Malvern

This weekend me and Leesa are having a weekend away in Malvern for the 2007 Autumn Show. The National Vegetable Society are holding their National Championshps there and it's always a humbling experience to see the level you aspire to and realise you have a long way to go.

All the country's premier growers will be there.......Medwyn Williams, Vin Throup, Ivor Mace, Jim Thompson, Graeme Watson, Sherie Plumb, Dave Thornton etc. It's a great chance to see which varieties they are growing and how they compare to your own efforts. A lot of them can be approached for advice also.

There are also very competitive dahlia section and I'll also be making a note of any new varieties I might want to grow in future. Every year I go and threaten to actually compete next year but I always bottle it. I remember thinking last year that my tomatoes would have warranted a place based on what I saw.

Having spent an hour in show tent it'll be on to the rest of the showground to see all the other multitude of attractions from the hundreds of trade stands to birds of prey display, and James Martin the TV cook. If you go get there early as there's far too much to pack in to a few hours.