PORT PIRIE SHOW

 October 2006

Left Broken Hill on the Friday morning for four shows to be held over three days. Arrived at Port Pirie at about lunch time. Upon attempting to erect the tent at the grounds all the fibreglass poles which go across the tent to join the steel poles all proceeded to break. They are supposed to bend to provide shape to the tent roof.

After all of these breaking it was decided to get some new ones. Local camping shop wanted $27.00 per pole kit. Tent needed 4 kits. This was more than the original purchase price of the tent. Decided to go to a local supermarket where we managed to get the same kits for $7.95 each.

We then went back to the grounds and after making up the new poles we finished putting the tent up. A twenty minute job (normally) took two and a half hours to complete.

We then booked into the cabin park that we were to stay in that weekend.

Arriving at the showgrounds at about 7am on the Saturday. After unloading the dogs from the trailer I discovered that the back tyre on the car was looking somewhat deflated. Not completely flat but close to it. Upon changing the tyre I discovered a huge bubble in the inner wall of the tyre. Lucky I changed it then and not tried to drive home on it.

I then went into town to see what options were available regarding the tyre. it was eventually decided that two new tyres were to be fitted. However as it was also AFL grandfinal day not all tyre places were open and of those that were most were booked up and closing early to watch the game.

Finally got one place to fit the tyres and left the car with them.

Further through the weekend I borrowed an umbrella from one of the Port Pirie club members as it was a hot weekend and this would give us some shade while waiting to go in the ring. As the weekend went on I kept offering to buy the umbrella from him with the first option starting at $20.00.

Every time I saw him I would increase the offer by 50 cents. It eventually got up to $32.50 by the end of the weekend. On the last day I took the umbrella stake to the tent where his partner was sitting with her dog and another person. I told her I bought back your stake to which the other person (who was aware of what was going on) said "its not much bloody good without the umbrella" to which I replied "your right" and walked away with the stake again. All I could hear was laughter coming from their tent.

Sunday had two shows to be held on the same day. First show started at 8.30am. Last show finished at 11.15pm and we were the the second last breed of the last group to be shown. Only two West Highland White terriers too follow us.

Left Port Pirie on Tuesday morning. On trip home the door lock on the lower storage compartment of the trailer broke allowing the door to come open and drag along on the road surface. This caused the handle mechanism to grind away as well as part of the door edge. It also allowed the new fibreglass poles and their carry bag to fall out somewhere along the road.

Result is upon getting home I had to fix the door, replace the handle and locking mechanism, and buy new fibreglass poles to replace the ones I bought in Port Pirie, which replaced the broken ones.

Another expensive weekend.  Makes you sometimes wonder why we do these things.