Country Comes to Town, Leaves Immediately

Well, not quite. I was asked by the Shetland Pony group to come to Portadown to photograph their native pony show that takes place as part of the Country Comes to Town celebrations. But could I find them? No, I could not. I didn't know the area and I'd never been to the event before. The main street in the town and many side streets were lined with stalls and vintage vehicles but no ponies were in sight. I asked around and no one could tell me where they were so eventually, after two hours, I gave up.

While looking for the ponies I found a display of an old horse powered threshing machine.





The horse walks around in a circle and, through a series of cogs and chains, this drives the thresher.









While this was great, even better was the chicken who happily sat and went in circles with the machine.



There were a some very well turned out vintage vehicles.



My fellow Seeker of the Ponies was Cousin Holly, who's now halfway through her stay with us.



We took a break in the People's Park.



I'm not a fan of hustle and bustle, much preferring the peace of the countryside. So after two hours, I'd had enough of the town and wanted to return to the country. The Pot Belly Restaurant was the perfect escape.





It's a beautifully old-fashion place with good food...



...and a very grumpy cat called Mustard. (Very grumpy - there are posters warning you about him.)



While the day didn't go according to plan, Holly and I still had fun.