It’s Show Time in the Country

Country Shows remain significant fixtures in the calendar. The best of them never test our loyalty. Their identity is secure, the administration faultless. One show with a character all of its own is the Fenland Country Fair held at Stow-cum-Quy. It comes at just the right time. Wild fowling and partridge-shooting are about to begin; harvest is well underway and there are blackberries in the hedgerows. Each August bank holiday weekend, generations of visitors descend on Quy where Malcolm Hall, his partner John Plant, plus family and friends, will have everything under control.

Then a gamekeeper, Hall started the Fenland 29 years ago to raise funds for his village youth club, and his commitment to the young continues. Speaking on the Fenland’s second day in 2007 against a backdrop of parading hounds, he says, “This is a traditional fair – people come to meet each other. Yesterday we had 8,000 people that paid. That’s all I can judge my figures on because children under 11 come in free: I want to educate them. The organisation is all up here,” he says, tapping his head. “We get a good rate every year, wet or fine. In the beer tent, the amount of ale we sell is amazing. You won’t find any double glazing stands here… and while I’m at the helm it won’t change.” The entertainment is non-stop; the local food scrumptious and fairly priced; the unadulterated rural atmosphere like something dreamt from the past. The determinant of success is the vision, aptitude and drive of men like Hall who hold the reins.

The Field Magazine July 2008