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Penistone Show is our most important and prestigious annual event. It is always on the second Saturday of September and attracts large crowds and exhibitors from far and wide. See the year links above for photo galleries. Sorry, no pictures for 2006. Sorry again that the above link to the 2007 page did not arrive until late September. The actual 2007 page arrived on the day with all the pictures (modified since then).
Our Gift of Land
Apparently, the Showground field was donated to the town by a farmer for recreational use. Somehow, Barnsley council stole it from us in the 1970s Local Government Re-organisation and have had a variety of plans for it ever since. Now they and their fellow-travellers are eroding it bit by bit with the skateboard park, a Tesco and possibly a nursery. Next year's Show (2008) will be smaller to accommodate the Tesco encroachment.
2001 Show
Most of the UK's agricultural shows were cancelled in 2001 because of the devastating 'foot and mouth' cattle epidemic and Penistone Show was also very nearly cancelled. A good job that it wasn't, as this was a wonderful day and kept me occupied for nearly five hours. The weather stayed dry and windy but not cold and the sun was out more than it was in.
2002 Show
The 2002 show went ahead with some restrictions on livestock, after the effects of the 'foot & mouth' epidemic. There were no sheep or goats and the public were not allowed to touch farm animals. Even so, by all accounts there was plenty to see and do. Sorry, but I was on my jollies in Zakynthos and missed the 2002 show.
2003 Show
A gloriously sunny day with huge crowds. There were the usual displays of vintage vehicles, tree surgery, archery, wall building, camera club, horticulture, foods, handicrafts, hurdle making and much more. Unusually, this year's show had camel racing and ferret racing (cloth caps not a pre-requisite).
2004 Show
Very windy but dry and mostly sunny. Pretty much the same ingredients as previous years but a sheep display was introduced this year with a New Zealander doing an entertaining spiel. Little kids ran for it when he said that the sheep sometimes escape into the crowd. Thurlstone Brass Band did a rollicking good performance and a few green-wellied hunt supporters protested about the fox hunting ban.
2005 Show
A great wash-out and mud-bath year but yet Penistone was still a-buzzing. Not as many people on the Showground but enough to be viable in spite of the weather. Some stands left by 4pm. I spent most of my time at the Fire Station involved with with a charity bed-push.
2006 Show
A warm sunny day with what must have been record crowds. It had a new layout and there seemed to be more to look at but less happening, with less of a 'buzz' than usual. The marquees seemed to be more spacious. Some of the old favourites were there, such as the NZ sheep shearing but other things that I liked to see were missing, such as dry stone walling and the blacksmith's forge and I did not see a tug-o'-war. The dog show was bigger, in the area that 'Busy Bees' want to build on. I thought that there were fewer horsey events. Penistone FM had a small plot in a dead zone but Dismal Dearne had prime spot, with much jumping about to a largely disinterested crowd. It was a good day out but queues for refreshments were long. I did the civilised thing and nipped out for a nice cup of tea in the Vicarage cafe.
2007 Show
This year's show was, as ever, very busy with the usual wide range of exhibits, crafts, horticulture, animals, trade stands and what have you. In fact, I think that there was almost enough to see and do for a two-day event. The weather stayed fine if mostly cloudy but there was a hint of sun now and then. Thurlstone Brass Band played a fine Yorkshire medley which included 'Ilkley Moor' and 'Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill'. In another marquee, energetic young girls belted out a string of songs to an appreciative audience.
The dry-stone walling team were back but no sign of the blacksmiths. There was a display of wood cutting using power saws and in one marquee a man was cutting wood into intricate shapes. Prize flowers and vegetables adorned another marquee. Arts and crafts were in another and Penistone Photographic Club had their usual splendid exhibition. The hosey stuff went on as usual with some of the riders dressing up a bit more this year. I saw prize cattle but there were special measures with disinfectant because of this year's outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The real show-stealer was a spitfire fly-pass above the field. Fantastic.
Fun at Previous Shows
I was in tears of laughter at an eighties show, when everything went surreal. A drunk stumbled out of the beer tent into a small tent with a live PA mike. He chose to defame 'Bobby Burton' in very colourful and hugely entertaining language for reasons best known to himself. Then his voice suddenly cut out mid-sentence as the long arm of the law reached out and, well, I think they call it a felt collar. On another occasion, I won't tell you what a bolting horse did to the portaloo - with someone in it. Oh dear, more tears and not all of them from laughter.
Website
The official website: http://www.penistoneshow.org.uk has been updated with full details.
