Wednesday 8 August 2012

It's Showtime!

Well it's that time of the year again folks when we close up the library for the day, and join the throng heading for Dounby and the delights of the Dounby Show!

Tomorrow, Thursday 9th August sees the West Mainland Agricultural Society's annual agricultural show, an event which was first held in 1891, with the usual mix of livestock, agricultural exhibits and attractions to look forward to.

If you would like to learn more about the history of the Dounby Show you can borrow our copy of Showyard on the Heather by George T. Wylie which, in the words of Bill Hewison ,who wrote the book's foreword, is:
...more than just a history of the Dounby Show - it's the story of Orkney farming over the last hundred years and in particular of the West Mainland folk themselves and how they band together in good neighbourliness to get things done.
However you'll have to contain your enthusiasm and wait until Friday to borrow the book,  as tomorrow you'll be disappointed to find the library closed while we partake of all the delights the Dounby show has to offer.

For those of you less interested in livestock and more interested in what happens to wool once it has been removed from the sheep, then there is also the 114th West Mainland Flower, Produce and Industrial Show. With classes for everything, from pot plants to clootie dumplings and a Juvenile Section which includes edible necklaces and decorated buns, the standard will be high and the competition fierce! The show, which is being held in the Dounby Centre, opens this evening from 7pm -9pm and tomorrow from 10am -5pm.

So enjoy the shows - we'll be open again on Friday 10th August as normal and will try to put up some photos, so that those of you who don't make it to Dounby tomorrow don't feel too left out.

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