24th July 2024 – 29th July 2024
R and attended the Game Fair at Blenheim Palace for the three days it was open, and a couple of days before the show started. We were sharing a pitch with long time friends Ann and Chris, and their Labrador, Luna.
The weather was mainly good, except that every time I went out to cook on the BBQ, the heavens decided to open, thankfully not enough to put out the coals. We took the van, while Ann and Chris took their tent and we all shared a pitch in this huge field. The field looked decidedly empty when we arrived. When the show started the site was looking fuller, but still had plenty of space.
Near us were some guys who came in their Land Rovers and camping trailers, which had drawers, water, cookers and showers. The men all arrived one day, and set up camp. Another day the women arrived, and there was much cooking and roasting done by the men. R was entranced by the man who had a brush and dustpan and preceded to decrumb the table, on which they had a tablecloth.
It was a long walk to the actual fair site, though buses were available, we did not make much use of them. There was also a long queue for the buses.
It was interesting talking with some of the vendors and finding out how much they were charged, and the incidental costs of using the festival site wifi, and the rumors that the mobile phone signal had been shut down to force the use of wifi. The mobile signal did work on the Friday, but the signal was out all day on the Saturday and Sunday, lending some credence to this rumour.
They were long days watching the horses and dogs perform, wandering around the stalls, eating, and in our case buying a new wood burning ceramic stove & wellingtons.
