BOVEY TRACEY GARDEN CLUB SUMMER SHOW

August 13th 2022

What a scorcher! Memories of recent years wondering what the weather would be like. No doubt about this year – hot, hot, hot!

Despite the heat we had more people entering produce than last year (62 cf 50)  and more entries (539 cf 388). So many thanks to everyone who entered and congratulations to those who won prizes.

By the time the Marquee opened to the public at 2 o’clock much work had been done. On Friday morning the tables are set out and labelled with enough space allocated for the expected number of entries in each class. Saturday morning sees the stewards assisting our judges do their work, and meantime the tea tent helpers are getting ready for the afternoon.

The Royal Horticultural Society Banksian Medal for the highest number of points in the Horticultural divisions (A, B & C) was won by Lynda Pewsey. You may recall that the same person cannot win this Medal more than once in three consecutive years, so someone else will win it next year. Lynda also won Best Bloom and a number of other trophies. Well done Lynda, especially in view of the challenging weather.

First in the Domestic classes was Anne Winstanley and Jean Toms was first in Handicrafts. There are an awful lot of trophies for horticulture but only one each for Domestic and Handicrafts but these are the divisions which have more and more entries every year. So perhaps a redistribution of cups is called for?

The entries in Flower Arranging were breathtaking as usual and the prize for most points went to Jackie Osmond.

The prizes in the Junior divisions went to Harley, Hannah, Harriet, Ebb, Sophie and Chloe. They went home a little richer as there are money prizes for winning junior entrants!

Finally, the prize for Best Photograph was won by Kevin Bunclark. We used to get a lot of junior entries, but there were only two this year. Maybe the novelty of the camera on mobile phones has worn off? It would be good to see more junior entries next year.

The quality and range of entries was excellent given the recent weather conditions and our thanks and congratulations to every single person who entered.

The helpers in the tea tent did an amazing job – if you thought it was hot outside it was even hotter in the marquee. Our thanks to them and to everyone who contributed a cake.

Many Garden Club members helped in the field on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but we would really appreciate more help especially with clearing up at the end of Show Day. Special thanks to Angela and John Tibbs who have helped every Show for many, many years. Angela provided a very welcome lunch for the judges and stewards.

Talking of next year, the Show Committee will very soon start to plan to the next Show. If you have any suggestions for changes in the Schedule of entries or ideas for the Show generally, please get in touch with Julia Mooney via the “contact us” tab above.

Finally, our thanks to Colin Beck, Lord of the Manor of Bovey, who represented the Mayor and kindly handed out the trophies.

BOVEY TRACEY GARDEN CLUB SUMMER SHOW

 AUGUST 14th 2021

We had a wonderful day for the Show. Lots of people turned up and the sun shone.

Entries were well down on 2019 due to Covid and the unusual weather this year, but the domestic, handicraft and flower arranging entries more than made up for the lack of fruit, flowers and vegetables.

The Torbay Brass Band, Newton Bushel Morris and Canine Capers kept us entertained and on the field there was a display from Devon Classic Car Club and lot of stalls to visit.

Jolly Roger supplied ice cream as well as models and we hope they will bring their ice cream tent again next year. If you were hungry there were delicious Dexter beefburgers at the far end of the field, and afternoon tea and cakes in the marquee.

Liz Stockwell, the new Show Secretary did a fine job of organising everything in the marquee – the entries, judging and prize giving, while Nigel Gillingham coordinated activities outside. Afternoon tea was provided by a team led by club Chairman Julia Mooney. Many, many people contributed to the day, and we thank them all.

Here are some photos from the day. Just click on a photo to get started.

From the Mid-Devon Advertiser

The “Schedule” – the full list of classes – can be found by clicking Garden Club Summer Show Schedule. 

The schedule looks to be a longish document, but you can print it using just 6 pages if you use the “booklet” function in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Different versions of Reader tend to work differently so look for a “paper size and handling”option, select “booklet” and under “booklet sub-set” select “both sides”. I hope that works for you.

Once you have decided which classes to enter, you will need an entry form, so please click here Summer Show Entry Form 2021 .

We look forward to seeing you at the Show. Fingers crossed! Some photos below from the 2019 Show to remind you what a pleasant day out it is.

Liz Stockwell (Show Secretary)

We are delighted to welcome our new Show Secretary, Liz Stockwell. You can contact her via the Contact Us tab above. Marion Edwards, our retiring Show Secretary will be supporting Liz in any way she can.

The Summer Show 2019

Once again we were fortunate with the weather on Show Day, after a rainy week culminating in heavy rain on the day before the Show, when there is so much to do.

Many thanks for everyone who helped in some way- there are too many to mention but we do thank each and every one of you.

Some photos from the Show below. Click on the first one to see them one by one.

The RHS Banksian Medal for the entrant who won most points in the horticultural divisions (A, B and C) in the Summer Show was won by Julia Mooney.

RHS Banksian Medal

The Banksian Medal is named after Sir Joseph Banks, the famous English naturalist and botanist, who accompanied Captain Cook on his first voyage.

We will be awarding a Banksian Medal every year and no one can win it twice in a three year period.

Entries were down again this year – 630 compared to 790 last year and both of the horticultural division judges said that every show they had judged at this year was the same. Both, however, commented on the good standard of the entries, so we wait to see what happens next year.

OUR MENTORING SCHEME

Entering a horticultural show for the first time can be a little daunting, and even if you are  an experienced grower you might occasionally like a little advice. The Garden Club offers advice with growing and/or showing your produce. Among our members are people who can advise on almost any of the nearly 100 classes in divisions A, B and C in the Summer Show.

Lynda, our membership secretary and super-winner in 2018  has kindly offered to participate in this scheme.

Please contact Lynda in the first instance, and she will ensure that you are put in touch with someone who can help you.

A message for makers of jams, curds, pickles and chutneys

Historically our schedule booklet has said in the hints that if you use a screw top jar you should not also use a waxed disc. I know that a number of entries were disqualified for doing just that and I am sorry about that. A hint is not a rule (as I said in the booklet) and while you should have been “marked down” you should not have been disqualified.

I emailed the judge just after the Show to ask why it is wrong to use both a screw top and a waxed disc and the answer was that there is no (food safety or taste) reason. I don’t like unnecessary rules and we will revise this for next year. Apparently there are no “official” recommendations – I could not find anything on the WI website, for example.

From my trawling of the internet preserving sites, it seems to be advisable to fill your jar as full as possible (the less air the less the risk of contamination) and use a new lid (to ensure an airtight seal). Modern lids are plastic-lined and so are safe to use with vinegar-based preserves. If you want to use a wax disc and a cellophane cover, then that is fine. Please note that curds such as lemon do not keep for long and should be made shortly before the show. I suggest you check your jam before the show as we did have one with mould on it, which was correctly disqualified. Click below to open a website with more information.

Have a look at this site on the use of jam jars.

Bovey Tracey Summer Show 18th August 2018

We were blessed with an almost perfect day for this year’s Show. Not too hot and not too cold. Only a few drops of rain during the morning, but none during the afternoon of the Show.

Entries were a little down on last year and this was anticipated because of the hot and dry summer. Our gardeners, however, did amazingly well and both the fruit and veg judge and the flower judge thought the entry quality was very good.

The marquee went up on the Thursday.

The marquee going up – the show is nearly upon us!

Friday was spent laying out the tables and soaking the photo boards so we could press drawing pins into them. Frankly, that didn’t work very well; maybe the boards were ultra dry because of the weather.

Soaking the boards. I think we need new ones!

We had 770 entries, and they all (or nearly all) arrived early on Saturday morning.

Adjusting tomatoes

Judging was from 10 until 12 am and the gates opened at 1.30 pm

Some photos from around the field:

Class 28. A collection of 5 different vegetables. One of the most testing classes.

A member of Torbay Brass Band

The Torbay Brass Band has entertained us at the Show for many years.

The Newton Bushel Morris are always entertaining and have fun performing for us.

Simple but absolutely lovely

Our Mayor with her giant vegetable

 Our Mayor entered the Show for the first time and won two trophies.

Photos courtesay of Brian Edwards. Lots more photos below.

More photos below. If you have a photo of the lovely black alpaca, and you are happy to have it here, please send it to me!

Anonymous Complaint

The Club Chairman received an anonymous letter after the Show complaining that Club members won all the trophies. We wish to make clear that the judging is carried out in secret – the judges do not know the identity of the entrants. Division A is open only to people living in Bovey Parish and to club members. All other seven divisions are open to all.

At the 2017 AGM a year ago, three perpetual cups were awarded (these are presented to anyone winning the same trophy three years running). Two of the three people receiving a cup were not members (and one of them was a junior).

Naturally people interested in gardening tend to be members. The Club aims to help people improve their gardening skills and our members are very happy to offer advice to people wishing to enter the spring or summer show.

The annual subscription is only £10, so perhaps the answer for our anonymous complainant is to join.