On the hottest day of the year we held our Autumn Show at the Victory Room, Bucklebury. We had a fantastic amount of entries, 300 entries from 30 entrants. Significantly higher than last year where the incredible heat meant it was a challenge for all exhibitors. This summer proved to be a great year for growing, and the dahlia classes were outstanding. It was great to see entries in the chrysanthemum classes this year and our judge, John Eckton, commented on the exceedingly high standard across the board. He did suggest some exhibitors could improve their chances of success by taking extra care when staging exhibits in vases. Always ensure they sit firmly in the vase, newspaper can be used to stop stems wobbling when the vase is lifted to be examined by the judge. When showing tomatoes and onions, they do benefit from being placed on a small ring. A slice of the inner tube from a toilet roll is suitable for onions or a small rubber band for tomatoes, this ensures they sit neatly on the show bench and will improve the presentation of exhibits.

The heaviest weight of usable potatoes, grown from one seed in a 15 litre pot, was a whooping 2.5kg (5lb 8oz)!

The homecraft classes were well supported and our WI judge Margaret King provided a comprehensive report with some very helpful hints and tips. These include to read the schedule carefully where recipes are provided and stick to it. The judge always tries the recipes before the show so they know what the result should be! Paper doyleys should only be used for sweet items, not savoury. Preserves should be filled to halfway up the thread of the lid, approx. 3mm from the top rim. The presentation of some entries could have been improved, always ensure the glass is very clean and the label shows the exact details of the content (eg type of orange for marmalade) and the date of production. The coffee and walnut cakes were all very good with only minor faults.

Despite the heat we had a very healthy number of visitors in the afternoon, and tea and cakes were enjoyed on the outside terrace.

Thank you to everybody who supported the show, it was great to see new members showing for the first time. I hope you all had a good day and look forward to seeing you at the Spring Show on 7th April 2024.

Photos from the show will be added to website.

Kind regards

Jane West

Show Secretary