THE success of this year’s Royal Three Counties Show, which attracted more than 90,000 people despite the unseasonal weather, is to be highly commended.

The deluge nature has seen fit to dump on most parts of the British Isles over the last couple of weeks has put paid to countless sports days, fun runs and fetes up and down the country, not least in south Worcestershire, where the weather in recent days has given a grim reminder of the summer soaking of 2007.

READ MORE: Thousands flock to show despite rainfall

But the Three Counties success was not simply a case of ‘chin up and get on with things whatever the weather’ – rather it was the result of some careful planning.

This included drafting in the lead groundskeeper from Gloucester Rugby Club, who introduced measures including planting grass with greater density and absorption to counteract boggy conditions.

Granted, that’s an option open to few schools, churches and charities, who must still cross fingers and hope for the best, but it does show the levels of resourcefulness needed if summers of fun aren’t to become a thing of the past.