West Show president Andre Mayor said that an early morning downpour had actually helped the show, damping down dust and meaning that its fire precaution tractor on stand-by was unlikely to need to be used.
‘We took extra precautions for the heat, in case of a fire we have buckets of water at each entrance so we can grab them at short notice,’ he said.
‘There’s a lot of things I can control but one thing I can’t is the weather, so there’s no need to worry about it. It will either rain or be sunny.’
The show has grown over the years, he said, and he thanked his team of volunteers for all their work in getting things ready for the show days.
‘Seeing the show busy is like a reward for all our work. Without our amazing volunteers there wouldn’t be a show, their love for the show bleeds through into the atmosphere so that visitors can feel it,’ he said.
‘Everyone is welcome to join in, we have people from different walks of life from finance to farmers. Last year we had three generations of one family helping out.
‘My favourite part is when you see the volunteers interact as a family, you see this especially during the take-down, as everyone works together.’
Bailiff admires ‘astonishing amount of entries’
Sir Richard McMahon has visited the West Show as Bailiff over the past six years – but although he is a resident of the western parishes, he has never entered any of the classes.
If he did, he said yesterday, it would be in a bread, baking or Lego category.
‘There are lots of exhibits to see, it’s quite astonishing the amount that has been entered really, and the ingenuity of people’s art is amazing,’ he said.
‘Every show brings the community together, I really applaud the people who enter and those who help out.
‘It is a way of bringing the parishes of each show together, so long may it last.’
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