One jump ahead...

Today was the Strathaven Exposition... the agricultural show in other words!
The weather was kind to it this year, and the field where it is held was sunny and sheltered. The town's farming community (the usual stalwarts of the show), were joined by families and couples out to enjoy the sunshine. The ice-cream van did a roaring trade!
It is the kind of event where, leaving aside the big modern tractors and combine harvesters proudly displayed, you could have gone back in time 50 years. There is the home baking competition, the best vegetable competition, the best tea tray competition (where you have a small flower arrangement, some embroidery, some biscuits and some home made jam) and, of course, the children's pet show. There was also a speed sheep shearing event (sheep sheared in under a minute!), a working horse demonstration and the various stages of gymkhana. There are also prize bulls, cattle and sheep on display. All rural life is here!
In the evening, headed off to the city and had a lovely dinner at Stravaigin with friends. One of the starters consisted of "prairie oysters" with accompaniments, and none of us were sure what these were. "Bulls testicles" was the answer, so the rural theme continued...