Instalment 9

West Moor Shorthorns - Saturday August 14

Our friend Ernie got his friend June to look up a couple of contacts for a farm visit. The first person we rang had Aberdeen Angus but wouldn't be able to see us; the second contact had Shorthorns and was able to accommodate us so we went there. We arranged to arrive at 1pm.

Meanwhile, we went into Harrogate to buy a white shirt for Gibbo for the closing dinner. The men have to wear the QCC tie and a jacket; we purchased a lovely little tweed number from St Vinnies in Dalby for $5 and brought it half way around the world. We'll be leaving it behind when we leave. 

We hired a private taxi to take us to the farm; while it was reasonably expensive we intend claiming a tax deduction for part of the trip so the cost was worth it. 

The farm was up hill and down dale, round the corner, tucked in behind several other farms and over a cattle grid. The driver called it "remote". We asked him to come back for us at 3pm. The owners were very kind, an older couple who's son was away in Scotland, judging Shorthorns. Paula took us for a walk through the fields to see the cattle and sheep. She and Gibbo talked and talked; they both asked each other lots of questions. She couldn't get her head around the land size and cattle numbers of AAco. Everything was again storybook perfect - the stone walls, the sheep, the rustic gates, the barns for shedding the livestock in the winter, Lucy the jack russell - everything. Half the house was 250 years old; the other half was 200 years old! Upon our return, Joe invited us inside to see just what an old Yorkshire sportsman's house looked like. I thought he meant cricket (not more funny stories) - but he actually meant fox and hare hunting. Walking into their hallway we were greeted by a number of mounted otter, fox, deer and hare heads. It was something I'd never seen before - each head had a small plaque attached to the shield, giving details of the Hunt, the date and either the distance travelled or time taken to finally take the quarry. There were photographs and pictures of the men and horses and the dogs all milling around in front of them, anticipating the chase. It was fascinating. There was a hare head taken in 1917 - it ran for 24 miles before it was caught. We sat on the settee in the lounge room and had a cup of tea and biscuits and talked. We gave Paula a black "Wagyu, the marbling breed" apron. The taxi arrived right on time and we set off back to Harrogate after really enjoying our visit.

Gibbo had a sleep and I read while we waited to get ready for the finale - the Grand Final Dinner and the last official function of the festival.