However, as stars aligned, I ended up there with my youngest after school. It was fun to see but oh so expensive! I spent $70 on rides for her (opting not to spend the same on me so I could ride with her). Weirdly, the showbags seem not to have increased since I was a kid. Infact, they seemed cheaper! Though no Sunnyboy bag - I feel they should make those just for the show! I guess that would be a little tricky but it was the first thing that popped into my head when we entered the showbag pavillion. As a kid, I was allowed one showbag. I would spend hours (or what felt like it) trying to decide which one was the best value and then I would always end up with the Sunnyboy bag (for OS peeps, this is a weird triangle iceblock - Sunnyboys were orange and Razz's, my favourite were red. I'm pretty sure they were named after colour, not pretence of flavour in the 70's).
I was both astounded and delighted they still sold these. I have them forever linked with Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, a play we studied at school and went to see at the theatre. The seem to be that tenuous link to an age gone by.
Anyway, as I started to write this, I wondered why it was Royal Easter show? Queen Victoria awarded the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales the right to use 'Royal' in it's name and to also use it in it's annual show. The show was specifically to encourage agriculture (thus all the food and animal displays). It was first held in 1823. Imagine the marvel those first Society members would feel if they could see what it grew into?
Do you ever realise you've missed something you didn't even know you'd not been doing?
1. All Seasons is open from Thursday through Wednesday 5pm, Sydney Time.