You Can Still Buy Bertie Beetle Showbags Even Though the Royal Show Is Cancelled

Crisis averted.

Western Australia may be ahead of the curve when it comes to Australia's battle with coronavirus (especially compared to some of its sister states), but there are still some things that sandgropers can't enjoy the same way they did in the before times.

That list now includes 'attending the Perth Royal Show', as the longstanding event was cancelled today following an update on restrictions from Premier Mark McGowan.

The Premier informed the state that the planned move to Stage 5 Restrictions (which would have seen almost all social distancing restrictions brought to an end, with the exception of the hard border) has been delayed from its tentative date of 29 August to a still-very-tentative date of Saturday 24 October.

It's believed this is the amount of time required for Victoria to get on top of its current outbreak of COVID-19 cases. Hopefully.

While many in WA will understand (given the popularity of the Premier and his handling of the pandemic), some may have felt a tinge of disappointment when he added that he had informed the Royal Agricultural Society they could not go ahead with their Show on 26 September as a result.

"I am personally very disappointed and very sorry that we've had to make this decision," he said.

On Facebook, CEO of the Royal Agricultural Society of WA, Peter Cooper, wrote, "While there will be tough decisions to be made over the next few months, one thing is certain. The Perth Royal Show will be back and we look forward to opening our gates to the thousands of showgoers, from across WA, very soon."

But how does that help me now?

Though you won't be able to enjoy Sideshow Alley or some of the show's better, vomit-inducing rides, you'll still be able to buy up some showbags from home.

Chicane Showbags has announced in a statement it will ship its bags to the Perth metro area, starting from $7.14 (with free shipping for orders over $100). It comes following similar arrangements after the cancellation of the shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

This of course means you can stock up on the crown jewel of every show: the Bertie Beetle bag. If you've never had it before, it is not, as some blasphemers have referred to it on Twitter, a "poor man's Freddo", but instead a delicious, crackly bit of bug-resembling chocolate, seemingly only ever available at agricultural shows (in bag form). Until now.

Over at their official Showbag Shop, they actually offer Bertie Beetles in amounts ranging from 14 to 350. Honestly, why haven't we heard about this before?