I can tell you all this, it does not seem as though the festive season is just around the corner. The only real tangible evidence of it is that all the tradesmen are fully committed trying to get jobs completed before the Christmas holiday. Householders have this urge to get work done in time for Christmas, yet compared to Britain, it is all so low-key. I ask you, how can it seem like Christmas when the temperatures are so high with wall to wall sunshine. Many householders will erect trees and lighting but as darkness falls after 9pm there is little to be seen of them. So I ask you, when you are huddled around your fires after the festive fare of turkey, pudding and cake, with the wind howling outside, spare a thought for Doug down in Oz having to put up with heat and this curious way of spending the day outside at the barbeque or on the beach trying not to look at the bikini-clad sheilas strutting about and frolicking in the waves.
It has been a curious show season for me for having come across to England in May and June, I missed most of my peak showing period. Even the agricultural shows which have just ended did not fall right for me this year. My last show was at Dandenong Agricultural for which I found six birds to show, birds which were not in the breeding programme. These were four Show Racers, a German Beauty Homer hen and a Pigmy cock. My Show Racer was given overall Best in Show - and did look well, and I also won Best Opposite Sex with the GBH hen. My Pigmy hen also won her class so it was a successful outing and to me proves that in showing, condition is almost everything.
I have judged at numerous shows throughout the world and these include many agricultural events but never were we afforded the experiences which came with the Royal Hobart appointment. We were invited to receptions at Government House hosted by His Excellency the Governor and to the Town Hall in Hobart thanks to the Lord Mayor. It added another dimension to the show and indicated the standing of the show in the events of Tasmania. There was even a public holiday for the show. It was just good to think that the islanders thought so much of their event to want to have some basic courtesies extended. In fact, thinking back, after organizing Devon County show for 15 years, and finally relinquishing the position, I don't think I received a thank you. That organization seemed to be run by bowler-hatted nincompoops who were so full of themselves and their vanity that small livestock sections meant nothing to them.
