Last Saturday we went over to East Bridgford Village show to provide a spinning demo for a friend who has a nearby farm and always shows a few animals for the children.
The weather forecast was bad and the ground already soggy from days of rain. The fire engine drove onto the showground and promptly sank into the mud even before the rain had started. Fortunately this being a village show meant there was a display section labelled tractors and the owners were more than willing to see which one was capable of pulling a fire engine. In the end it took three of them to pull it out.
The animals proved to be a big draw as usual, the sheep greeted most visitors except when it was raining. This prompted questions.. why don't you put the sheep under cover. ..look at that brown one ! 'That brown one' was actually a miniature Shetland pony and actually smaller than a sheep and in a separate enclosure. Although this wasn't helped by a certain person trying to convince people that she was a rare breed sheep.
So the day was spent explaining the workings of the wheel, showing how the fibre twists together with how to use a drop spindle. All the young people went away with a sample of hand spun and some tried out the drop spindle. Parents took photos of the wheels and spinners for their children to take into school.
