Ey up, it’s time to talk dialect with Yorkshire’s own ‘Olympic champion’ ADAM COLLIER.

Ey Up, what a busy month it has been. I think since the month began there has been an agricultural show every weekend and midweek. I show rabbits and cavies, so I try to support the local shows, work permitting.

I have been breeding and showing rabbits and guinea pigs, to give them their everyday name, for more than 24 years and it is something I enjoy very much, with a lot of reward.

I don’t just show locally, I also show up and down the country, as far as Scotland and London.

I also judge and this role takes you out and about a bit as well. But for me the agricultural shows are a place where if you stand and listen you can hear my beloved dialect at its best.

With shows in August such as Danby, Rosedale, Farndale and Bilsdale, you hear it more. I have the very important job at Rosedale Show of being the commentator – a job I love because it involves a lot of talking, something I love – if talking was an Olympic sport I would have won gold many times.

But it is round the ringside where you can hear our rich dialect. “Bye lad leerk at yon meer int shire class” or “Now mister I bet thou can’t win as mony cups wit tawrd rabbits as I can wit sheap” – which was said to me by a local farmer, who had won every cup I think possible with his Swaledale sheep.

I was quick in my reply to him: “I why I bet tha was nobbut thoo showin ageen thi sen." I can’t repeat his answer.

I always say to people when I have done a talk that if you want to hear dialect at its best then go either to Malton Livestock Market or along the sheep lines at an agricultural show.

I love to sit and watch the heavy horses at the shows and I think back to what it must have been like before tractors and recall the stories my grandad told us of his childhood and early working days.

He used to tell us about cuddling up to the horses in the winter months to keep warm at night and how there was a close bond between them, knowing that neither would hurt each other.

This is very apparent in F Austin Hide’s “Depper awd Meer”.

If you have never read this poem then I recommend you have a look; it is a favourite of mine and I think the verse that says it all is: “When missus took badly, when’t babby was born, Twas a life and deeath jonny for’t doctor that morn and though she’d been working at pleef all day lang tawd meer galloped as tho she new summat was wrang. Wi nivver a whip, nor a jerk on her rein, she went like a whirlwind and flew back agean wit doctor and nuss, just i time tae save life- Aye Depper, ah owe thoo baith me dowter and wife."

We have come a long way when you look at the equipment they use now.

Well folks, I best go and hoover up before the boss comes back, but one last story: a horseman at a farm took on a new lad to help and on his first day he said to his boss: “Hoow ivver is I gine te tell differance atween these tea hosses”.

“Weel now,” his boss said, “if ah cuts main of this hoss he’ll ave a shot main and tother yan he’ll have a lang main.”

But next morning the horse with the short mane had eaten the other horse's mane, so the lad was still confused and went on and on about it. In the end the horseman, so annoyed, shouted: “Weel it’s nut ma falt thoo can’t tell diffrance atween yon gert brown hoss and yon Lartle grey yan”

Tara for now.