Spring show 23.3.19

There was an excellent start to the season of friendly competition at the Spring Flower Show. The entry figure of 249 submitted by 39 exhibitors, several of whom were newcomers, were exceptionally high; quite the best in recent years.

The mild spring saw the early flowering of garden daffodils and there was a great assortment of narcissus blooms to be seen on the show bench; these were complemented by numerous hellebore and flowering shrub entries. There were potted plants and vegetables in variety, but with rather limited support for flower arranging. The cookery and photographic sections were well subscribed, attracting favourable comments from the judges. Slowly, the handicrafts are gaining support while three children entered their group of classes for a total of seven entries.

During the afternoon, there was the regulation number of eighty visitors; after admiring the display, people could then visit the side-stalls which included plant sales, baked items and preserves, crafts, tombola and the raffle. The kitchen offered light refreshments and a choice of cakes.

The afternoon concluded with the presentation of trophies, lead by the Society’s Vice-President, Stella Whitelock. First in line was the Show Secretary, David Donovan, who received the Harry March Cup for his points total in the horticultural classes, next was a relative newcomer to competition, Margaret Elkin, who took the Pratt Trophy for most points in the cookery classes and finally, ten-year-old Cerys Hier who with her prizes in the children’s section, retained the Junior Spring Cup.

The next flower show will be the Early Summer Show on June 29th, with roses and sweet peas to the fore.

FIRST PRIZE WINNERS

David Donovan, Terry Booker, Gill Crowley, Mike Shambrook, Jean Sykes, Anne Hollis, Diane Booker, John Smith, Mary Carmel Pardi, Roy Phillips, Graham & Sylvia Ebben, Irene Jordan, Gill Henry, Janice Shambrook, Malcolm Paradine, Katharine Horwood, Annabelle Heath, Margaret Elkin, Eva Pendreich, Jenny Pay, Heather Booth, Julia Smith, Alan Thew, John Knight, Ian Watts, David Vincent, Ted Coomber, Cerys Hier

Autumn Show 6.10.18

A fine end to the season of showing : bumper entries challenged us to fit all the wonderful exhibits into the show hall! Visitors were treated to a wonderful selection of top class dahlias, as  well as other autumn flowering delights such as fuchsias and late roses . The  novelty giant vegetable classes were very well supported with massive examples of pumpkin, marrow and apple, and a  large array of giant sunflower heads.

The cookery and photographic classes were well supported, with excellent quality exhibits and there were some beautiful flower arrangements, handicrafts and children’s items.

About 70 visitors came to enjoy the display, and the side-stalls offering plants, cakes, preserves and loaves, greeting cards and a raffle and tombola.

Summer Show 11.8.18

The adverse growing season inevitably lead to a smaller number of entries than in an average year. However, just over 400 items were submitted for exhibition by 49 participants, of whom several were making their first appearance at a Yapton show.
However, the disappointment of fewer than usual number of exhibits was transformed into pleasure by the excellence of the produce; the other sections included the well supported cookery classes, flower arranging, a varied handicraft submission, photography, wine and beer and children’s classes.

The flower show was part of the community event, now in its second year: thus, a `fun’ dog show attracted many people, complemented by a junior dance school presentation and musical entertainment from a ukulele group. More features included classic vehicles brought by Double L-L Club members, and three veteran agricultural tractors, two as static exhibits much enjoyed by children and the third plying trailer rides up and down the field. Trading stalls and good causes formed a further part, while the Village Hall held separate model displays and the Local History Group had a photographic display on the story of Ford airfield and a slide show of Yapton over the years. The kitchen did great business in dispensing tea, coffee and cake.

The afternoon was drawn to a close by the presentation of awards on behalf of the flower show. In her capacity as President of Yapton Cottage Gardeners’ Society, Sue Phillips, gardening journalist, made the distributions of trophies. Mick Minton produced the best vegetable exhibit for the Warmere with potatoes, and first prizes for runner beans, the Charles Millyard Trophy, and with the collection of vegetables, the V.H. Snell Trophy, and garnered most points for the George Harrison Cup, only to continue with the Woodard Trophy for the best cut flower exhibit comprising Waterlily dahlias, which also gave him the Silver Medal of the National Dahlia Society, and the Booth Cup for most points in the Open classes, and culminating in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Banksian Medal for accumulating most prize money.

Alan Humphrey brought his excellent dahlias; his vase of Ball Group won the Stevenson Cup as best cut flower exhibit in the members’ classes, and took the Bronze Medal, National Dahlia Society, with a vase of Decoratives. Noted grower Malcolm Paradine produced some fine potatoes for the Binns Trophy in the Open vegetable classes. Show Secretary, David Donovan, took the Tony Butcher Trophy for best pot plant and did well enough with what little fruit was shown to retain the Ivor Smith Fruit Bowl and amassed sufficient points to take the Collier Cup for cookery exhibits. Elaine Cordingley won the three exhibit members-only Leslie Crowther Trophy while her spouse, David Cordingley, succeeded in winning the Ford Wine Circle Challenge Shield with his bottles of wine and beer. Katharine Horwood was awarded the Pannell Trophy for most points in the flower arranging classes, and for his remarkable evocation of farming life in the 1930’s, David Day will have his name added to the Stagg Cup, as best item in the Handicraft section. Ten-year-old Cerys Hier took all the trophies for which she was eligible in the Children’s classes, viz the Frost Senior Cup for a garden in a seed-tray, best exhibit for the Margaret Trophy with a model elephant made from vegetables and most points in this section for the Belmont Trophy. The Frost Junior Cup was won by six-year-old Alice Wright and her three-year-old sister, Lucy Wright, given equal first in the `garden in a seed tray’ class.

Early summer show 23.6.18

Over 90 people came along to enjoy a beautiful display of flowers, produce and crafts, as well as Terry's famous cream teas! The weather had made growing a challenge, especially for the sweet-pea specialists, so horticultural entries were down a little, but visitors were still treated to a hall full of colour and scent. The flower arranging section had some excellent exhibits and the cookery classes had good support, with some delicious looking fruit cakes and cupcakes. Stella Whitelock, our Vice-President presented the trophies: Jenny Pay won the Godfrey Challenge Cup for her roses; Richard Emery took the Hawthorn Trophy for sweet peas while Terry Booker won the National Sweet Pea Society Bronze Medal. The Bill Payne Memorial Trophy for cactuses was won by Mike Shambrook and the Phillips Trophy for the best flower arrangement was won by Diane Booker for her football themed exhibit entitled "On the ball". Nine year old Cerys Hiertook home the Junior Flower Cup.

FIRST PRIZE WINNERS: Kath Hemsley, Ted Love, Diane Booker, Jenny Pay, Mike Shambrook, Mary Carmel Pardi, Richard Emery, Terry Booker,Anne Hollis, John Smith, David Donovan, Malcolm Paradine, Graham and Sylvia Ebben, Irene Jordan, Eva Pendreich, Katharine Horwood, Margaret Elkin, Alan Thew, Ian Watts, John Knight, Cerys Hier