Range of animals on display as County Show opens to large crowds

Editorial Department • Published 6 Aug 2009 10:00 0 Comments

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Hundreds of people flocked through the gates of Enniskillen Mart grounds when the annual Fermanagh County Show opened on Tuesday afternoon.

A wholesome family event, the County show is a must in the summer-time calendar for parents, children, farmers and holiday makers.

Indeed a real summer feeling permeated the many stalls offering a huge array of sweets, clothes, farm machinery, chicken coops, garden sheds and much more.

Officials think that this year has seen many more visitors than last year and thankfully a beautiful sunny evening greeted them on Tuesday.

As Churchill Silver band lifted the spirits by playing lively music, local politicians, former Miss NI Judith Wilson, visiting dignitaries such as Lady Janie Grosvenor, sister of the Duke of Westminster and hundreds of families with prams, dogs and candyfloss in tow, mingled around the sumptuous food hall, the pet arena with huge rabbits and colourful poultry and the various stalls.

Among the main highlights on Tuesday evening was the Dog Show, where pampered pooches were paraded in front of the judges and awarded their badges.

One winner was 'Moss' owned by Susannah Irwin from Rosslea. "We entered her here before but she didn't win so I am happy she won today. The judges liked her teeth and the quality of her hair," Susannah said.

A donkey derby featuring a backward donkey ride (which wasn't very successful as the donkeys seemed confused) also drew a large crowd.

The children's section, sponsored by The Impartial Reporter was extremely impressive. Awash with colour, there were collages, photographs, art, knitting and essays on show, with proud winners standing by their pieces.

Bethany Blair, a P6 pupil in Enniskillen Model PS was enjoying the show with her parents Stewart and Gwynneth and her little sister, Madison. Bethany received a prize for her essay 'A HarvestTime Tail'. "I wrote about harvesting and my teacher told me it was very good," she said, while showing off the glittery butterfly tattoo she had picked up at one of the stalls.

Among the annual stalls were new comers and more obscure ideas. While one man spoke about the perils of drink driving and offered stickers saying "CID-Christianity in Driving" another lady introduced her Swedish Moccasins, designed for babies.

Sharon - a Swedish lady, who married a Kesh man and now lives in Kesh with her husband and their 19 month twins; a boy and a girl - designed the extremely cute 'Nordic Gear' Moccasins to help babies when they learn to walk.

"They have an anti slip sole and they allow the muscles in the feet to develop naturally. I designed them in lots of different colours and designs because it is always pink for a girl and blue for a boy and after a while you have one pink wardrobe and one blue wardrobe and you want some different colours," she laughed.

The largest crowd gathered in the food hall, where food and drink from all over Northern Ireland was displayed. Local award-winning cheese makers, Fivemiletown Creamery were joined by newcomers Donegal Rapeseed Oil Co. who boast that Rape seed oil is "the next big thing" and is becoming the "healthy option". Other stalls featured Armagh Cider, chocolate fountains, powdered dips (that when mixed with mayonnaise, natural yoghurt or sour cream create a beautiful creamy dip) from Castlederg and local jams and preserves.

Renowned chef with the Belle Isle School of Cookery, Liz Moore also gathered a large audience as she cooked up a storm in her cookery demonstration.

As night fell officials had trouble emptying the grounds as people enjoyed the tasty food being offered by the ever-helpful staff in the dining hall and milled around the indoors home-industries displays. Some visitors decided to continue into the small hours by attending the Show dance at Enniskillen Rugby Club where the 2009 Show Queen was chosen. There is no doubt that a great time was had by all.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 06 Aug 09

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