Oh, how I love this village! Two recent happenings that epitomise its spirit to me are the pond restoration and the Summer Show. 

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After several weeks of dreary weather during which tomatoes, peppers and chillies were struggling to ripen but everyone was at the same time glad not to be a slave to the hose and watering can, September 3rd dawned sunny and warm. Our village show is a tradition that dates back decades and it’s a privilege to be part of it. Friendly rivalry and a competitive spirit from the young to the old make the day a special one, and great fun despite being blooming hard work (pardon the pun!). 

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The Memorial Hall quickly filled up with masses of flowers and vegetables, with the ‘most fragrant rose’ class dominating the room in a delightful way. Janet Joynson won that category with Gertrude Jekyll, but Annie Eggar triumphed in the other two rose classes winning first prize for three roses of any variety and one specimen rose bloom. Jo Stone’s vase of up to nine dahlias was spectacular, and Mary Whittell made a stunning comeback to exhibiting with her prize-winning pink hydrangea. Once again though the Challenge Bowl for the most points across all flower classes was carried off by the indomitable Annie Eggar. Anyone who has seen her allotment will know why. She also won the AGC Top Vase trophy.

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Vegetables were, as always, a hard-fought battleground with multiple contenders pipping each other to various posts. Liliana Salisbury won for carrots, beetroot and shallots, Bill Page for potatoes, French beans and tomatoes, Nick Hollinghurst for runner beans and courgettes, Alex and Anna Milan for their cucumbers and peppers, Tess Alps for her squash, sweetcorn, turnips and garlic, and Mike Mann for his onions. Phew! The coveted Tom Badrick Memorial Top Tray Trophy was won by the vegetable growing legend that is Bill Page for his collection of French Beans, tomatoes, and beetroot.

Knowing that my flowers and vegetables would not cut the mustard, I baked and jammed for Britain to try and get some points in the domestic classes, but my efforts were in vain! Linda Di Mizio was crowned Queen of Raspberry Jam and won the Clare Capey Memorial Sheild, with Tess and Janet Joynson each winning the other jam classes. The Kents bees had produced some lovely honey, but Ann Allsworth’s cooking outshone us all and she won the Joan Collins Challenge Cup for the fourth time. Does Bake Off beckon?! 

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The Floral Art categories were Summer Sunset and In the Green. The colours of the sunset displays were stunning and contrasted beautifully with the cooler, calmer green exhibits. Tess was our champion floral artist and won the Challenge Cup for her beautiful arrangements. 

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I am always in awe of how the minds of children work. The imagination and creativity they showed in our ‘Biscuit Beach’ and an ‘Extra-Terrestrial modelled from vegetables’ classes was simply incredible. All the entries were inspired and earned a treat prize, but Xanthe Cole won both categories with her jaw dropping exhibits. Such a talent. 

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The Mead Cup is awarded to the exhibitor who gains most points across all show classes. It takes skill, dedication, creativity, and attention to detail to win it and we have an invaluable member of the AGC who has all those qualities and many more. It is, of course, our wonderful Tess Alps.

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I’d like to thank all those who exhibited and came down to support us. Without you all there would be no show. I’d also like to thank the tireless committee and all those who helped set up, clear away, sell raffle tickets, receive entries, judge the show, take photographs …….. the list is a long one! ‘Thanks’ is too small a word for so much effort and I can’t express how much we appreciate it. 

Rachael
AGC Chair