The Rural and Seaside Show took place a few times that I can recall prior to 2020 – and we all know what happened in 2020 – but I’m not sure it’s occurred since then. In 2014 we took a walk down to Castle Field in Southsea to take a look at it. The weather was good, there was a chance of interesting attractions, food and drink nearby, and an opportunity to take some photos beside the sea.
The location was ideal for something with this name, given the proximity to the seaside – just over the fortifications of Southsea Castle, in fact – and the fact it was in a field, considered by most people to be more representative of the word “rural” than, say, a block of flats. Well done to the organisers there.
This sort of show appeals to people with a sense of nostalgia for simpler times, which can be dangerous as those are the types of people who do stupid things and vote for Brexit a few years later, but they’re generally good fun for families too with various attractions, activities to enjoy, and animals and vintage vehicles to be entertained by.
For us this was a chance to get out of the house, get some exercise, and get some air, but there wasn’t a whole lot to engage us – and, admittedly, we’re hard to engage with anyway as we’re introverted souls – so we didn’t stay too long at the Rural and Seaside Show. That’s not to say that we wouldn’t go to another one if they started them up again, though. What we did like seeing was an old Gales Brewery wagon. We may not be people who think things were better in the past thanks to an ability to be able to read and comprehend statistics and not rely on anecdotes, but we do miss the output of one of the Portsmouth area’s finest breweries and we will always lament the loss of any type of beer-making in this country.
