TWEED jackets and wax cotton coats rub shoulders with anoraks and fleeces as the British crowd switches into mooch mode. A sea of people moving round a huge showground, hunched and with collars pulled high against the cool wind. On park benches the general public huddle, drinking weak coffee from plastic cups and chomping on freshly-made doughnuts, enjoying a moment in the weak July sun.

It's a typical scene, a show scene, a quintessentially British scene and the public image of the Great Yorkshire Show.

But while farmers and exhibitors display their animals and wares to the throng who visit, an army of workers, headed by a retired lieutenant colonel, strive to make the show go smoothly.

It's the perfect example of the proverbial swan, the bird gliding effortlessly across the water, its webbed feet paddling frenetically out of sight.

Last year, 122,000 people passed through the gates of the 350-acre showfield in Harrogate, a horde visiting the largest country spectacular after the Royal Show in Warwickshire.

From humble beginnings in 1837, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society now runs one of the biggest, slickest operations which attracts exhibitors and visitors from around the country to the Harrogate showground.

The first challenge arises in simply getting the people in. Up to 45,000 cars have to be channelled along country roads to the 250-acres of car parking.

North Yorkshire Police is set the task and the cost of policing the roads. It's a heavy burden as the force tries to balance the separate needs of local residents and visitors. Get it wrong and the traffic could ruin a showgoer's day and stretch residents' patience to the limit.

"There is no easy way to get there, no direct route," says police operations manager for the past six years, Inspector Nigel Morgan. "We have 15,000-20,000 cars a day in addition to residential traffic, business traffic and rush hour. Each day the town's 70,000 population increases by 35,000 people, with the bulk arriving between 8.30am and 11.30am. It could be a nightmare."

If traffic movement wasn't planned and monitored, the gridlock could easily stretch ten miles.

But movement is eased considerably by a tidal flow system which makes Wetherby Road one way, taking two lanes of traffic into the seven free car parks from 7am until 2pm and out again from 2pm to 8pm.

Trouble spots, such as junctions, are covered by 19 officers on point duty, while nine police motorcyclists and a patrol car cover the main routes into the town.

Nearer the showground stewards take over the task getting cars into the parking bays quickly and efficiently - and even with a friendly smile.

Inside the showground 12 officers mount foot patrols and man a police station specially set up for the event. They are paid for by the organisers.

There's also one police marksman on station in case an animal goes berserk and has to be shot.

Officers are there to keep public order, reduce the risk of crime and ensure safety. The countless lost children that end up with the police are passed over to the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS), which runs a nursery.

Insp Morgan has one more order for his men - to enjoy themselves. "It's good PR for the police and it's a nice change from the daily routine for the officers. It's a 12-hour shift, a long and hard day, but I encourage the officers to enjoy themselves.

"I love it. I love being involved in the show. I've visited it socially, I've been a PC on point duty and on patrol inside and I've ended up as operations manager. I've got a tremendous amount of satisfaction out of helping to plan the event."

Planning is continuous throughout the year and begins where the previous show ended. Organisers meet the police, the RAC, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, York and Leeds councils and the Highways Agency.

The show is a massive undertaking and a logistical minefield, just as well then that one of the key men at the head of it is someone used to handling the troops.

Born in Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales, chief executive Robin Keigwin is a retired lieutenant colonel with the Irish Guards who took on the job in 1992 after spotting an advert in a national newspaper.

He says: "In many ways it's an ideal site. It's on a hill going down to Crimple Beck which gives it a bit of character but also causes us a few problems because nothing is quite flat."

He spends a quarter of his life on the show but for his colleague, the show manager, it's a full time job.

"The second we finish we have a lot of tidying up to do. Then from October 17 the show committees start to meet to plan the next event," says Mr Keigwin.

"We wash up on the previous show and plan the next one and choose the judges. We also plan ahead for the attractions and December 1 is the deadline for the trade stands. There are 1,000 exhibitors and it's a huge jigsaw puzzle of who is going to go where. New Year is the time for the livestock entries so there isn't a quiet time throughout the year."

Thousands of entries to be processed, sorted, categorised, organised - it's a huge administrative challenge.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society has 50 employees, 20 on the site, 20 in the offices and ten for outside events.

Then there are hundreds of volunteers, from litter pickers to stewards and a massive temporary workforce brought in for the show week.

Stables and pens to be mucked out, bins to be emptied, toilets to be attended, stalls to be set, goods to be sold.

Ultimately the whole thing doesn't make a penny, in fact it costs more than £1m to stage.

In 1992 a masterplan was drawn up to develop the show site so it could earn its keep all year round. The commercial off-shoot of the charity, Yorkshire Agricultural Enterprises, was given the task of promoting the facilities for weddings, dances, conferences and exhibitions.

"There is room for all of those here," says Mr Keigwin. "And it fits in very neatly with what is happening in Harrogate, which has a reputation as an events centre."

Last year one million visitors came to the showground with the profits being ploughed back into the society.

Among other things, this allows the charity to promote agriculture and the countryside. Its Aid to Agriculture budget pays for education advisors who work in schools and funds a variety of projects in the countryside and at the region's universities.

For many children the show itself provides the first opportunity to see farm animals close up.

Mr Keigwin says: "There will be about 20,000 farmers and 100,000 public, many from urban areas. The purpose is to give them a good day out but we hope they will learn something about the countryside and with some of the myths dispelled.

"It's the farmers who have developed the countryside. They are not paid for that but the public expects them to do it. That is something not largely understood so it's important to get the two sides here and get them talking."

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