QuintessentialEngland

As my last post mentioned, on Saturday, Vanessa and I ventured into Great Missenden to attend The Chilterns Show, a kind of county fair...with English country flair.

That's Too Bad

The morning was gorgeous, as I showed you by photograph on Saturday, and it continued to be as we got to the car park. Walking in, we discovered that, sadly, the horse show was cancelled because the person in charge was feeling sick. They implored us - do we know anyone who could help in 2010? V and I both wondered...couldn't they maybe try to find someone to help, oh, I don't know...in 2009? So it could actually occur this year? But hey, we're not in charge.

Owl Guy

We started off at the Pets tent, taking the rare opportunity to stroke an owl's feathers - something I've never, ever done before. They're so incredibly soft and light! What a treat. :) The old man holding the owl would've taken four quid from us to have our photo taken with the owl, but V rightly pointed out that they're really pricing themselves out of the market that way - having the photos at 1 or even 2 pounds would draw people in, quite a few, really...but at 4 pounds, it's just a ripoff.

Pheasant Plucking and Scrumpy Cider

Next, we did a bit of shopping, looking around at jewelry (that's "jewellery" here!) and wishing it was less expensive, then heading on to the woodworking tents. After that, we were hungry (when aren't we) so we ventured over to the food tent - shown here with the double entendre-filled "Pheasant Plucker's Song" sign at the entrance. Too funny.

We both got pork pies for lunch, as I'm told this is quintessential English country fair food. It was delicious and very filling...I really liked the crust, and the fact that it was portable! Ha ha! Here I am trying my first bite. :)

First Taste of Pork Pie

While we ate, we listened to the RAF Halton Pipe and Drum corps perform, and it was just fantastic. Wow! I feel like I am sometimes, but I know I'm not alone in loving the sound of the bagpipe...and it's truly taken to a higher plane when those tones are mixed with a drum beat.

The "coming events" for the day said that the Highland Games were being performed by some strongmen at an upcoming hour, so V and I sat down by the arena to watch the show. And we laughed and laughed and laughed some more.

Not only did the contestants (all TWO of them, including the first black man I've ever seen in my life wearing a kilt, and a man suspiciously named Spencer "Highland") have to set up their equipment on the field, the sign proclaiming the event STONES OF DENSITY kept falling over in the breeze. Somehow, this became the funniest thing in the world to Vanessa and me, and we giggled quite a bit at the sight on the field.

Caber Toss

We watched the Stones of Density, the Dead Lift, and the Caber Toss - which Spencer Highland had never done before, and had to be told over the loudspeaker by the Scottish announcer that he "wasn't holding it the right way round". Oh my goodness. Hilarious!

Oddly enough, he ended up winning that event, as well as the games themselves. I say he has an unfair advantage, having that name! LOL.

Keep On Truckin'

After we'd had enough Highland Games laughter, we stopped over at the obviously American store...which wasn't quite so American at all. Unless you count nearly ONLY items relating to Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Boop to be the whole of Americana...oh, and trucking! Can't forget good ol' truckin'! Hmmm. Also included on the table, as you can see, were some not-just-vaguely British items.

Vanessa in the "American" Tent at The Chilterns Show

I call shenanigans on this booth!

Too soon, we'd finished the entire fair (though I have to admit, it was quite small), and were ready to leave for Vanessa's parents'. On the way out, she took my photo with this truck's stickered-on proclamation - which is so true! "If it isn't fair, it isn't fun."