A busy two-day show is planned at the Farmers’ Union of Wales Anglesey stand at the islands county show next week (Tuesday August 9 - Wednesday August 10).
The Union branch is starting the event with a pre-Show ‘meet-and-greet’ cheese and wine reception hosted by the Anglesey President and Chairman Tom Jones on Monday, August 8 starting at 7pm.
“The pre-show meet-and-greet will provide an ideal opportunity for those local businesses in attendance to meet some of our members and also get us in the mood for what promises to be a busy and successful show where we will be promoting #FarmingMatters,” said FUW Anglesey County Executive Officer Heidi Williams.
Local celebrity chef Melfyn Thomas will be cooking up a storm at the Union stand on both days using a variety of local produce, which are bound to tickle the taste buds of those stopping by.
In addition, Union officials will be presenting FUW rosettes to all young livestock handlers over the course of the show.
“We have been doing this for the past 9 years. It ensures that although a child might not have won a prize, they still get a rosette to take home,” said Heidi Williams.
The afternoon will see the Anglesey branch launch a new road safety campaign in cooperation with North Wales Police.
The campaign - “Arrive alive don’t text and drive!” - is aimed at tractor drivers and those driving farm machinery on public roads.
“Using a mobile phone, sat nav or any similar device whilst driving means that your attention is distracted from the road and that, as we all know, is incredibly dangerous.
“Studies over the years have shown that those of us who are using a hands-free or handheld mobile phone are slower at recognising and reacting to hazards - and if you’re in a farm vehicle like a tractor you all of a sudden become a very big hazard to yourself and other road users.
“Even careful drivers can be distracted by a call or text – and a split-second lapse in concentration could result in a crash. Therefor, we are working together with North Wales Police to raise awareness of the problem and are asking drivers to switch off their phones before they drive off. Even if you’re using a hands-free phone you should avoid making or answering calls when driving. And if you call someone and they tell you they are driving, ask them to call you back when they have parked up safely,” said Heidi Williams.
Creating an afternoon buzz will be Katie Hayward of Felin Honeybees, who will be at the FUW stand on Tuesday, talking about beekeeping.
Her honey will be used in the cooking demonstrations by Melfyn Thomas over the 2 days as well.
The Wednesday of the show will see the FUW welcoming an array of politicians to its stand to discuss #FarmingMatters, including Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths.
Additionally, the winner of the Welsh Colour Card competition will be announced at 11am on Wednesday and the county branch will present the winning YFC club with a cheque of £250 and the official Welsh Colour Card.
The Anglesey branch launched the competition at the start of the year in co-operation with “Snowcem Plus” and the Wales YFC.
“In Wales alone we spend millions of pounds on paint, so we thought it would be nice if we could have the colours named to represent parts of Wales such as sunsets, green meadows, beaches, mountains etc. anything basically that promotes our heritage and culture of rural areas within Wales.
“The creation of a Welsh colour card is the very first of its kind and we are pleased to have teamed up with the UK’s and Europe’s largest distributor of a famous traditional masonry coating “Snowcem Plus” to give their product a local Welsh feel,” added Heidi Williams.
Children who have participated in the FUW Anglesey primary school competitions, which are sponsored by Katie Hayward of Felin Honeybees, will receive their prize presentations on Wednesday afternoon.
Awards will be presented to the winner of the year 0 to 2 category who designed a birthday card including a bee, year 3 to 4 who drew a picture of a garden including a bee and year 5 to 6 who were asked to write a short story entitled ‘The Busy Bee’.
Amongst the individual prizes, there will also be an overall prize allowing the successful child to enjoy “Be a beekeeper experience for a day”.