23 June 2011

The East of England Show, a celebration of farming and rural life, took place over the weekend at the East of England Show Ground, Peterborough. Organisers said the show, one of the first of its kind in the country, built on last year’s success, hosting such cattle classes as the Longhorn National Show and the Beef Shorthorn National Show as well as various sheep and equestrian classes.

Rupert West, of the East of England Agricultural Society, outlined the history and purpose of the show, “In the last part of the 18th Century, the first Peterborough Show took place. The DNA of the East of England Agricultural Society stretches all the way back to the Peterborough Agricultural Society and that first show, held within the town in the late 1700s.

“The concept of an agricultural show is a meeting between town and country, when they first came into being at the start of the agrarian revolution and the start of the move towards the cities of the population. It’s a way for urban people to understand the country and where their food comes from. In the same way those actually producing the food can get to understand their consumers.”

East Of England Show 2011 Video Courtesy of East TV