The show that was

And so the 2015 Ermelo Agricultural Show has come and gone.

If all the talk is true, this was the very last show at this particular venue.

Plans are afoot to develop the property and talk has it that a shopping mall will be erected on the site.

Whether these plans will ever come to fruition given the current state of the economy remains to be seen.

Whatever the case may be, love it, hate it or love the Ermelo Show at its present venue has been part and parcel of the community for many, many years.

We have all attended the show at one stage or another, some people without missing a single year.

The show, or “Skou” as it is referred to by the people, has a fascinating appeal of its own to almost every one.

It’s the only event in Ermelo where literally thousands of people from all walks of life are able to mingle, strike up a conversation with friends and strangers , browse, buy, eat and be entertained by popular artists and have fun at the fairground.

Sure, it can turn into an expensive exercise if the kids are tempted by the brightly coloured plastic bric-a-brac on sale at almost every tent or stall and if mom or dad falls for the glib, fast-talking stall owner who convinces us that his gadget is the best invention since the wheel.

Go on, admit it. We all have a gadget or two in the kitchen drawer or in the garage that only the salesman at the show could operate “so quickly and easily”. Yes, we were suckered into buying the useless thing, but for me this is one of the unique characteristics of the show.

For many years afterwards we can still fish something out of the drawer and say to our friends: “Oh, that thing, I bought it at the show, but I’ve hardly ever used it!”

Another aspect that I love about the show is that, for at least a few hours, hundreds of people are drawn away from their television sets or TV games and are out in the open, sometimes getting wet when it rains, but nevertheless experiencing life.

All in all the Ermelo Show has provided us with good memories for the ever-cheerful souls among us and also some bad memories for the grumpy ones among us.

Either way it will be a sad day if the show was put out to pasture.

To the Show Committee I for one say a big thank you for organising and presenting this year’s event and all the others before it.

No matter where the new venue may be, I’m sure we, both the positive ones and the grumpy ones, will be there.

Now I must put away this year’s new-fangled,

fancy “once in alifetime” gadget

in the drawer with allthe previous

years’ gadgets and get on with

some good old-fashioned … work!

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