To live and die in L.I.

I couldn't wait for our village show. I'd seen a programme on TV recently about the Royal Show where Prince Charles and Camilla went around tasting jam and measuring Britain's longest carrots and crowning the "wool princess" with as much fanfare as the dire pair could muster. I was just dying to see this side of British country culture. So when the L.I. newsletter arrived in our post box, advertising the upcoming event, I could hardly contain my excitement. I pictured stalls from local farmers and artisans, livestock and tractors, herding dog and horse jumping demonstrations, maybe some musical performers. Next, the hand painted signs starting going up on every flat surface in the village. Show, show, show!!! Blame it on the Alaska State Fair of my youth, but I couldn't wait to see some BIG VEG. You know the monstrous pumpkins and zucchini that defy logic and gravity by taking on a alien enormity of size. The Matanuska Valley of my childhood was reknown for producing 75 lb cabbages and tomatoes the size of your head, I wanted to see how Warwickshire would measure up.

That Saturday, the King Bee and I devoted the entire day to our village in anticipation of the show. We went for an early morning bike ride along the canal and through the farmlands just beyond the village, where the men were already rolling the hay into those perfect wheels that look like marshmallows when they're covered up. We splurged on a gorgeous lunch at the Duck on the Pond, where he delighted in his usual the champagne battered fish and chips and I tried my luck with the steamed mussels and chicken caesar salad. After lunch we made the short walk up to the community centre where the event was to be held.

Well, much to my dismay, there was no royalty in attendance (except for ourselves, of course) but merely a small village meeting hall full to the brim with veggies, flowers and baked goods from local households. Despite my initial disappointment of the scale of the affair, I managed to get a real kick out of the whole thing and spent nearly half an hour closely inspecting all of the offerings. The kids especially came up with some really great stuff. Here are the submissions from kids aged 8-11 in the 'monsters' category. How great are these?


Who wouldn't love living in L.I.?
----The Queen Bee