Back in Time.....

Mr Shiltonpig runs out of steam

 10th July 2010

So apart from the world cup...we have been up to a couple of other non geocaching things as well. Now I know this blog is for geocaching adventures but hey what the heck we shall tell you a tale from the deepest darkest corners of Nottinghamshire. Once a year for th last 50 or so years the village of Rempstone hosts its annual Steam and Country Fair. As Josh loves tractors and diggers we thought it would be a great place to take him. What we didin't expect was another type of geek there instead. Many of you are aware of the geeks bible

The Original Tractor Boy

 which includes geocachers of course. We have a bad reputation...especially to any of you who heard Chris Moyles make fun of us the other morning. So it always gives me great pleasure to meet different types of geeks. Now one section of the fair took us to the engines section where several people in their caravans and tents were closer guarding late 19th and late 20th century mowers and water pumps. Made us chuckle.....finally somebody more worthy of a geeky title. What is more worrying is that Josh is starting to have these tendencies at such an early age....just look at him in th photo to the right and you can see how much he enjoys being behind the

Lewis Hamilton wannabe

 wheel of a tractor! The show also had bagpipes...now I am not entirely sure what the Scottish connection is between Rempstone and Scotland is, but it was a worthy addition to a country fair. Other strange items to be seen were in the tent entitled "Models Tent", instead there were loads and loads of model circuses, which were great to look at. What was weird however were all the adverts advertising several model circus shows across the East Midlands area. Starting to wonder if the cut-throat world of model circuses might next be the focus of a Hollywood film...Tom Cruise would be the actor I would recommend for the part.

Who is afraid of who?

 So much to see and do in the several hours we were there (and good value for £6 per person...free parking...and you know how much Mr Shiltonpig hates having to pay for ridiculous parking)...The reptile tent didn't just include reptiles, massive massive spiders meant that Mr Shiltonpig was hiding behind the tent. Josh loved them...and got stuck in poking at the snakes and lizards. Fortunately none of them were Josh eating so we had to take him home with us (A note to social services- we do love our son...honest!) There was also a tent with you could enter a beehive in...but we spotted a hole in the tent so decided not to enter it. Did you know that

A needle in a haystack

there is a society in the East Midlands for looking after bees? With so much to offer it seemed rude not to take up the offer of a Mr Whippy in the nearby van...I think its fair to say that we have single handedly kept the ice cream business in business this summer. Josh alone accounting for 98.5% of all UK sales. After looking at some kites, Shire Horses, chilli plant stand and many more amusing and unusual stalls it was time to go home. So while we may not be the geekiest family out there....we fitted right in with this crowd!! See you next year Rempstone....see you next year...