Thousands enjoy wide variety of events at show

Thousands of people flocked to the Taieri on Saturday for a day full of farm activities and events at the annual A&P show.

Otago Taieri A&P Society president Dale Warren Harris said it had been a fantastic day with a "bumper" crowd.

The main goal of the event was to reconnect town and country and to entertain people, he said.

"Our goal is for people to turn up and have a really good day and do something they haven’t done before."

There was a plethora of events, including competitions and performances.

Otago Vintage Machinery Club member Max Martin, 17, of Saddle Hill brought a tractor and a 1948 Bedford K model truck that he was restoring to the show.

He said he now owned two Bedfords after a workmate made him a offer he could not refuse.

"He said you can have it for a 24-pack of Speight’s.

"You couldn’t really go wrong with it, could you?" Max said.

The truck had not been in use for about 15 years and the fuel tank needed a good
clean.

However, after pumping clean fuel into it, it started running with no problems, Max said.

All he had to do now was give it a lick of paint so he would not have to take a purple Bedford to the show.

It was a cool farm truck to own, Max said.

"I’ve had a few old guys come for a yarn saying their dad bought one new and it was the first truck they drove when they did their heavy vehicle licence in the 1960s.

"Yeah nah, it’s a cool bit of history. There’re thousands of Bedfords everywhere — it’s just a well-thought-of truck really."

mark.john@odt.co.nz