What a difference a day makes

Andrew Phillips-Harrison, from Kaikohe, was at the show with two Peking ducks, Harry Potter and Jemima, who was chilling in her carry cage. Photo / Peter Jackson

The organisers of Saturday's 133rd A&P show were revelling in a job well done on Sunday, thanking their lucky stars that the event had squeaked in before the latest imposition of Covid alert level 2 restrictions, which 24 hours earlier would have forced its cancellation.

"Last year's show as brilliant," president Jim Burrough said, "but this one was even more brilliant."

Gate takings were well up on 2020, thanks perhaps to the fact that all rides were free, making it a very affordable day out for families in glorious late summer's sun.

The queue at the gate was a little longer than usual, thanks to the need to sign in as a Covid precaution, while the hall at Te Ahu was once again a sight to behold with exhibits ranging from fruit and veg to jam, photographs, flowers and knitting.

"We had a lot of flowers this year, and the preserving entries were good, perhaps thanks to last year's lockdown, but fruit and veg were down, no doubt because of the long dry summer, Marie Matthews said.

The buttercup entries, she added, were particularly disappointing, with two fairly ordinary specimens, both from husband Jim Burrough. That was better than his effort last year though, when his garden had been less bountiful than usual, and he and Marie had inadvertently devoured his entire crop at dinner one night.