IT was unfortunate when Georgina mislaid her whip in the countryside ring but thankfully it was only a minor blip in the proceedings.

James Marston

IT was unfortunate when Georgina mislaid her whip in the countryside ring but thankfully it was only a minor blip in the proceedings.

Before you start to wonder out loud what on earth that big boy from the paper is on about this week let me fill you in.

I found myself leaving the beauty of the Felixstowe peninsula and my small flat with sea views (distant) this weekend and hitching up the horses, so to speak, to head to the glorious west (Suffolk).

The reason - the South Suffolk Show.

English to the core, the show is a highlight of the county calendar and I wasn't going to miss out.

And, judging by the numbers of people there, the rest of Suffolk felt the same.

There was, I have to say, plenty to see and do including birds of prey, loads of huge animals, horses jumping sideways, dressage they call it, someone selling walking and country sticks, and, interestingly, a stall which suggested the passer-by make a will - sensible I thought what with all this credit crunch and what have you.

Though I'm not one for hunting - I don't eat much fox as a rule - it was nice to see the horses and hounds doing their bit.

And, most amusing was the monster trucks display, whereby huge trucks drove over battered cars much to the delight of the crowds.

My sister Claire, who would like an Aga and a farmhouse to go with it, was busy in the craft tent where she had volunteered as a steward.

I did have a cursory glance inside but I'm not one for batik cushions to be honest and I've no need for anything stained glass.

Later on Claire presented some silverware - The Marston Challenge Cup for Champion Suffolk Horse - an event which required a massive horse to be very well turned out.

It was a most entertaining day.

OVER in the medieval splendour of Bury St Edmunds I found myself the chance to show off my musical skills when I happened to come across a piano hanging about the town's magnificent Abbey Gardens.

Of course, it was an opportunity I couldn't miss.

My friend Liz, who works as a spin doctor, captured the moment.

NOW I don't know if anyone listened but I was on the radio on Bank Holiday Monday pontificating about television adverts - a subject about which I know little.

But there's nothing better than the sound of your own voice is there? An assertion I know my fellow media type Rob of BBC Radio Suffolk fame agrees.

As you can imagine, I enjoyed myself enormously and I was most upset when my hour was up.

GOOD old Joanna, eh? Isn't she a girl?

Making the government look daft and fighting for the Gurkhas.

You have to hand it to her, she's played a brilliant game, got her message across, and seems to have wide, almost universal, backing for her cause.

Joanna should stand for parliament - she'd get the vote of men of a certain age that's for sure.