30!!! Half my morning was already gone!! DX so had much time to make up.
Look! It’s the Highland Show Entrance banner! Wee! I had to buy my ticket (£22!!!!!!!! 0.0) and then I could enter away! :D there were people shouting around with brochures for sale, but I resisted the urge to waste £3 on one. I knew that despite the map inside making life much easier, I would never stop looking at the program and feeling ridiculously depressed when I realised I would be missing out on a whole lot since so much happens at once at these things. So I opted for just wandering around and finding the cookies for myself.
Can you believe this is just the FOOD and RANDOM SHIT section!? So many people there already! Even though it was cold and the weather was fucking terrible and foggy and misty!! (DAMN YOU LONDON! DAMN YOU AND YOUR PERFECT FUCKING SUNNY WEEKEND) of course it wouldn’t be Scotland without shite Saturday’s. *rolls eyes* But anyway, enough moaning. Here be the map of awesome that helped me try to figure out where to go (though not really coz I just walked along the paths, figuring that they all lead in a big circle anyway XD). So I went towards the food market.
I got slightly distracted on my way there by this cute little Craft display tent. They had heaps on display, and most of it was really beautifully made. it would be your grandma’s dream come true! ^^; My favourite thing was the First Price Self Knitting shawl thing - THAT SHIT WAS MADE BY HAND! LIKE ZOMG WHO DOES THAT?! And there are other awesomeness floating about and it was all very nice. But I had bigger fish to fry!!
Ok, not quite. Because I got distracted again, but this time it is totally justifiable. Who wouldn’t want to watch half naked men Blacksmithing a pair of metal hoof shoes?! And aren’t the horses simply ADORABLE?!! I love them - they are so beautiful. I always giggle whenever I see the hair hanging over their hooves coz I = retarded. ^^;;
Seriously, this time I got to the point. I went into a massive tent that housed a whole bunch of weird and wacky things. I looked around for a while, because they had quite a lot of things on display - clothes and nail shit and jewellery, etc. I was impressed with this dog brush, which would be perfect for our Fox Terrier. And speaking of impressive things, check this out! It’s a massage machine for your back/shoulders/neck/arms/legs/other pained areas!! God I wish it wasn’t like … £50, because I would have bought it, RIGHT THERE. Best investment ever, I reckon.
Once I got out of there I decided to eat, since I was actually hungry and there was a porridge stand conveniently located right outside the tent I was just in! I had no idea what to get, but this guy, who served me, recommended the porridge with raspberries and cream and nuts and yummy stuff. No idea what it’s called [funky Scottish name, that much I remember], but it looks pretty awesome. they also had oat bars for sale, but I decided against getting more crap.
I wondered around, porridge in hand, taking pictures of the really weird costumes that were being used to sell stuff (seriously? Potatoes? Is it to inform those that might not have known they existed before?) and the signs that were outside the same booth. It was for the Co-Operative Food Company, which is a chain of supermarkets across the UK (more prevalent in Scotland though). They had a neat renewable energy blender machine (LOL) but unfortunately I didn’t get to taste the smoothie that chef made, because that was the last one he made. =(
Side note: around this time I noticed Mr Scottish Chicken running around and had to go chase after him. He reminded me so much of Chaz from Chasers that I couldn’t help myself. See my point?? *giggled like a two year old*.
Anyway, back to the Co-operative. They had a wee circle thing in the middle that they used to give out free tasters of food - so everyone would practically line up and shuffle around like a retarded Congo line, just to eat the free snack. XD it was funny, but I got to try some pretty nice shortbread/cakes/strawberries/drinks/cheeses/chips/etc. I also took a picture of the two blokes that somehow managed to keep up a running commentary of shit for most of the day. It was insane! They also pointed out that one of the guys that worked there had an awesome new tattoo (that I went over to check out - very cool, must be said) and they also encouraged us to check out their bee display. I presume it must have been informative, but I was not in the mood for reading [:O SHOCK!] or trying to weave through kids to deal with that shit. So I moved on.
There was this really cute wee tent that had a whole host of different things that you could buy, from specially designed canes to beautiful rings to beds and covers. My favourite thing was probably this here blurry shot of a Hippo Table, which could only be seconded by these awesome cushions of awesome. They had a very enticing and entirely distractful and evil display of adorable children’s clothes at the entering/exiting door, and I was so very tempted to get this totally inappropriate one for Bubby Neffy. Pity that it’s a jumper, because if I could have bought it as a shirt, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME Y/Y??
Just opposite this tent was another corporate cabin thing for ASDA. I stupidly didn’t take pictures or couldn’t or something, but inside they had a cooking advice corner (I presume you got to eat the stuff afterwards?) and this kinda cool but not really Bee mascot floating around. They had some really good food though, including this table for smoked and spiced Salmon and Highland Scottish [and English] tea with biscuits, both of which were amazing. I don’t think I’ve eaten such good Salmon, and tea+biscuits always = win. Final thing of super mega awesome was IRN BRU FLAVOURED ICE CREAM LIKE WHOA! This shit, I want. I am definitely making a trip out to ASDA one day soon to get me this ice cream and that Salmon. OM NOM NOM. Out side they even let you eat before leaving their area!! Awesome, much!
I heard bagpipes~! and went to investigate. LOL practicing in a car park!! XDD *luffs them*
Then I went into this massive arse tent, which was specifically delegated for food. WOOT JACKPOT! You can vaguely see that there are heaps of people - it was PACKED! Especially anywhere that was around free samples. It was amazing - the amount of cheese cubes, salami bits, jams, biscuits, alcohol, chocolate and FOOD that I ate was ridiculous! You wouldn’t need to eat throughout the day - just go down the line of taste testers! I went through the whole place without buying anything … and then I came across the Chocolate fondue strawberry/marshmallows stand. And my resolve crumbled. I bought the yummiest thing I ate all day, and didn’t even mind that it cost £3. or something. SO WORTH IT!
They also had a Black Pudding eating contest? I think? I DON’T EVEN KNOW. It’s hard to see from this photo, but there were so many people that I couldn’t quite get over to check it out properly. And I didn’t quite feel like taking part …
Few more food photos: They had some Toffee Vodka,which I of course had to try. It was really weird, just as you’d think and it definitely didn’t make me stop hating vodka any less. I also bought myself some garlic and tomato seasoned bread (which I ate later in the day) and tried the super mega foxy awesome hot chilli salami. I was really sad that I couldn’t get this for my Uncle Adam, who is apparently a huge lover of chilli. He was the first person I thought of when I saw it. =(
Anyway, after about an hour of wandering around, I decided that I needed to get out of there before I was tempted by even more very lovely smelling food. I had a quick glimpse of a Clydesdale horse all dolled up, going through the “Livestock gate”. It was kinda awesome - they had this ‘highway’ type thing for the animals, so they could be moved from the pens to the showground easily, and when they were going through YOU, people, would have to wait at the gate until they had all gone through. It was quite awesome.
I across the way a little bit too where there was another food shack thing, this time for Morrison’s and Tesco’s. I went into Tesco’s first and went around to each of the booths that were giving away food and stuffed my face. Coz I’m good like that. And for some reason I found it necessary to take a picture of cerel bars. OH WAIT! *snickers geekily* HAHA! I C WOT U DID THAR SME! *crazy Pot head*
Anyway, moving onto Morrison’s. this was actually a really cool booth, and I spent quite a bit of time here talking. They had a chef (WHO HAD MET RICHARD HAMMOND. OH MY ROWLING, THE HAMSTER. I THINK I JUST CREAMED MY PANTS) who was doing a Lamb cutting and cooking demonstration (? Don’t ask me what the point of that was. I expect it was to show people that they were ‘serious’ about having the best meat? Or something? And to give us free food, of course) and this guy who worked for Morrison’s came up to me and we started talking. I felt like I was in my element, because we got talking about big corporate supermarket chains and how awesome Morrison’s is because they actually use LOCAL produce, supporting local farmers, etc. I told him all about how Woolworths can suck my cock for being greedy little fucking bastards, exploiting their farmers, and he told me that there would be no way Morrison’s would do something as stupid as ship Bowen tomatoes down to Brisbane, only to cart them back up again. (didn’t understand any of that? No worries - its just my eternal hatred and anger at Woolies come out. Please feel free to ignore)
Now, I can’t remember how long I talked for, but it was definitely about 10 minutes. They were going to have their next demonstration at 2pm, but I wandered off and didn’t come back. It was the longest time I spent in one place though, when I wasn’t eating. (though I did try their lamb … and felt a little sick. The guy was awesome though, since I told him that I don’t like meat, but just spent ten minutes in the Tesco tent eating all their salami. XDD;; ‘so you’re a confused vegetarian’ was his reply, and I couldn’t agree more! Especially when I ate another piece later on!! XDD;;)
So off I went, heading (unknowingly) towards the young farmer’s centre. How now, Big Cow? I kinda didn’t get the point of this, but I suppose that’s because I don’t have any interesting cattle whatsoever. There were a whole bunch of people standing around in white coats, and I was quite confused at first, thinking they were scientists. XD *is retarded* it took me until much later to realise that they were wearing the coats to keep potential cow fluids off their clothes. But anyway, I went in and had a look around - they had a whole bunch of cowboy displays on … display. It was kind of weird, coz they were all themed cowboy displays … and it was just weird. Yea.
Anyway, moving on to … CLANADONIA!! I heard the bagpipes and drums as I made my way towards the Tractor sector, and stopped by to check it out. They are this really awesome band that I swear to god I know from somewhere. There are about six drummers and one poor bagpiper, and they are all very blokey and Scottish and manly and shirtless/sleeveless and hunky and *drools*. AND THEY WEAR KILTS!!! what more could you want?!?!?! Unfortunately I only came as they finished up their act *sad pandas* so that sucked.
I wandered away up toward the large display of tractors. It amused me greatly. This tractor, for example, was one of the biggest that I saw. AND IT’S SO TINY! LOLOLOLOL!! It wouldn’t even COMPARE to my brother’s massive tractor. It’s about as big as one of the wheels of the landplane!! YOU BRITS HAVE NO CONCEPT OF HUGE.
I did however, find the most awesome four-wheeler addition in the whole place. IT’S FOR PICKING UP COW SHIT! AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! *dies laughing* I thought it might be a mini landplane (for digging up dirt) or a mower. But oh no! LOL the look on my face must have been priceless when the woman told me. XD *is ridiculously immature*
Speaking of awesome four wheelers: THEY HAD A MINI TANKER 4 WHEELER LIKE WOW AWESOME!! Talk about brilliant! I seriously, seriously want me one of them. Couldn’t I just test drive it? THAT WOULD BE SO ~TOTALLY AWESOME~!!
Anyway, moving swiftly on. There was a weird tent that had a whole host of … weird things. As I was waiting to go in, there was a flower stand that had really beautiful Heather bouquets, which I was sooooo impressed by. If I was going to buy flowers, those would be the ones I’d get. :) OHOH and look at the first bench inside the tent!! haha! We’re infecting the nation! XD he had some really awesome hats though. Much love for the Aussie’s. :D
This was obviously the place for those that had more money to burn. The jewellery was MUCH more expensive, but really very pretty. I spent a lot of time looking at jewellery because of my book, and also just to note for future when I actually have money to spend on pretty things. xD I also made sure to check out the other stuff though, like this insanely awesome ‘mattress’. That’s just the sign for it, but it’s one of those beds that massages your entire body. I don’t actually know why I didn’t get a picture of it in action (probably thought I didn’t have enough memory for it), but it was pretty cool. I just wish I’d got on it - especially now, my back is killing me. All I had to do was take off my shoes~!! *whines*
Anyway, one last bit of awesome before I left the tent. They were selling beers with names like “Dog Piss”!!! HAHAH AWESOME Y/Y? I think right before this stand as well, they had a ‘Welsh Alcohol’ stand … and one of them was a creamy spirit (like Bailey’s) and I had to try it. XD but because I was more interested in the ‘Welsh’ side of it than the alcohol bit (I swear!). it was nice though, and again I wished I had more money to burn.
Around I went again, this time in the direction of all the Army/Marine services tents. It was kind of weird, because on one side would be the tractors and motorbikes and other vehicle do-dad’s. and then on the other there were these massive ‘Experience It’ rides, propaganda to join the Army, etc. there were a bunch of soldiers in uniform walking around, and it all felt really weird for me. So I high-tailed it out of there and went back toward where the fun was to be had.
Speaking of fun, I heard the sound of bagpipes and came running! I went past at around 3pm, and you can see that they also had Highland Dancers dancing along. It was really cute, but I couldn’t really stay (mainly because I would collapse if I stayed still too long - feet huuuuuuurt), as I still had more to see of the grounds, and only 2 or so more hours to do it in! so I ran off to another section … where I also heard the sound of music. lawl. (they were a nice old people’s Jazz band, but I didn’t stay long to listen)
This bit had a lot of spas out for inspection, and wooden cabin things that WERE ACTUALLY FOR SALE, like little huts you could buy for whatever weird reason. I know the point for them in Aus (nice little ‘get away cottage’ you can put up just about anywhere, but there isn’t ROOM over here!) but I thought it was a bit weird that they were also selling at the Highland Show. But whatever, I guess some people must be buying them!!
There was a tent dedicated to all things Honey and Beeswax. They had this HUGE tables full of cute wee sculpted beeswax candles. I was so tempted to poke and touch them, but there was big signs saying DO NOT TOOOOOOOOOOUCH!!!!!! so I thought I’d better not … >_>; I did have a good look around though and GOD! They were amazing! *uber super jealous* I want cool looking candles like that!! :( *sulks*
Anyway, I also mentioned that there was Honey inside this tent. Oh my god, was there honey. Right at the back there was these two guys that stood in front of four barrels of honey, with a STACK of wee spoons and let you taste each one. They took you through the different types of honey and when they were collected, and why that makes a difference. It was really interesting, coz the first one was for early spring, and tasted so mild (PERFECT FOR CRUMPETS!), the next one was a little bit closer to what I’m used to - normal honey for normal people that you would normally buy in normal stores. Yea? And then there was one that was from a different flower or something, because it tasted very different. Stronger and … really good, actually. I loved it, but cannot for the life of me remember anymore about it. BUT THE LAST ONE. OHMYGOD THE LAST ONE WAS JUST UNF. It’s apparently made really late in the season, so it’s had lots of time to mature or something, and it’s from a particular flower that makes the honey SMACK YOU IN THE FACE with it’s taste. It was soooooo good, but it’s definitely something you would have in small helpings. I reckon it would probably not be best to pile it on the waffles, let’s just put it that way.
Having had my fill of honey and beeswax, I made my way over the lawn once again. I went round the back of the massive circle/show area in the middle, and past by this rather interesting spot. the smoke is coming from the barrels, which are holding fish. Like, massively huge fish, and a lot of it. Right beside said barrels was a stall where you could buy smoked cod/trout/whateverthefuck to your hearts content. I decided against that, since I’m not quite that adventurous when it comes to food.
Moving on, I came across a wee gated area, where a dog judging competition was taking place. it was seriously the cutest things you’ve ever seen in your life. They had cute wee puppies, and a whole bloody lot of them, in the ring and they would have this ‘race’ to catch the squirrel toy thing that would zip across the ring. People from the crowd with dogs were also encouraged to participate, so there were many adorable dogs from that, which were also responsible for many more lulz to be had. There was also this crazy mutt that did a running jump and latched onto the toy in the Mic Guy’s hand, and wouldn’t let go! It was the funniest sight, coz this guy was just ~swinging along~ with the dog just dangling there like no one’s business! It held on for ages too!! T’was insane. LOL.
Right behind the dog ring was a Birds of Prey tent. LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTY BIRDS!! Only don’t get too close or they’ll peck your eye out. Or something equally nasty. They had Eagles and a Hawk that I particularly liked (and they’re the only ones I took photos of XD). Notice that they are all chained to the ground, so they don’t fly away. Aww, poor things. They also had water and foot bowls right beside their chains and perches, so good for them, I guess. There were a couple of helpers, and one guy was prostrating alternative birds for the gathering crowd. I didn’t stick around to watch, because I just noticed the CHICKEN TENT!
Yes, the chicken-in-cages-tent. it reminded me scaringly of home (when we still HAD live chickens), and I spent a long time admiring the purdy winners and LOLing at the other poor chooks and also being bewildered as to why there were random ducks about the place. notice the puffy gay feathery cap on top of that ducks head. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!! *dies of LOL*
Anyway, I finished dying and made my way back towards the main area again. I got stopped at the livestock highway to let some goats through. yay goats! I was kinda upset to learn that I had actually missed the judging, but who cares? I had them all laid out in front of me while they walked back to their tent. Couldn’t get a better seat if I’d tried! (I was right up against the gate). I expect that I followed the goats however, on a subconscious level, because I ended up in the Lamb area. Inside this sheep tenting area, was the fugliest pair of orange sheep I’ve ever seen and I was like O LORD WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! I don’t even know why the sheep were fucking ORANGE!! I mean, look at the poor bastards! HE IS ASHAMED!!
It stunk something fierce in that tent, so I didn’t spend long inside. I spent a lot of time trying to cross back over the highway, because I wanted to see some of the cattle that were in the Main Middle Show Ring. But unfortunately they had just finished and now they were filing the cattle back to their big arse warehouse. I jittered around the place, trying to find a better spot to take pictures, and eventually I used my brain and went back through the Sheep tent and on the other side, I HAD THE WHOLE FENCE TO MYSELF. So I could take heaps of pictures of the cattle with an uninterrupted view. :D yay me!
And this is where I just post the pictures of the fucking cows. I will have small comments if they are needed, but I think the rest of the pictures speak for themselves. I took heaps as they went past on the Livestock Highway, and then I went into the Cow Hall and took more pictures of cuteness. Enjoy!
HUGE FUCKING FAT COW IS FUCKING HUGE!!
THE SHOW HAD FINISHED BUT I FOLLOWED [AVOIDING THE COW SHIT] INTO THE SHED
OMG CUTE HIGHLAND COW IS CUTE!!
INSERT RANDOM HORSE THAT WAS IN WITH CATTLE (? WTF?)
Right, so that being finished, I went over to the HORSES ZOMG HORSES and check out this big bastard! He was getting his mane braided and he must have been at least 2m tall. There were other cute horses like this one, with her foal, and this one was wearing the coat, mane all braided up (LOL). Down the road from the big horses (I looked in pretty much every stall for about 3 seconds in both these sheds), was the wee SHETLAND PONIES!!!!!! OMG ARE THEY JUST THE CUTEST THING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD?! And the funny thing for the adorable Shetland Ponies was that about half of them seemed to be owned by two people - a Mr Jason or Quiney XDDDDDDDDD;
After that I went back into the Food/Hospitality tent and decided to grow a pair and went over to the German Salami stall that I had been stalking all day (seriously, I think I went past at least 5 times) and bought some really yummy German sausage - all for just £10!! Fucking best bargain ever, in my opinion. And afterwards I decided I should get me some Haggis, because I will only be able to eat that awesomeness for as long as I am here. It was soooooo good, with the mashed potato and haggis mixing just so, and I enjoyed it very much. Even if I really didn’t need such a big helping. XD;
Once I had finished eating, I decided that now would probably be a really good idea to leave. I was totally dead, having walked around all day (even if overall it was probably only 2miles tops), and it was later on in the day and the Show was winding down. On the way out, I made sure to drop into The Forge and check out fire welding, staying until my ADD kicked in and I needed to move once again. I believe my feet also started to protest, and I decided to keep walking so I didn’t have to think about foot pain.
I didn’t get very far towards the exit, when I heard baaaaaaaagpipes aaaaaaagaaaaaaaaaaain!! Clanadonia were doing their last show for the day and I was lucky enough to catch the last song! Yay! Don’t they look manly in their drums and kilts? XD; I really like this guys, and the big guy with the long blonde hair went around afterwards yelling out “C-D’S!” in this really funny way, and I couldn’t NOT buy one. They are awesome, and I find it really amusing that all of them seem to have tattoo’s (lol) - even the youngest ginger-bagpipe-playing member!
Eventually though, I made it out the exit door and had to join this monster of a queue to get on the bus. I talked, while in line, with some chick that had come up for the show (originally from Edinburgh) and was staying with her family. She was nice enough, but when I got on the bus I went upstairs and waited till I got back to Edinburgh. From there I believe I got the nearest bus that would take me home, coz fuck having to walk home to Leith.
THE END.
*falls over dead*