Mum and I went to Castlewellan Show today, now established as one of the biggest and best - certainly the prettiest - in the area. We had a ball - wherever we looked, little dramas were played out as horses, dogs, cattle, beagles, chickens, sheep and goats criss-crossed the meadow in front of the castle, lead by the neck, the nose, the head or in several notable cases, by force of will. More than once I leant down to mum and said, 'Only in Ireland.'
Did I mention donkeys? There's nothing quite like a donkey. I've had a soft spot for them since the family was adopted by one in Connemara when I was a youngster. Donkeys are multi-faceted, so you take the rough with the smooth. They are generally bright, affectionate, hard-working - and as stubborn (you have to say it quietly) as a mule:
..butter wouldn't melt.
