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Sunday 21 August 2016

Little Bunting Village Show



Stage a Village Show in just four weeks?    Could it be done?  Would we be able to find judges at such short notice?  Would people set aside their natural apathy and make the effort to enter?  Would anyone have anything left growing in their gardens which would be worth entering?

You betcha!



People did the event proud.  

The Produce and Flower categories were filled with entries, competition was hot.  Giant marrows, lovely leeks and rosy rhubarb sat cheek by jowl with giant onions, crinkly lettuce and fresh brown eggs, on the faux grass matting.



At the far end of the hall the shelves were groaning under the floral displays, pink and pretty posies, velvet roses and vases full of garden flowers sat alongside more vases filled with dried grasses and wild flowers.



Big bunches, dainty vases, single flowers, jam jars filled with fresh herbs.







All combined to scent the air in
the most wonderful way.
It was better than an
upmarket florists shop.












This stunning floral display
was created by a 90 year old
woman from Dovecot Dell.
She used flowers cut from her
daughter's garden.

It was impressive when viewed from any angle.  Years of
experience have definitely been
put to good use here.




















Difficult to believe that such small villages - tiny villages - which even combined have fewer than a hundred households, can throw together a show like this.

A brisk trade was done on refreshments with teas, filter coffee and home baked cakes.

Raffle tickets sold like hotcakes.


Talking of hotcakes - the Cookery section is always hotly contested.    Artisan bread loaves, plum bread, Victoria Sponge Sandwich cakes and Traybakes sat alongside Jams, Lemon Curd, Chutneys and Biscuits.     The Vegetarian Flans were amazingly beautiful and varied.

People often bemoan that the judging is done to WI standards but this year the Cookery was judged in a completely fresh way.        My beautiful daughter in law, Poppy, was asked to step into the breach, despite the fact that she has only been in the country a little over four weeks.

Poppy is Chinese, a trained chef, and has an excellent palate.



Normally I bake  for almost all the Cookery classes but this year I didn't enter any of them because I didn't want to risk any chance that cries of "Unfair"  or "It's a fix" should be heard.   After all, the competitive streak runs strongly through these small communities.

I had the genuine pleasure of writing the notes and filling in the results cards as Poppy tasted, contemplated, and passed judgement on the entries.   It was fascinating to watch her at work.

Once her decision had been made I ferried the results to the wonderful Rosamund, who spent about two hours carefully writing out all the certificates.



Poppy didn't need any lunch after that marathon session of nibbling and sampling.

Photographing the entries was difficult, there was a sea of clingfilm and food covers obscuring the bakes and cakes.


After the judging everyone flooded in to celebrate or commiserate and to await the prize presentations.

The main event is the auction and the hall filled rapidly as those seated at the tables outside came indoors to try to secure a particularly scrumptious cake or flan.

Bidding was brisk and we all bought far too many calorific cakes and then salved our consciences by bidding heartily for the boxes of produce and flowers.

Well done to everyone who worked so hard to pull this off.
It was quite an achievement.
x

6 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a very successful Village Show, some lovely flower arrangements and veggies!
    Prunella would like to put herself forward for cake tasting next year! They all look scrumptious! Well done to Poppy for her great judging skills and to you too for all the hard work and support you gave to your Villagers.
    Have a relaxing week ahead :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Prunella, Thanks for your kind words. It was hard work but enormous fun too. It just shows that we really can pull together. Entries came in from 2 year olds, right the way through to a lovely woman in her nineties. As a small and very rural community, it is important that we nurture that.

      So, Miss Prunella Pepperpot (how I love that name!) I'll pencil you in for next year, then. ;)

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  2. i'm just too upset for words that I couldn't be there... and nowI know Poppy was the judge! Gutted.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Dom, Let's hope you will be able to make it next year. The show was a rip-roaring success, but we missed you and Andy. I'm sure you will get to meet Poppy before too long. She was a real superstar with her judging, took it very seriously, and gave her honest opinions.

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  4. Catching up with my favourite blogs tonight. Flix, that looks absolutely amazing, you've all done your little village proud. I love your pictures and that floral arrangement by the ninety year old is fantastic. Well done all of you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Molly. It was a wonderful day which made our little village hall really come to life - people were chatting, laughing, catching up with one another and having a lovely time together. Hard work, but so worth while. The trouble is that everyone disappears into their little hobbit holes then, until next year! Betty, the woman who did that fabulous arrangement, used to run a National Trust property. She is yet another truly wonderful village elder and a pleasure to chat with. I hope you are well.x

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.