Show Day - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Sunday 19 September, 2004

by Rosemary at 1:58pm in Anything goes 1 comment Comments closed

Well, those of you who keep up with our frighteningly active social diary will know that yesterday was the day of the Clackmannanshire Horticultural Society Annual Exhibition and Show. It was held in the Cochrane Hall in Alva which is a very attractive old hall, if somewhat off the beaten track.

This is the first time we've ben involved. Dan's been helping the Committee buy some IT equipment and set up some software to manage the show entries. Since entries are taken on the Friday before the show, from 7pm to 10pm and from 7am on the Saturday morning, it's been a long weekend for him. (He also ran the City of Stirling 10k road race this morning and has now gone to Tesco. What a guy!)

We'd talked about entering but as usual left it to the last minute. Therefore, Dan was digging vegetables at 10pm on Friday and was up at 5.15am on Saturday preparing them.

Well, the upshot was that he won "Best Novice" for his display of five vegetables - which was pretty good considering no-one but us knew what the Mangel Wurzel was. He was second in one of the potato classes with Pink Fir Apple (my Desiree were unplaced) and third in the rhubarb class (my entry, again selected by my husband on my behalf, was unplaced). I got third place in the jam section with a jar of blackcurrant - which according to the judge's scribe woudl have won, had there not been a slight bloom of penicillan on the top. Dan chose that particular jar from a dozen others. Do you see a pattern emerging here? I will sort my own entres next year!

It's not what you would call a thriving show. Which is a pity because a lot of people put a lot of work into it. I've threatened Dan with standing for the Committee - it's time the Society had a website and I know just the man to do it!