Sunday 21 August 2016

A Successful Day at a Very Wet Show


I'm happy, happy, happy ..... we had a really successful day at the Llanrwst Show yesterday.

As you can see from the photo I came away with five firsts, three seconds and a third, they gave out two thirds in the Two Fruit Marmalade section as there were such a lot of good entries, so I was extremely pleased to be one of the winners.


My cucumber got a second place.


As did my rhubarb.


My pot of 'Six Cut Herbs' got a first.


And my pathetic unripened green truss of tomatoes got a second.  None of my tomatoes are red yet, well except for the little Tumbling Toms and they don't have trusses as such.


My '2 bunches of Celery' got a First. 

The one on the right which was pretty damn perfect and came about as a unusual result of my celery experimentation, which I'll tell you about another day, was obviously the one that swung it ... well that and me being the only entry in that section!!


My 'Lettuce and 2 other Salad Ingredients also got a First.


Ta da .... as did my Damson Gin  :-)


The third placed Marmalade.
That's two wins in almost as many weeks for my marmalade ... I must be doing something right.


Our eggs got a second place in a category that had lots of entries.

A big thank you should go out to our newest girls the Calder Rangers who lay such consistently good and very matching eggs.  And I had the inspiration to line our little plate with some hay, everyone else had used wood chippings, it made our eggs look even better being in their own little nest :-)

So we had a very good day at a very wet show, as unfortunately the weather gods did not smile favourably on the show at all yesterday, it had rained very hard all night long the night before, and this and the high winds continued throughout the whole day.  It meant that lots of the outdoor classes were cancelled, exhibitors either didn't show up or took their animals straight back home.  The fairground couldn't run and the only tent other than the poultry and horticulture tents that saw any real crowds was the beer tent.  I should imagine the show has lost an awful lot of money this year and to rub their faces in it even more today the sun is shining and the weather has improved in every way.

Still there was a good atmosphere in the 'Horticulture and Homecraft' tent and I really enjoyed entering again, ... and of course it means we have lots of already harvested and washed food to eat over the next couple of days.

Sue xx

22 comments:

  1. Well done Sue I am so proud of you . I have noticed the veg and fruit that you have brought me. Well there is a much crisper sound when you peel them. Reminds me of our old days on the allotment. I have missed that so much love MUM XX

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  2. Very well done, that is some achievement. Did you get the trophy back? All your entries look fantastic. Love Andie xxx

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    1. No I didn't. A nice chap called W.D.Williams won it this year. I think I may have ruffled his feathers a bit last year with all my entries, as this year he went in for EVERY category in both the Open and the Amatuer sections, and in most cases he had two entries per category so he won first and second place over and over and hence got lots of points and the cup is awarded on the most points.

      I only went in for 10 categories in the Horticulture part of the show this year, due to my beetroot and carrots not being that good for showing ... but very good for eating :-) So I was thrilled to get six placements out of ten entries, as well as the three placements out of my six Homecraft entries.

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  3. Congrats on those brilliant wins.
    I got moaned at once when I won the egg category in the Knodishall show as someone questioned if I should enter seeing as we had 100 chickens and sold eggs! Still had to find 6 'matching' which isn't as easy as it sounds.
    What a shame about the rain, hope they make enough to fund next years show

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    1. Thanks Sue.

      We're very lucky that the two Calder Rangers lay identical eggs and they are consistently the same size, all the other chooks lay such a varied selection of eggs, and of course you need them perfectly fresh as they crack one open to check for the quality of the yolks and whites.

      I hope the show will continue this is the second year out of four that it has been virtually rained off :-(

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  4. Those are quite an accomplishment. Lovely things to see from your garden.

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  5. Well done! So sorry about the weather - it's such a shame whenever people have planned something for a year and then that ends up being the one day of rain in a week's time. Hope they are able to come back next year.

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    1. Thank you.

      The amount of work that goes into this show to make it a good day out for both locals, farming folk and holiday makers is unbelievable. As well the farmers spend a long time getting their animals ready for the competitions and of course all the equestrian folk bring their horses from miles around. Also there are lots of local charities that have stalls to raise money for their causes and they really depend on it being a good day.

      Fingers crossed for next year, and let's hope there is enough funding to put the show on after the dismal gate numbers there will have been this year. If I win the Lottery I will put a huge donation their way :-)

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  6. Very well done. You've been busy. It's a pity the weather let everyone down.
    xx

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  7. Well done, some beautiful produce! Do you win anything, or is it just for The Glory? ;)

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  8. Sounds like a typically British summer's day ! Well done Sue.

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  9. Congratulations and well done.

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  10. What rainy fun.
    Thank You for the photos and congratulations !

    cheers, parsnip and thehamish

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  11. Congratulations for your most successful day at the show. You did so well with your beautiful produce. I know too well the effort that goes into presenting your entries, not to mention the effort gone into growing it all and making that amazing Damson gin. It's people like you (and me) who will keep these shows alive for the generations to follow.

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  12. Yay! Thanks for the walkaround.

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  13. Congratulations, your produce looks wonderful!

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