One regular distraction was the visit of the circus. For children who had only seen occasional pictures in a book, a visit of real lions and elephants must have been fantastically exciting.

Less unusual but still exciting was the Kington Show across the border. Many schools had absences when this was held, as can be seen from this extract from Old Radnor School records. Some schools simply declared a short holiday.

It reads:
"On Tuesday the 25th the children had a half-day holiday being the opening day of the 'Herefordshire Agricultural Society' show at Kington".

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