Broadlands Fun with Ferrets, Fish and Falcons
If you have any interest in fish, fowl, horse or garden, chances are that like me you will be heading down to Hampshire this weekend. It is the weekend when we rural folk celebrate the countryside with likeminded friends at the annual Game Fair, a rural jamboree attended by over 700 trade stands and catering to all the varied rural interests of the countryside, be they fishing, ferreting or falconry; bee-keeping or butterfly watching. It is held each year at a different venue and this Jubilee year it is the turn of Lord Romsey to host the occasion at his Broadlands estate on the river Test near the picturesque old town of Romsey.
The Fair is a particular favourite with anglers - it is their biggest and best outdoor event of the year, with all the big names in fishing tackle demonstrating their rods, reels and lures to a critical public in the event's fishing village on the banks of the Test. There is an emphasis on the family this year at the Broadlands show and grannie and grandad can try their perhaps near forgotten talents with a fly rod in the mixed open casting championship, while the latest edition to their family dynasty can enter the casting competition for juniors.
There is also an added emphasis on equestrian interests at Broadlands, with a feature Hooked on Horses designed to give the expected 125,000 visitors a better insight into field sports and equestrian pastimes. As well as the attraction of the elegant sport of carriage driving and the appearance of heavy horses, there are experts on hand to give advice on equine dentistry, alternative healing, and horse care.
The English love affair with their garden, be it a broad landscaped vista, cottage garden or urban window boxes and tubs decorating the fire escape, continues unabated. It is fueled by TV's preoccupation with all things horticultural, (BBC runs programmes back to back in prime TV time), and a summer-long schedule of major flower shows across Britain which must have the nurseries stretched to the limits in coping with demands on their time and stock. Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants and Hillier Nurseries, two of the most famous gold medal exhibitors from the annual Royal Horticural Society extravaganzas, the Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows, are at Broadlands this year. They have created demo gardens stocked with trees, shrubs, herbacious plants and exotica for viewing and buying - though it will be difficult to cart the demo croquet lawn away.
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