The Village Show was a great success, with lots of entries in the fruit and vegetable classes, a surprisingly large amount from Weston Favell Allotments in the end, after allotment holders spending weeks telling me they had nothing growing because of the extraordinary hot, dry weather!!
We had lots more entries than usual for the Children's classes which everybody so enjoys seeing but a disappointing three entries only over all three of the adult flower arranging classes, though again the children did us proud with lots from them, thank you children.
Both Handicrafts and Baking and Preserves were rather low on entries too, but lots of beautiful flowers and plants in their classes, though everyone struggled to find many roses and dahlias.
Barbara Bream has written the article below about her impressions on the day.
Thanks to Sue Wray and her amazing team, we had another very successful Village Show. Not only is it a great occasion for so many to get together but the variety of exhibits and the breadth of talent and skills is truly breathtaking.
The exceptionally hot summer may have limited the flower entries but there was no sign of it deterring the vegetable growers. It is always a joy to see the display of vegetables, not only for the glorious colours of red, green, yellow, purple, orange, cream and maroon, but the variety. I counted 21 in one basket alone. Skirret, never heard of it! A precursor of the potato apparently, the fine roots were eaten in Europe. The houseplants made a wonderful display and the flowers and beautifully scented roses that the more noble among us had managed to rescue from scorched gardens. And there is always the buzz of excitement when exhibitors see the rosettes!
The bakers and preserve makers delighted us with perfect sponges, scones, bread, unusual combinations in the chutneys, sparklingly clear apple jellies, creamy lemon curds and an assortment of jams..
With the environment uppermost in our mind, the children showed wonderful imagination with their exhibits both in recycled materials and cooking skills. Heads with painted faces and fancy hairdos made from plastic milk containers and wool. A fruit snake, rocket, a panda and a cress heads of all varieties and one in half an egg shell, hedgehog biscuits, and beautifully decorated cup cakes.
Who would have thought you could capture a baby hedgehog in the dark on camera or a red squirrel, grandma snapped by her granddaughter and a very stylish selfie, along with lakes and craggy scenes of of our precious British landscape.
As we crossed the road to see the arts and crafts another whole set of talents! I love to hear people’s comments and one lady said “it looks as if it has been lifted straight out of Harrods and dropped into the church” yes, you guessed it, she was talking about the beautifully crafted rocking horse. The battleship also caught many people’s attention, the sugared flowers, and a Celtic Cross. Embroidery, crochet, patchwork, knitting, a snowman, his child and dog, a hare and a beautiful framed work of handwork of a cat snuggled up on a rocking chair. Fine woodwork, exquisitely crafted wooden spoons, I was longing to pick one up but signs of “do not touch” deterred me! A wall lined with the work of our local artists. The Queen smiling with approval on it all!
All this and tea and cakes! Packed to the rafters people spilling outside with their tea and cake, and enjoying the company of friends, neighbours and people they were meeting for the first time. Truly a real community event and thank you again Sue and all your team who must have been exhausted, but no doubt happy, at the end of the day for the pleasure you had given to so many in your endeavours. But wait, it was not quite the end. An auction to raise money for Restore rounded off the afternoon, with a very amusing Graham Stoppani as the auctioneer, cajoling people to spend their money and support this very worthy cause. Congratulations to everyone who helped to make the day such an enjoyable and welcoming occasion as summer still lingered on.