Clare Show

We went to the Clare Show today. It is a one day country show in a wine making region north of Adelaide. I love the country shows, much more than the big city ones. In Scotland, the scale of the Royal Highland Show was daunting, in California, the State Fair in Sacramento was a capitalist trap and the Royal Adelaide Show is fun, but expensive. I used to like to go to the Fife show, which was held around the County and sometimes just down the road at Balcormo. In California, the Auburn Fair was very scenic and a great scale. Likewise the Clare Show was held in a very nice wooded environment with lots of country folks. At least the fairs in California and South Australia generally have great weather, unlike my memories of squelching through the mud, avoiding animal poo in Scotland. The novelty in Clare was camel rides and dog jumping (high jump for dogs). Watching the professional shearers was interesting because of their ability to keep the sheep calm. Personally the highlight were the ducks and chickens. So many varieties of unusual forms of birds.

The activities are all very similar, in tune with the similarities of rural, agricultural life around the world. Home baking, art, plants.. you know what I mean.

The fairs and rides are also very similar. The business model of the show ride and show stall has not changed much in the last 50 years. Still the same cheesy prizes for kids to complete simple tasks and impossible challenges like the air rifles that don't fire straight, the bottles and cans that will not fall over, the tacky art work and the lucky dip with the tacky toys. Hannah loved the Gravitron, but was completely pale when she go off Wipeout. She and her friend ended up surviving it by grabbing each other and screaming. I could go on. Still a good time was had by all.