Weather a huge bonus as show season opens at Voe

The August show season in Shetland can be fraught with weather problems – even after a fine summer the rain can sometimes show no mercy.

But the first of this year’s big events, at Voe yesterday, saw an excellent day with a good turnout of visitors enjoying a comprehensive range of exhibits.

This year, for the first time, the baking, knitwear, arts & crafts and field and garden sections were opened up to entries from all over Shetland.

However, the livestock sections were still limited to exhibitors from the original catchment area.

The cattle category had a large number of classes, ranging from pure-bred Shetland, dairy cattle, cross-bred beef and other pure breeds besides Shetland.

Sheep and lambs played a major part with a huge number of categories, while fleeces were also judged.

Cross breeds and thoroughbreds were also welcomed in the horse and pony classes, along with native breeds in the Shetland pony sections.

The popular arts and crafts classes attracted many entries in a number categories including knitting, crochet, pottery, painting, sewing, woodwork and photography.

There were also baking sections, with both sweet and savoury entries, while the produce category included a great range of newly grown vegetables.

• For full report, list of prizewinners and many more photos see <i>The Shetland Times</i> on Friday.