As the calendar rolls around to the end of September I am finally ready to finish writing something about what has been an emotional few months, hitting on the 5 year anniversary since the loss of Arkid and Jackki has been more of a thing than I ever really expected and certainly proof that grief is not something you ever get over, you just get better at living with it. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a lovely summer full of love, good times and joy and I have just had a fabulous time celebrating the birthdays of 3 of my wonderful grandchildren, life is really good. I’ve been wanting to write something linked to Chapel Show and what it represents and means to me for a while now so I am giving it a go in what I hope is an interesting and reflective story rather than just a chronology of attendance, as ever I will leave you to judge whether I have succeeded but I am just happy to tell the tale.

The Weardale Agricultural Show, or Weardale Show, or as it’s known locally “Chapel Show” is a small agricultural show that is organised by the Weardale Agricultural Society and is always scheduled for the last Saturday in August in the village of St. Johns Chapel in Weardale, County Durham. It is our local show and includes proudly supported competitions for sheep, cattle, produce, crafts, skills, pets, horses and many more within a relaxed and largely non-commercial atmosphere. The shows history dates back to the 1860’s and in 2026 was celebrated for the 156th time.

When the calendar for a new year is marked up in January, as well as all the birthdays and special events I copy from the previous year, one of the first things I do is to find the date of the last Saturday in August and get it marked up as Chapel Show, the rest of the year can then be worked in around those key milestones. This has been a routine since attending my first show in 2018 and I see no reason to ever change that, but why does a small agricultural show have such a wonderful hold on me? We moved to Lanehead in early September 2017 and experienced some fringe bits of Stanhope Show on that first weekend in September, everyone we mentioned this to for the following few months would tell us that Chapel Show is the one to attend, but we had missed it in 2017 by just a few days. In many ways our first year in Weardale would teach us a lot about the local community and certainly about the weather and as the following summer unfolded there would be constant mentions of Chapel Show so there was no doubt that we would be attending.

So August 2018 was our first show having heard so much about it including lots of chats about supporting the sheep section with our neighbours, since I had the Kerry Hill Flock in Lanehead, but I was not feeling brave or prepared enough to enter. We were captivated by the whole atmosphere that year even though that was also the year when the bar didn’t even turn up so we paced around and around the field looking for a bar that didn’t exist. The weather was dry which always helps and it was lovely to see a few familiar faces amongst the crowd and even though we were less than a year into calling Weardale our home, we certainly felt the warm welcome. We ended the day with a beer outside the Golden Lion pub to make up for the lack of on-field alcohol.

As our confidence and engagement with the community grew as well as knowing what to expect at the show, we went all in for 2019 with Jackki entering a number of the baking and produce categories and me getting there very early with a Kerry Hill ewe and her lambs. I wish I had known this wasn’t a 7am type arrival event like many farming related things, my poor sheep were there and penned up 3 hours before they needed to be! We had spread the word within the family so that Mum & Brian joined us for the weekend and thankfully the bar did turn up this year, I remember there was a re-enactment of the Cowshill Hotel corner gang occupying the beer tent for a large part of the afternoon. There was some scandal with Jackki’s amazing bread being judged too big for the small loaf category even though it was blooming marvellous, but she did win with 3 lovely eggs and I am sure there were some other prizes too but no photographic evidence to confirm. My sheep didn’t win a bloody rosette even in the small Other Breeds category but it was great to see Dick winning plenty with his Swaledale sheep from Welhope. We truly felt part of the show and part of the community.

Just as we were getting into the swing of things for this annual event and inviting more of the family to come, along came lockdowns and cancellations and the general shit show that was COVID-19. Like most things in 2020 Chapel Show was a victim of a COVID cancellation although we did manage to celebrate the Bank Holiday weekend together as a family so I guess the restrictions had some sort of reprieve even if organised events couldn’t happen.

Like most memories from 2021 Chapel Show weekend is a difficult one to process and largely why this post has been sitting unfinished for some weeks now. A real bittersweet family affair since we all got together in Lanehead and attended Chapel Show just a few days after attending Arkids funeral in Wakefield. A very battered and bruised Coe family gathered partly for the show and partly just to be together over the weekend, it just felt necessary to be together. Having the littlest ones with us provided some joy in the family and gave everyone a first proper chance to meet 3 month old Perry who had been kept away from all but immediate family due to the lingering concerns over that bloody virus thing. Chapel Show had started to include evening entertainment that year but we were all focused on family so as much as it would have been lovely to let the day extend into evening, that wasn’t for us.

After a busy weekend keeping everyone entertained it was clear from the moment that everyone left just exactly how much Jackki had been putting on a brave face to hide how seriously ill she really was, I’ve described her as like an inflatable toy with the plug pulled out and she just gradually deflated from the moment everyone left. Less than a month after spending Chapel Show day seeing lots of friends and family, albeit hiding behind a big hat and shades, she was gone.

So the year clocked by and August 2022 approached and there was no doubt at all that Chapel Show would be another family affair, this would be Charlie’s first show and somehow the memory of the youngest member of the family attending the show is what sticks with me through the glaring gaps in our family that were so apparent when we all got together. Looking back at that whole summer now I can really see and appreciate the efforts that my kids made to drag Grandad along with them and make happy memories particularly in Wales during the heat wave and again at Chapel Show with all the grandkids present. Although the day could have started better if Liam hadn’t fell and burst his lip on the way into the show field and getting to know the St John’s Ambulance crew to patch him up and stem the flow of tears!

That year I did choose to hang around a bit later to enjoy some of the evening entertainment, I was desperately trying to find a way of relaxing and enjoying myself. I got drunk and spent a few hours chatting to friends while the band were playing but at some point realised my heart just wasn’t in it, socialising while the family are at home is not who I am. I got out of there and headed home to be surrounded by my wonderful family, even if I was perhaps too drunk to properly appreciate them.

I realise this post is getting to be a long read but hope you are sticking with me dear readers, it has become a weird “one day in my life” snapshot of how quickly life changes one year to the next. By Chapel Show in August 2023 I very much had a special someone by my side and this was Caroline’s first show, it is fair to say that the weather didn’t really play along with the sunshine in our hearts. We were already a very firm couple and both known to so many great friends in the dale that the wet weather really didn’t matter. The bar was quite a feature for many reasons that year, not least because it was a way to escape the rain, but it was a big German Xmas market or Oktoberfest style affair rather than something from one of the local pubs. The beer was good but way too expensive for dales folk, making it not very popular, also the ramp to get in and out was just too steep, wet and slippy so my Mum couldn’t even get in there! We didn’t enter any of the various competitions but we did help with setup of marquees and pens in the sheep section as our little contribution.

We had a very busy week immediately prior to Chapel Show in August 2024 which followed just a few days after the wedding of Caroline’s son Kane and his wife Kate. Weddings were very much the theme of 2024 starting with Abi & Tom in April, and I guess prompted by all of this wonderful romance, Caroline was now my fiance so the theme of life changing year by year continued. This would also be the last show attended by our little Stardust who we said goodbye to just a few days later.

A feature of Chapel Show that makes it unique is that all the children’s entertainment and rides are free of charge and included with the entry price, this feature has been increasingly important as our flock of grandchildren continues to grow and for 2025 we brought along Florrie Jean to join the fun. Fortunately there was candy floss on sale along with lots of other fun. Perry is already a veteran attendee having been to the show every year since 2021 and he was able to share some of the fun with his 6 month old brother Corey Jack as well as having fun with Florrie. Due to the busy few days prior to the show we hadn’t been involved in the setup work very much but I was drafted in to do some stewarding on the day during the sheep judging. The other new family member attending this year was of course our little Lulu and as well as welcoming new members of the family this was also our first as a very happily married couple.

So bringing the story to a close and fully up to date, we have just enjoyed the 2026 show with the same cast of family members as last year plus a new visitor in Caroline’s son Tom, who is already talking about next year’s show so hopefully we can add him to the annual roster. Our family continues to grow and the challenge now is to get more and more of them to attend each year to help us keep this little snapshot of our lives fresh and ever changing, I’ll start drafting an update for 2036.