Prized Day Out

I took the kids to The Manifold Show for a couple of hours just to get them out of the house. If you’ve never been to one of these shows, it’s where all the local farmers and horse breeders meet in a big field and show off their livestock while competing for prizes for horse riding or sheepdog trialling or who has the most beautiful cow with the longest eyelashes. If the sun’s out (which is was), then lots of people drink lots of beer or prosecco and eat lots of ice cream.

One of our local farmers has been teaching kids with learning disabilities how to help out on the farm. I took both my kids to his stand to help out a friend who volunteers for him. “Come on you two ,sell some stuff for Mark.” I'm very proud of both of them because I think they managed to raise about £30 selling “Name the Lamb” tickets. My favourites were Woolverine and Baabaarella.

My youngest is such a rock. He’s only 14, but he cares for his elder sister without realising he’s doing it. She can be quite wobbly, and he walked off with her arms linked so she wouldn’t fall. They returned beaming 10 minutes later with a slushy and a lemon Fanta. I’d had a breather, they’d had drinks, the sun was shining and I noticed all of it.

The Summer Sale is on for a limited time, so if you did want something then do get in now. There are some gorgeous reductions on the website.