Last year saw 484 entries for the year’s Autumn Show. This was the third show Jane and I have been responsible for organising, and this year’s did not disappoint. We were once again blessed with a bright sunny Saturday although slightly windy. I am sure the weather helps bring out so many of our RHS members to exhibit and then return in the afternoon to view all the entries and admire the flowers and produce on display. It is good to see that the Show is such a well-supported village event and although we were slightly down on entry numbers and visitors compared to last year, this did not affect the overall picture and the wonderful display of entries.

A huge ‘THANK YOU’ to all our volunteers and committee members for their help in setting up the hall the night before (very smoothly done I think this year, thank you) and to our helpers who assist members on the day of show and assist the judges in their duties.  We really could not hold this event without your support and enthusiasm.

I’d also like to thank Bob Clark, who was appointed President at this year’s AGM, for doing a fine job presenting the prizes. 
With approaching 250 afternoon visitors, refreshments were again provided by Jane Poyser and her enthusiastic team of helpers and I would like to thank one and all for keeping our visitors supplied with copious amount of tea, coffee, squash and cakes. 

Entries to children’s classes were still a bit low but were of an extremely good quality and it is lovely to see the enthusiasm of the children proudly presenting their exhibits. Looking forward to seeing what can be produced in 2020!
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I would like to thank all the members who have supported this and previous Autumn Shows and continue to do so, and without your support it wouldn’t be such a successful village event.
After the prizegiving, donated produce and flowers were once again auctioned off. I am pleased to say that we raised a magnificent £100 for Thrive, the gardening for health charity. Well done and thank you for your generosity!
The 2020 Show
Jane Poyser and I are planning further new classes to the show classes in 2020 to reflect changes in horticultural tastes and to keep it fresh and relevant to one and all.
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Allotment holders, home bakers, craft artisans and next generation gardeners will all welcome the opportunity to show off their produce and skills to their fellow members - there is so much talent in the village!
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New classes include one for a bonsai tree with a maximum height of 30 cm, a men’s only flower class in a baked bean can (beans to be removed beforehand please) and the heaviest tomato and heaviest potato.
And don’t forget all the recent introductions such as the eye catching trug class and the popular tomatoes still on the vine.

The photography classes are all new and include a photograph taken within Scrubbitts Wood – a very topical topic!

There are also revamped classes for our younger exhibitors – for full details see page 14.

And lastly, this year’s baking challenge for the guys is an orange whisky cake and for the gals a spiced carrot cake although, of course, the latter class is actually open to all.
Amanda Harvell