Well what a Show...a huge success and great fun! Luckily it was mainly a sunny day, all the tables in the Hall were full of exhibits and the Small Hall was overflowing with art and craftwork along with the under 12’s creations and sunflowers they had grown from seed. Many, many thanks to everyone who took part - there was a total of 700 entries which is a record! 125 of these entries were the stunning artworks by the pupils at Great Wilbraham Primary School and First Steps Nursery which made a fantastic and colourful display. We really appreciate the support and collaboration we have with the School and Nursery despite their very busy timetables.
CONGRATULATIONS to the winners of the awards:
(Please see photos on the back cover)
Stephenson Cup (Highest points in vegetable section): Roger Rayner Richard Wright Cup (Spud in the bucket competition): (Heaviest yield grown from 1 seed potato***) Cheryl Patey Les Potter Cup (highest points in the Fruit Section): Brian Purkiss The Rose Bowl (Specimen rose): Mike Smith The Brian Fisher Salver(highest points in the Flower section): Kathleen Dawson David Waters Cup (best nurtured begonia from a plug plant): Jane Fell Show Helpers Cup (highest points for Flower Arrangement section): Kathleen Dawson The Social Club Cup (highest points in the Produce section): Emily Lane 2012 Diamond Jubilee Rose Bowl (highest points in the Handicraft section): Joint win : Dru Goryn/Frances Toovey Doris Franklin Cup (highest points in the Photography section): Joint win: Martin Daunton/Dru Goryn Thistle Tankard (highest points in the Under 12’s section): Oscar Wilson Junior Cup (most outstanding artwork): Joint win: Myah Jasmine Bradley/ Matthew Ward
*** The seed potato variety was CHARLOTTE and the winning weight was 1.82kg.
The Judges commented on the high standard of the exhibits - we thank them very much for their expertise and for so kindly giving up their time to come to Great Wilbraham to judge at the Show.
Thanks so much to everyone who helped make the Show the success it was and to all of you who came along and supported this village event. It was wonderful seeing so many people in the Hall in the afternoon enjoying the displays, chatting over tea and delicious home-made cake, watching the photos on the big screen and joining in with the auction and raffle….there was a real buzzy atmosphere.
Thanks to all your generosity, the Show also made a record amount of money for the Memorial Hall funds of £1,070. We are always very grateful to those of you who donate your exhibits to the Auction which made £225 alone. Special thanks to local water colour artist Ian MacManus who very kindly donated a framed painting of ‘Newmarket Races’ which made an extra £100.
The Show ran as a team effort this year and a big THANK YOU goes to all the Team Members: Jackie Beadsmore, Trish Davis, Andrew Evans, Chris Fell, Sally Hames, Sue Lambton, Paul Lambton, Roz Polito, Carol Whitehouse, Judy Whybrow and to their marvellous band of “Helpers”!
Many thanks too, to Charles Raikes of the Memorial Hall Committee for very kindly stepping in to the breach to present the awards in place of Ray Tilbrook (President), who was sadly unable to attend on the day. Also, many thanks to our brilliant Auctioneer, Nigel Start accompanied by his grandchildren, Ollie and Lucy. A big thank you to Shirley and Richard Morley for their invaluable help with printing the Schedules and posters and for dealing with the finances. Also, to Emma Adams for very kindly supplying and printing the lovely prize cards. Grateful thanks to Martin Gienke and Tony Ryan for taking photos of the Show.
A huge thank you too for those who donated so generously with raffle prizes, always an important money raiser for The Hall and which made £345 overall. An encouraging number of local businesses also supported the Show and we are very grateful indeed for their wonderful and varied raffle prize vouchers. We thank them all:
Shepreth Wildlife Park
Four free entry tickets for adults or children
www.sheprethwildlifepark.co.uk
Full Circle Holistic Therapies
2 Vouchers worth £20 for:
Free Full Massage or
Reiki Session – an ancient Japanese healing method
denise.fullcircle@gmails.com
Emma’s Pilates
Free one-to-one Pilates Assessment &
Free Group Session
07812766864
emmagant8@gmail.com
The Hole in The Wall
£25 voucher to Dine
www.holeinthewalldining.co.uk
The Carpenter’s Arms
£60 voucher for 2 lunch menus
www.carpentersarmswilbraham.co.uk
Pimp My Fish
Mobile Fish & Chip Kitchen
Freshly Cooked Free Meal for Two
www.pimp-my-fish.co.uk
Kirin Chinese & English Meals to Take Away
£10 voucher to spend
High Street, Fulbourn
Beaumont’s Family Butcher
£10 Food Fayre Voucher
High Street, Fulbourn
Scottsdale’s Garden Centre
£10 Voucher
The date for next year’s Show is Saturday,13th July 2024 and we look forward to seeing you all again then, so please ‘save the day’!
If you would like to be involved with the Show, help in any way or have any ideas please get in touch.
Rosie White
Tel 01223 881293
Mobile 07757982934
Email rosiewhite77@hotmail.com
A few words of advice from The Fruit and Vegetable Judge 2023
Preparations for having entries for the village show start early. For some vegetables like garlic, planting needs to be done in the previous autumn, normally November, for the cloves to establish roots during the cold to grow and develop into good bulbs. A temperature range of between 0-10°C is required but is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve in the garden. The late autumn had above average temperatures recorded with a particularly cold snap in the second week of December 2022 then mild again into January 2023. It was therefore a joy to see so many almost identical garlic bulbs to judge. Other plants such as Alisa Craig onions are raised annually from seed sown December or January to give seedlings to be transplanted into their final growing positions be they in the garden or, for the more dedicated grower, in pots. Other vegetables are raised later as they are quick to grow and harvest.
Fruit is almost always picked from established plants and not raised annually from seed so forward planning is required to get your plants ready and to get conditions right to achieve a harvest. It was therefore good to see such a range of fruit exhibited including rhubarb. For some sections it’s easy to award prizes but for others such as the three sticks of rhubarb, it was quite difficult.
When presented with such high standards it is often difficult to distinguish between entries. When I have difficulties, I recall my tutors saying to me, when all things appear to be equal, remember the entry is ultimately something to be eaten or to flavour. The tray of vegetables for example, all things being equal, are therefore considered as how good they are as ingredients for a family meal with children. The herbs too, all things being equal, are also judged on their usefulness to flavour a dish so key qualities are freshness, aroma, and flavour.
Getting a prize is well earnt and adds to the competition but consideration is also given to encourage growers to exhibit. It was therefore a delight to see some carrots entered that, although they did not get a prize, need to be mentioned. Hopefully that unknown exhibitor will be encouraged to enter again next year to get a prize. Also, remember to follow the show schedule as no entry should be excluded as being too big, too small, or too numerous!
Wishing you a good harvest.
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