AFTER a deluge yesterday morning, the clouds cleared, the sun shone and stallholders at the Cotswold Show reported brisk business and visitors all looked relaxed and happy.

The most nervous man of the day, organiser Earl Bathurst, was visibly relieved by about lunchtime on Saturday and was actually seen to be smiling.

Blacksmith Richard Williams, from Cherington Lane Forge, drew big crowds with his dramatic stall and said he had a good day on Saturday.

Newcomers, the Force Brewery, who started their beer brewing business on the Love Lane industrial estate in Cirencester in February this year, said they had been having a great day and people had been very complimentary about their brews, selling for £2 a half pint on the day.

The food festival, a first for this year, was very well supported and families of children made the falconry display in the main arena an exciting event.

The thrill of the Shetland Pony Grand National was akin to its parental event at Aintree but without the bookies lining the rails.

The monster trucks, the last act of the day on Saturday, were talked up to the ultimate degree by the verbose driver of one of the two trucks, Big Pete, but when the act did finally get going, seeing the monster vehicles bouncing over a quartet of old cars was well worth the wait.

More on the show tomorrow.