It's Show Time!

With Orkney's agricultural show season under way our thoughts turn to next Thursday's Dounby Show.

While those entering livestock are busy washing, grooming, and going through their paces in preparation for the big day, there is still time to prepare your entries for the 115th West Mainland Flower, Produce & Industrial Show.

Pick up a schedule from one of the West Mainland country shops and you will find eight sections with classes for everything from pot plants to photographs -including  a junior section for children, divided into four age groups.

The schedule includes recipes for the items in the baking and confectionery classes - or you can use your own tried and tested ones. For those seeking last minute inspiration or tips then we have lots of baking and craft books in the library which could help you create the winning entry. We suspect that the knitting section may well feature work from some of our Yap and Yarn group.

The competition is open to all who permanently reside in the West Mainland, and exhibits can be entered at The Dounby Centre between 10am and 12.30pm on Wednesday 7th August or between 8pm-9pm on Tuesday 6th. Membership tickets, which include the entry fee and admission, cost £2 for adults and 50p for juniors.

The exhibits can be viewed by the public between 7pm -9pm on Wednesday 7th, and from 10am -5pm on Thursday 8th August. So if you're at the Dounby Show don't forget to take a trip along the road to The Dounby Centre as well. If you can't make it to Dounby you can get a taste of the even from the show's facebook page.

Good luck to all competitors next Thursday,  and remember both Kirkwall and Stromness libraries will be closed that day so the staff can enjoy the show too. We're already looking forward to catching up with friends and enjoying  our usual show-day treats of lunch in the pavilion and a 99 ice cream :-)

Photo of vegetable section from the Show's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=242677019092453&set=pb.242518355774986.-2207520000.1375528606.&type=3&theater

On with the Shows

Well the sun shone for the Dounby Show and we hope all of you who went along had a great day among the animals and amusements. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and came home tired but happy, full of homebakes and ice cream and a few pounds poorer after all those prize draw tickets (all for good causes) and shots on the bottle stall - we were lucky for once and won a half bottle of gin (so that's the library Christmas doo sorted out then!).

Back to work today of course, and although the County Show  takes place on Saturday we will be open as usual. If you have had your fix of all things agriculatural and decide a quiet afternoon in with a good book is in order then pop along and see us, we'll be glad of the company.

It's often said that the County Show marks the end of the summer and the next thing we can look forward to is winter and Christmas - though with the weather we've had so far this 'summer' will we actually notice the difference?! Anyway, as well as the obligatory reminder that the "nights are fairly drawing in " we also want to point out that the school summer holidays are not quite over yet and there is still time for our young readers to complete their Circus Stars reading challenge. So visit the library, get reading and those final sets of stickers can be yours - as well as the chance for all who complete the challenge to take part in a Treasure Hunt at the Kirkwall Library on Saturday 27th August and collect their Circus Stars award.