Crowds flocking to the Royal Three Counties Show were treated to glorious sunshine and a record numbers of animals yesterday.
Defra Secretary Owen Paterson was at the opening day of the three-day event and he met some of the farmers who brought a record-breaking 970 cattle to the show.
Visitors were also treated to the sight of 2,470 sheep, nearly 400 pigs, almost 300 goats, 800 poultry and 100 alpacas.
Many said the revival in numbers showed that the agricultural sector could finally look forward to a brighter future.
The show's communications manager Sharon Gilbert said 2014 was a special year for the show.
"As well as the Royal title we now have the Princess Royal as our patron and to top it all, our animal entries are at an all-time high and the sun promises to shine all weekend," she said. "We are really looking forward to everything coming together and taking us one step closer to becoming England's premier livestock event."
Manager Doreen Smillie, who has been involved with the event for nearly four decades, said the high number of entries was also good news for the show.
She said: "The first Three Counties Show was held on the streets of Hereford way back in 1797, and has been on its current site since 1958, so it's definitely a show with staying power. In recent years, we have worked extremely hard to give the show a new look, with dedicated zoning and improved showing facilities, and since 2009, it has paid dividends."
Numbers were boosted by the RASE Beef Burke Trophy, but observers said it was significant that the entry is now higher than that of the Great Yorkshire Show and The Royal Highland Show.
The motorcycle stunt team which reached the semi-finals in television's Britain's Got Talent, the Bolddogs Lings, and the Red Devils parachute display team provided the arena entertainment.
Here it comes again – Father's Day. A day on which to honour the paterfamilias, the man about the house, Big Daddy, He Who Must Be Obeyed (Or At Least Ought To Be).
And not, as some cynics may suggest, a cheap marketing ploy invented by card manufacturers to drum up trade in the lull between Easter and Christmas.
Oh no sirree boss, Father's Day is the real deal, and don't you forget it, because if you do, your dad will think you don't love him.
Right, that's enough moral blackmail. Onwards to the presents. And what do you get for the man who has everything? Or would have everything, if certain offspring hadn't borrowed it, covered it in paint and dumped it at the bottom of the garden?
Perhaps Mrs D's magazines will point the way.
In among the sofas, soft furnishings and sconces that grace the pages of the country-home-and-garden-style glossy periodicals strewing the floors of Dixon Towers, there must be something suitable for Popsicle on his own special day.
Let's see now... Fabric cleaner... Nerve tonic... Wait, how about a shepherd's hut? They're all the rage, you know. Tastefully painted in rustic shades of sage, slate, or russet, they trundle around your garden on wooden wheels and offer the put-upon Pa a haven from the incessant demands of family members for him to fix the printer for the third time this week.
"Let your soul breathe," says the advert. If only. That printer won't fix itself, and if we ever did get a shepherd's hut there'd be no room left in the garden to swing a cat.
Speaking of which... How about an electronic cat tracker? This ingenious device uses the power of GPS, 3G and who knows, maybe USB too, to log your moggie's wanderings in the great outdoors and relay them to your computer, tablet or smartphone.
All of which would be fine and dandy, and would no doubt offer hours of instructive fun, if it weren't for two things.
First, the cat that consents to live at Dixon Towers would consider a tracking collar an infringement on its liberty almost as heinous as being decked out in a big pink bow, and would react accordingly: claws first. Second, said cat spends 99.37 per cent of its time in bed, only occasionally stumbling through the catflap to make sure the sun is still shining before mooching back to bed for another prolonged nap.
The cat tracker sounds rather like the techno-feline equivalent of watching paint dry, and it won't be making it onto our Father's Day gift list.
No, Mrs D's aspirational reading matter is no help at all when it comes to choosing the perfect paternal present for June 15.
So perhaps it's best to stick to the novelty stuff. That Darth Vader "I am your father" T-shirt was well received a couple of years ago. Anything that says "40 per cent" on the label and can't be bought by kids is just great. And there's a chap at work who is very proud of his "Who's the Daddy?" coffee mug.
Oh, and some shower gel would be nice, too. Last year's has nearly run out.
