The Royal Cheshire Show

One of the things the teddy bears look forward to the most each June is the annual Royal Cheshire Show. It is held over two days and is a celebration of the Cheshire countryside and agriculture, and has been taking place for the last 185 years! This year there were 85,000 visitors! And the site was spread over 250 acres!

The bears had invited their friends to join them and they had all been excited ever since they bought their tickets, and had been poring over the programme of events, and the list of competition classes, so that they could organise what to see. In fact, there would be so much going on that the bears split themselves into smaller groups so that they would all manage to get to everything they wanted to visit.

Vicky was a little apprehensive about her first visit as she had been told how crowded it would be and how big an area it covered.

"With all those other people around, won't a little bear like me get lost very easily?" she asked Scary anxiously.

"You don't need to worry, little Vicky," replied Scary. "You can stay with me all day. I've been many times and know the layout very well."

"Phew!" said Vicky, much happier now that she knew Scary would be looking after her.

"Does anyone else want to be in my group?" Scary asked the other bears.

"Well, if it's alright with you," said Henry, "Might I be in your group too please?."

"Of course!" said Scary. "We'll have a great time!"

"Me too please Scary?" asked Harry. "I think I might get stepped on!"

"There'll be no danger of that," replied Scary. "You'll all be perfectly safe with me!"

The other bears, several of whom had been before, split themselves into their groups and began planning what they all wanted to see and in which order so that they could make the most of their visit.

"Hey, Scary!" Boo suddenly called. "How about we meet up with each other at a central location for lunch?" he asked.

"That's a great idea!" replied Scary. "Then we'll be able to bring each other up to date on what we've seen in case some of us want to change their plans a bit."

On the day of the Show, the bears travelled eagerly to the site, showed their tickets and went in. They split up into their groups, each with a map of the showground, and decided where to meet up for lunch. Then they went their separate ways.

There were lots of exhibitions and displays to choose from, and competition classes for all sorts of animals, though there didn't seem to be one for bears!

There were bands playing, and food demonstrations, show jumping, vintage machinery, horse stunt riders, Pony Club games, sheep shearing, police dog displays, birds of prey shows, Women's Institute presentations, and riders showing off their motorbike skills. There was so much going on that the bears were very pleased that they had planned their visit so well that everyone enjoyed themselves.

At lunchtime, as planned, they all met up near the main arena to eat their picnics and discuss all the things they had seen and done.

Bubbles and his group had been especially interested in all the animal classes showing, and they had tried to guess which of the animals would be chosen by the judges. They saw shire horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, pigeons, rabbits, dogs and poultry. But their favourite had to be the pygmy goats who bounced around as if they were on springs!

Teddy's group had also been looking at animals, but they were more interested in the show-jumping competition and the huge shire horses pulling drays (that's big carts).

Obviously, Charlie's group went first to the display of vintage agricultural machinery and were delighted when one of the exhibitors asked them if they would like to sit on his tractor! Of course they did!

Scary and the little bears took their time walking round. They visited the Dog Show and picked their favourite dogs. They watched in awe as the birds of prey flew around the arena, though they made sure to view from beneath the seating, just in case the big birds with huge claws and sharp beaks mistook them for dinner!

They also enjoyed the food demonstrations as there was very often some cheese, or honey, or cake for them to sample!

Eventually, as the afternoon wore on, the bears, especially the little ones, began to tire. They had agreed to get together again at the bandstand where bands had been playing all sorts of music all day. It was a very noticeable place to meet up and, although Scary and the little bears were the first to call it a day, the other bears weren't far behind them.

When they were all back together again, they all had ice creams to revive themselves (that was their excuse anyway!) Then they all set off back home, chattering away about their wonderful day at the Royal Cheshire Show! They couldn't wait until they visited again next year!

Maybe there is some sort of County Show in your area this year. If you can, it's great fun to visit - a fabulous day out in the countryside!