The village near where we've been staying is no bigger than Hempton and has lost its shops and post office and is barely clinging on to its pub. But come August the community always rallies round to organise its annual show spread out on a couple of fields more usually the domain of sheep.

I picked up a programme in advance of the current event and was amazed to learn that this was the 72nd year it's been going. The great thing is that lots of villages and towns hereabouts uphold similar traditions. They are a wonderful example of community spirit.

During the run-up to the big day various activities keep the pot boiling – typically a fancy-dress competition, a car treasure hunt, a quiz in the parish hall and maybe a clay pigeon shoot. On show day itself visitors are likely to be entertained with everything from muscular types wielding axes against tree trunks to horses and dogs strutting their stuff in the main arena.

Prize sheep occupy dozens of pens and a huge marquee displays the handiwork of young and old from all around.

Classes I noted had finger painting by toddlers, decorated eggs by the under-fives, scrapbooks on sport and recipe themes meticulously compiled by high school students and some amazing examples of needlework and woodwork. An eyeful of home-grown vegetables and flowers added to the picture.

Back in the 1980s we did have a country day out at Fakenham racecourse which featured similar themes. And maybe some Norfolk communities once set aside a summer weekend to show off the best of their farming heritage. But generally such remembrances seem to have fallen by the wayside nowadays. A pity, that.

• With GCSE and A-level exam results just around the corner, thousands of students will soon be weighing up their options for the future.

These are rarely clear-cut although the opportunity to take advantage of further education can rarely, if ever, have been more widespread.

Fakenham College has built up an excellent reputation for the quality and breadth of both the syllabus choices it can offer and the standard of its teaching. The recent Ofsted inspection was very encouraging.

In a curious way the loss of its old gymnasium a few years back in an arson attack has worked in the college's favour. The gym was quite small and had to double as an assembly hall. As numbers grew it became totally inadequate as both a sports venue and a meeting place.

The construction of a new, purpose-built conference hall a couple of years ago has worked wonders. It is spacious and smart and all manner of functions can be accommodated. During exam periods the place can host around a hundred students at their individual desks.

Groups from the town have also enjoyed hiring it for evening or weekend occasions.

It is certainly an added attraction for potential enrolments.