DEVON COUNTY SHOW 2025

Our annual treat has come around again! Looking back, I see that we have missed a few over the years but we do try to go each year.

This year the weather was perfect – really hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky, and everyone seemed in holiday mood. It was well attended, but we thought there were fewer exhibits in the stands this time. It’s been declining over the past few years.

We had our lunch in the main food tent. As always, the choice of food was 99 percent fried meat based and junk food, and not healthy! I do think they should make an effort to provide more choice, especially these days when people are a lot more health conscious, and many people prefer vegan or vegetarian. We did find a lovely stand run by some Indian gentlemen, though, and they were cooking fabulous samosas and we had a couple of vegetable ones each. Really crispy and spicy! I also found a stand selling delicious salads and we had a container of bits of everything, to accompany the samosas, and it went down a treat. We chatted with the other people seated around the picnic table with us, and agreed it was a great day out.

Animals

There are always the farm animals, of course! Each time we like to visit the angora goats, who have such sweet faces and soft fleeces.

Spinning the mohair yarn from the angora goats.

I wear Corrymore socks, made from a mohair mix yarn from local angora goats. I have a drawer full of them in all colours, and I have had some of them for 20 years or more – a little bit thin now but not worn out! They wear incredibly well, and are warm in winter and cool in summer.

Judging the cattle. Fewer animals in the show this year, and one dairy cow couldn’t fail to win first prize because she was the only entrant in her class!

I love to see the farmers and judges in their white coats, looking very serious, and hearing their comments over the tannoy.

Carriage driving

One thing I love about the show is that you see things there that you never see anywhere else. The carriage driving is so elegant, with both horses and drivers turned out in their best.

There is also show jumping (always brings back memories of village gymkhanas when I was growing up), and also dog shows, and small animals (rabbits, guinea pigs etc.) being judged, but this year we didn’t look at those.

Iron work

As always, the blacksmiths were working at their forges – you can hear them hammering away from some distance! – and there was a tent displaying their beautiful work. I managed to extract some of these from the backgrounds to show them off a bit better.

I’m always amazed that they can make their pieces look so fluid and organic, when the resulting material is so hard. When heated to red hot, it becomes quite malleable, but it takes a lot of very hard physical work and skill, not to mention artistry and creativity, to produce these beautiful pieces, which we admire every year.

I took some photos of the pictures in the various portfolio albums placed on the tables.

This picture, a detail of a much larger piece, took my fancy as it reminded me very much of the work of Gaudi, who beautified so much of Barcelona.

I had a chat with a delightful young man wearing a T-shirt with a great logo for his family business – a black anvil envoloped in layers of flame, under which was written “Iron in the Blood.” I joked with him that at least he’d never suffer from anaemia! He told me he was the 5th generation of his family business, and he had children whom he hoped would follow in his footsteps. One of the great joys of the show is to see country crafts being kept up, and being passed on to the next generation.

A little “light music”?

This was the stand of a firm called The Meon Lights. They take old musical instruments (often broken or no longer working), and convert them into bespoke table lamps! I’d never seen anything like this before. Each piece had unique features – perhaps an interesting bulb, shade or stand, and I am sure each instrument would have a story to tell, of music made in the past, in orchestras and bands, and amongst friends. Here are a few examples, where I have extracted the background.

This instrument was intriguing because it was silver, and they had chosen a bulb with blue light which was a cool colour to compliment the silver of the instrument, in contrast with the warm light of the brass instruments.

The photo didn’t quite do this guitar justice. The light has flooded the detail a bit. In real life, all you could see was the light illuminating the strings over a missing section of the guitar’s neck, making it look impossible! Looking from the side, the two sections were connected by the bracket behind the lamp. It was a powerful illusion! Also, a very interesting bulb.

They told us that they often worked with guitars whose necks had been broken. Most of the instruments were non-functional in some way when they obtained them, so they were not ruining good, working instruments, but just giving them a new lease of life.

I particularly liked the sun-ray effect of the bulb in this brass instrument.

This one brought back powerful memories of my Dad, who played the horn, among many other instruments.

A fun demonstration!

Moving outside, we came across a stand selling power washers, and they had a brilliant demo. The water was pumped up the tube and then allowed to fall again, before repeating the process. The little ducks had quite a tumultuous ride, up and down! It reminded me of the beautiful water sculptures of William Pye.

Various exhibits

We were delighted to see the lady with the Indian umbrellas back again. Several years ago we bought one off her, and we’ve never seen one again that was quite as nice, with its elephants and shiny shi-sha mirrors. We put it up on sunny days in our patio.

Nice to see Riverford Organic Farm with a stand. We used to live quite close to them, and my hubby knew the founder quite well. They deliver veg boxes all over the country. I loved their colourful stand. “Live Life on the Veg” haha! We don’t actually have a weekly veg box, although I’d like to, but you never know what you’re going to get as it varies with the seasons, and I like to do a meal plan each week.

Fun potted topiary trees. We balked a bit at the price, though! Still, I suppose a lot of time and work goes into cultivating them into these shapes.

The main art and craft tent

This is always my favourite place to visit. This year they had previews of two upcoming exhibitions which will take place at the show ground in the autumn of this year.

The Titanic exhibition

They set up a small selection of pictures and artefacts, the first being a full-sized picture of the Grand Staircase made so famous in the film “Titanic.” They also displayed a small piece of the carved wood that was rescued from the wreck.

There was a cupboard door rescued from the galley, and one or two other artefacts, and plenty of memorabilia.

Beyond van Gogh

The other preview exhibition was for an art experience. The big exhibition will apparently be an immersive experience, and I’m really looking forward to attending that in the autumn.

For the County Show, they had an “artist in residence,” Anita Nowinska, who paints large floral pictures with bold brush strokes, inspired by van Gogh. Here she is at work.

We had a lovely chat about art and life, and discovered that we had some health issues in common. She finds art very therapeutic, and despite her suffering, her work is so sunny and bright, and lifts the spirit. It was fascinating watching her work.

She lives near Totnes in Devon, which was our local stamping ground before we moved here. It’s a very arty cultural place and we loved it.

Moving around the rest of the tent, I enjoyed the many exhibits and competitions.

Embroidered furnishing fabrics

I believe these were from India. They were so beautiful.

Cakes

A delightful turtle cake! So realistic!

I loved this one too – a handbag with its contents – note the false eyelashes!! The chain made from icing was amazing, too.

The floral displays

There are always the most beautiful flower arrangements at the show. One of the themes this year was hats.

Many other designs too. As always, I love the miniature displays.

I blurred and darkened the background of this one to show off the beautiful pink calla lilies better.

The usual display of cacti, which I always enjoy.

The charity display

Each year the show features a different charity. This year there were two which deal with youth suicide.

In the centre was a large display of flowers, which I thought were real until I got up close. I realised that each one had been hand-made, from a variety of materials.

They had been made by people of all ages, from children to the elderly. There were literally hundreds of flowers in this display, and each one represented a young person who had committed suicide.

One of the charities featured this year supports families who have lost youngsters, and the other is a 24-hour helpline for those contemplating suicide – a sort of Samaritans for the young. Suicide among children and young people has been on the increase in recent years, exacerbated by the Covid lockdown, and also the influence of social media and the over-use of screens which is so isolating for children. This display was very moving.

Artists and craftsmen

As always, there were creative people at work, or displaying their pieces, and I had some amazing conversations with several artists. One wasn’t actually on her stand at the time but I spoke with her other half who was manning the shop for her. She did the most amazing pet portraits. I picked up a leaflet and will be looking her up on Instagram.

I had a long conversation with an artist at work on a Dartmoor landscape in oils – talking about art and how to look at things, and I showed him some photos of my work. I was very pleased when he said they were “really good” and that people often showed him photos of their work and it really wasn’t very good! I told him I’d taken part in a year-long drawing course which had revolutionised my drawing abilities and that I am still amazed at what I am now able to achieve as a result. The conversation was so encouraging, and I felt that this artist was a real kindred spirit, as I had felt about Anita Nowinska, too. I think the artists at shows really appreciate it when people come and talk to them, who know what they are talking about, and not just saying things like “That’s pretty,” or “That’s really good,” etc.!! It is great when people take a real interest, and are prepared to spend time with them.

Spinning

The spinners and weavers’ guild ladies were there, and I told them I used to spin quite a lot many years ago – I still have my wheel but am unable to keep peddling for any length of time these days. The lady on the the left in the picture above had a beautifully decorated wheel. She told me the husband of a friend of hers had done the pyrography work for her, and it was exquisite with the little sprigs of oak leaves and acorns. so beautifully rendered and shaded.

Quilting

As always, a beautiful display.

This blue and white one, based on Chinese Willow Pattern designs, really took my fancy.

Lots of cheerful little boats in this river scene. The lady who made it was manning the stand, and she has caught the effect of the water and the reflections beautifully with her fabric and stitches.

This one was particularly intriguing. I remarked on the unusual asymmetrical design which I really liked, and the lady laughed and said that the person who made it had to do it like that because there was a plug on the wall where she wanted to hang it!! Someone had said they thought it looked like Scotland, until she noticed the penguins! This three-part quilt is a depiction of the Faulkland Islands with its rich agricultural heritage. I wondered if the red aeroplane was a reference to the Faulklands War in the 1980s.

My purchase

Over the years I have often bought a lot of stuff at the show, coming back laden with stuff for the kitchen, clothes, jewellery… Last year I didn’t buy anything at all, and this year I bought one thing. There was a stand selling the most exquisite polished Moroccan wooden boxes, some of which were beautifully inlaid. I was so carried away with the beauty of them and how tactile they were that I completely forgot to photograph the stand! I did, however, buy a small box with a pierced Islamic design in the lid, and some very pretty grain. I can’t remember what the wood was (I’d never heard of it before) but the man said that the mottled grain came from the root, and the lighter wood from the upper part of the tree, often combined in a single piece. These boxes were so beautiful.

I have a little collection of small boxes on the chest of drawers in the bedroom, and this one has now joined their company, resting on a piece of Romanian hand weaving.

Altogether it was a fantastic day out, as always, and especially as it was such a perfect day – hot and sunny. Lots of fun and interesting people to meet, and plenty to see and do. My favourite annual outing! My hubby wants to take me to the Cat Cafe again for my birthday treat!