Food for Thought

The purpose of this piece is to recognise the contribution of people who did something to help extricate their fellow show-goers whose vehicles were mired in mud. People like Oxfordshire farmer Bob Pick of College Farm, near Banbury.
When the going turned to slush, when the car park came to resemble the second day of the First Battle of the Somme, when luxury 4x4s sank to their axles, Bob Pick, with his long wheelbase Land Rover rescued a number of visitors, including me.

Of course, RASE tractors toured the site looking for casualties of the mud. But, unsurprisingly the young men driving three tractors usually proved more receptive to the requests of women, especially young women, drivers rather than middle-aged men. Plus many, many drivers needed help to extricate their cars.

I was lucky; after a mere 90 minutes floundering in the mud, Bob Pick’s veteran Land Rover lumbered up the hill to my rescue. Others were destined to suffer. One colleague spent upwards of three hours struggling to get his vehicle out of the car park and claims it was damaged in the process.

Whatever the future of the Royal Show, no one who was mired in the mud of Car Park Two will forget the experience. Perhaps they should strike a Car Park Two Campaign medal. If they do – I would like to nominate its first recipient - Bob Pick.