Country Life
A traditional rural show
If you haven’t visited the
Island’s County Show in
recent years, you might
be surprised to learn
that it’s now one of the
biggest days out on the
summer calendar.
This year’s show – the 119th - is on
Sunday July 8th and will feature
all that’s best about the Island’s
rural way of life, from livestock and
machinery through to local food,
gardening and outdoor living.
While still true to its roots, the
show has become an event for
the whole family, where children
can pet the farm animals or
listen to storyteller’s tales, as
well as enjoying vintage funfair
attractions, bouncy castles
and shooting galleries.
Throughout the day, displays
in the Main Ring will feature
falconry, gun dogs and the IW
Pony Club, plus all the thrills of
the Isle of Wight Speedway.
Of course, the real stars of the
show are the animals, with pigs,
sheep and cattle plus a poultry
show tent to discover. In addition,
all the ‘big toys’ will be out in
force, from sit-on mowers to farm
machinery and with tractor and
trailer rides throughout the day.
For more info call 0845 226 9098
or see www.riwas.org.uk
Making beautiful barns
There can’t be many areas of the
Island that haven’t benefitted
from John Russell’s fence-building
expertise over the years - in fact,
if you were to walk from the
Needles to Culver Cliff, you’d be
hard-pressed to find many spots
that he hasn’t built a fence on!
Now, though, he and his skilled
team at JR Fencing & Sons in
Shorwell are branching out
to provide another expert
service – barn construction.
They’ve been called on to
build structures for clients
including the Island’s Amazon
World Zoo Park, and recently, a
lambing barn for a sheep farm
in Merstone – and they’d relish
the challenge to do more.
For over 20 years, John has
specialised in high quality large-
scale fencing, and some of his
clients include the National
Trust, RSPB, Hampshire and Isle
of Wight Wildlife Trust and the
Island’s Donkey Sanctuary - which
means he’s effectively fenced in
everything from ostriches and
alpacas to wallabys and meerkats!
He employs three other fence
builders, and says they all take pride
in doing a great job, no matter
how large or small it is – from 100
metres to 5,000 of fencing, to
an animal or agricultural barn.
“Whatever the job is, once we’re
finished, there’s always a great
feeling of satisfaction” he says.
Contact J R Fencing on 01983
740556 or 07768 172308.
You can find them at Westcourt
Farm, Shorwell, PO30 3LA.
www.visitilife.com
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