Who'd be a judge?

Well....me actually! Tomorrow is the day of the NVS Judges Exam and I'm probably not as confident now as I was when I first put forward for it. It's quite a high pass percentage you have to get, so there isn't much margin for error but it'll be a good experience if nowt else. And when you see some of the decisions on the benches you do wonder whether you want to put yourself forward for the inevitable criticism that will come your way.


Last year at Midlands Branch I put three globe beet in that I felt had a very good chance of getting a ticket but came away with nothing. However, the set I put in this year got third but when I walked away from staging I thought it was merely making up the numbers. Whilst I was surprised and happy to get the placing I still felt there were better conditioned and more uniform sets that didn't get anything. The tent was still quite dark when the judges started their deliberating so did that come into play perhaps? And at Harrogate the hall in which the veg is staged has the worst lighting I've ever experienced. It made many of the veg appear to be yellow or green in some cases.

What it illustrates is that judging of vegetables can never be an exact science. As long as it is carried out by fellow exhibitors themselves at the top of their game, or people who have been there and done it you have to trust the process and take all decisions in good faith. I've always said that the day I get upset and contest a decision is the day I give it up for good.