Yesterday we took advantage of the Brisbane public holiday to got to the ‘Ekka’, aka the Royal Queensland Show.  It’s the Brisbane equivalent of what in NZ we used to call A&P shows – farm animals, traditional crafts and baking competitions, sideshow alley for the kids etc.  We get a public holiday for what’s referred to as ‘People’s Day’.  For years we’ve been meaning to go, but the lure of a lazy day at home has been too strong; that and the fact that around the Ekka Brisbane generally gets strong westerly winds that drop the temperature.

Anyway, yesterday was a beautiful and unusally warm winter day, so off we went early.  Once again John was the only bloke in the quilt show – missed you Caroline!  But then we surveyed the photography competition, baking a preserves, cats, sheep, cows, sheep, goats, chooks, vege displays etc.  Having arrived at 9am we were ready to go by 12, but not before a beer in the Stockman’s Bar!

So above are the prizewinning giant pumpkin, prizewinning preserves, and two of the more striking quilts from the quilt competition.