Wedding 26th June. Leake St. Mary. Fiona Dinwiddie and Kenneth McAndrew. Fiona - daughter of David and Rosemary - our very best wishes to you both, from all at "Hillside"!

Baptism 27th June St Wilfrid's Kirby Knowle. Amelia (4), Fredericka (2+) and Louise (8 months), the three daughters of Andrew and Melanie Crouch, who previously lived in Cowesby and Boltby.

It all began when as a curate I bumped into my old Army boss, General Geoffrey Collin, who was then Honorary Show Director. The following year I found myself on the showground as a donkey steward. Twenty years on, I am still there - a short time by stewarding standards - and still wearing my old hunting bowler. Later I moved up to horse steward. Here, after one class, I found the then Archbishop alone in the President's Box. I had a chat with him. So the following year I became President's Box Steward, and paired with a retired Naval Captain. We must have run a tight ship as we were succeeded by a retired Lieutenant Commander and a half-colonel who, as it turned out, had been at my old school.

Whilst primarily involved as a steward, all this meant that my brains were picked for launching some form of prayers. Hence, for the last 15 years we have started each day with Morning Prayer at 7.30 on the Showground - and heralded by the show jumping elimination bell. It is a time of quiet before the business of the day. It is ecumenical, shared, and well attended. The Earl of Halifax suggested that we also close the Show with an evening prayer - and a hymn played by the band. However, we found that this coincided with a mass exodus - even if this did exacerbate the traffic jams outside! Maybe we will yet find an opportunity to reinstate it - at the suggestion of the people - and the success of that will not be measured by the "snapping up" noise of seats closing as people rise to leave!

What makes me come year in, year out - and, indeed, all of the team of stewards and others? It must be because it is Great and because it is Yorkshire. There is a special hum to it, there is an earthiness about it - and it is a family day out. It's seeing things, learning things, meeting people, tasting things. It is still agricultural. This year there were record animal entries in the sheep which indicates, post Foot & Mouth, that as many build up their stock. Those that have remained in farming are seeking to raise the quality of their stock, not least because it will be more valuable. It is also a place to network.

I meet, now as chaplain, a lot of parishioners, get ideas for sermons, and look to ways of involving those who come to our other great Y.A.S. event, our annual Harvest Thanksgiving Service. This, too, is ecumenical and has spread from the county Minsters to Ampleforth and the largest Methodist Chapel, Holy Trinity, Harrogate, where the preacher was Dr.David Jenkins. This seals the mark of the show, a celebration of all that is good, a lot of Yorkshire and a chance to be eternally grateful ……………………