Country, town and city folk united at the 74th annual Upper
Clutha A and P Show in Wanaka yesterday, with Christchurch
earthquake evacuees joining hundreds of Central Otago locals
to enjoy a wide range of exhibits and trade stalls.
The two-day show opened in the rain yesterday, forcing the
New Zealand Army Band to perform its first show without
electronic equipment.
Sunshine had broken through by lunchtime, bringing smiles to
everyone's faces, and the musicians were able to perform
their intended programme in the afternoon.
The band is based at Burnham military base and the musicians
are all active servicemen and servicewomen.
The band is the defence force's most prominent public
relations unit and had been at an Abu Dhabi defence force
exhibition when the Christchurch earthquake struck,
administration officer Graeme Bremner said yesterday.
"All our families and friends are well.
"Obviously there has been some damage to property but there
were no major injuries," he said.
Dozens of Christchurch school children now studying at Wanaka
schools were also at the show, as were many Canterbury
farmers and employees of Christchurch-based rural services
companies.
The Beef and Lamb New Zealand tent was a popular place to
hang out, with top New Zealand women's track cyclist Alison
Shanks, of Dunedin, former All Black Richard Loe of
Canterbury, European butcher Keith Fisher and Invercargill
chef Graham Hawkes presiding over 20 cuts of meat in the
national finals of the Glammies Awards.
Lawrence farmers Barbara and Lyn Murray and Murray Rose
emerged the victors with their Perfintex sheep meat, which
was processed at Alliance Mataura.
Shanks admitted she was struggling to get through the task as
quickly as Loe, who raced through the mouthfuls with relish.
Shanks had been cycling in the rain earlier in the morning,
as part of her preparation for the World Championships in the
Netherlands, and was happy to load up on protein afterwards.
"They were all so good," she said.
"It actually takes a bit to concentrate and rank each one.
"There was definitely a lot of meat going on there.
"I was prewarned to take small chunks but there was still a
lot of meat," she said.
Shanks leaves for the Netherlands on Wednesday and has been
training in Invercargill for the past week with the New
Zealand track squad.
She will compete in the teams pursuit and the individual
pursuit.
Loe, who farms in the Waimakariri district, said he was
probably a faster eater because there was no red wine to go
with it.
A regular Glammies judge, Loe found the competition "more
even" this year.
Butcher Keith Fisher also found the taste test difficult
because of the consistent quality.
"I had to really sift through it find a fault.
"They were all like peas in a pod," he said.
The show continues today from 9.30am.
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