LAUNCESTON Show has a new secretary, and the Post got a chance to catch up with her to see how plans for this year’s show are going.

Sue Williams has always had strong links to agricultural shows, and Launceston Show is just one of her many show accolades. Having spent many years showing with her horses, and part of a show in Surrey, Sue happened to become show secretary of Woolsery Show for 16 years, after moving to the area.

She told the Post: “I spent years and years competing with my horses, so I’m very much used to a show environment. When I first moved down, it was one of my neighbours who got me involved. They said I should come along to the (Woolsery) show’s next meeting, and that I should join the committee. I ended up walking out with the show secretary badge on my chest, and I thought, ‘how did I end up with this, then?’”

Taking over from Naomi Hutchings, who enjoyed a successful time as show secretary, Sue’s main aim for 2017 is to promote the show to those in Launceston who are not familiar with agriculture and the countryside, and to banish the idea that the show is ‘just for farmers’.

With the experience she has gathered already, the show for 2017 is already looking positive.

She continued: “I knew Naomi anyway, and I’ve done this sort of thing in whatever job I’ve done in the past. The thing that hits most people when thinking of the job is health and safety — which is a walk in the park when you’ve been part of the council for a number of years.”

Sue told the Post that she is excited for this year’s show, and that she hopes to bring what she has learnt from Woolsery Show to Launceston. At Woolsery, she upped the 500 people at the gate to over 5,000, and this is something she is planning to incorporate into Launceston Show.

However, planning and organising can take its toll at times. Sue said: “It’s usually the evening before the first day of the show when I don’t want to know. It is a thing that you swear you won’t do ever again, but I’ve kept at it, and in the end, the show does have a great atmosphere.”

Sue is now hoping to get more people in Launceston involved. She said: “I want to get a lot of the town people involved. You’ve got people like Maggie Colwill and Barbara Sleep, who have a community tent, with stuff for children and other things.

“There’s a lot of people who live in the town who don’t know about the countryside, or farming for that matter.”

She explained that an incident she had heard about at the Royal Cornwall Show one year — when a teacher thought that in order to get milk, a cow would have to be ‘cut in half’ — had really motivated her to encourage agricultural shows to become a source of education.

Activities and competitions for children, such as play at milking a cow, a bug hotel competition and other things with links with the show, could allow more people to become aware of farming and where their food comes from.

“This gives a bit more for people who aren’t into the show, to get involved,” she continued. “The aim is to start getting more people from the town involved. There’s huge housing in Launceston, and many people who come from different areas to live here, are not from places that are agricultural-based. They’re far removed from where food comes from, which is the hardcore bit in schools, and so I’m really looking to promote the show to that area, really.”

The show will be held on Thursday, July 27, opening at 9am and closing at 6pm. For further information, visit www.launcestonshow.co.uk/show-information