The A&P

Being out in farm country, it did not surprise us to see signs for the Amberley A&P (Agriculture and Pastoral) show. Amberley is a small town (population around 2,000) about an hour-and-fifteen minutes south of where we are staying. (Apparently many towns have an A&P show at varying times during the year.) We decided to go, understanding that it is something like a U.S. county fair (with less fried stuff), since we don't have that many entertainment opportunities way out where we are.

The A&P turned out to be about what we expected. There were rides for the kids, food trucks and lots of animals. We were impressed by the booths selling various handmade products as we bought some spices, soap and fudge, and Shana bought a hat, which she is wearing in this picture with the adorable Bee (really this is just an excuse to re-include the picture of her from the last post).

The various animal events ranged from a sheep-shearing demostration using traditional shears, to a petting zoo with cute baby animals, to horse-jumping competitions.

There was also a wood-chopping competition, which is something we are familiar with as it is a Basque sport, and a dog-handling demonstration by kids that was adorable (both the dogs and the kids).

Finally, there was a great deal of Scottish culture at the A&P, as a large part of the population of this part of New Zealand traces its roots to Scotland. So, we had kids (both boys and girls) doing Highland dancing in traditional costumes, along with a group in kilts playing bagpipes.

The A&P was a worthwhile outing, especially since it was a beautiful sunny day. But after a few hours we had had our fill of the festivities and we headed to do our errands (when you are as far from civilization as we are, you have to grocery shop whenever you are "in town"), and then returned back to our slice of paradise.

More to come soon.

Jeff and Shana