Ring the changes and get involved

Any time from now the schedules will be dropping onto your door mats. No doubt you'll browse through them, make a mental note about the classes you intend to enter and maybe have a moan about one or two things that have been altered (or haven't!) before filing them away somewhere until you need them. In the past I've had a dig at certain committees and organisations, but I think it's important we all need to acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe these people and especially the organisers of our village, allotment and town shows.

Many of these guys don't actually grow to show themselves, but keep the show going out of a sense of civic duty. They might have been roped in to help several years earlier and somehow found themselves running things after others dropped out of helping...or even died! So before you start having a go at folk put yourself in their shoes, try and ascertain their circumstances and if you're still not happy about things then offer to help out yourself!

Helping out doesn't have to be too onerous. It can just mean giving your advice at a couple of Winter meetings about schedule content and wording. If you are a seasoned exhibitor, maybe even a qualified judge, what can be more pleasant than an hour over a pint or two in a local pub suggesting a few changes to an old established schedule that hasn't been changed in decades? Most of us are very busy preparing our entries in the days leading up to the show but the tables don't get set out on their own so why not offer to help for an hour the night before, or get there an hour early to see if anything needs doing? And in the show aftermath try not to be too quick to get away, as the hall will need clearing and many hands will soon make light work of putting away tables, vases, cloths and sweeping the floors.

So, don't be a prick and start creating trouble at your local hort soc show as you will soon get a name for yourself as a bit of a menace. More importantly, the organisers might start to believe it's not worth the hassle of constantly getting it in the neck from you and close the show altogether. As many of these events are non-profit making events for charitable causes the less fortunate would also lose out.

Having said all this i'm now going to make my annual plea for show schedule makers to freshen things up on a regular basis, by trying new classes or looking at changing existing ones slightly. For years several local shows in my area had cauliflower and pot leek classes on the schedules. Gradually, fewer and fewer people grew these for show to the point where some years no entries were made. I got involved and suggested ditching the classes altogether. If anyone had some caulis or pot leeks to show then there was always the 'any other veg' class that they could put them in and in their place we would try things like sweetcorn, courgettes or peppers. This makes so much sense at local level. Many allotments these days are taken on by young mums to feed their families, and they will grow crops that their children will like. Crops that children will even enjoy being involved growing because they grow quite quickly and are colourful.

I also got a couple of shows to reduce quantities for things like parsnips, long carrots and blanch leeks from 3 to 2. Imagine a class of 2 entries of 3. Now imagine one with 5 or 6 entries of 2! Which looks better for the viewing public? Which one makes the judge earn his fee and which one would you feel better having won? We all know getting a matching pair is easier than a matching set of three. This works for the novice who might only be able to grow a few of something, but also for the more serious exhibitor who can still support his local show without sacrificing too many 'pulls' for his more serious shows such as those run by the NVS or RHS.

I actually sent letters out to a few local showers when we were thinking of doing all this, and got back some very positive comments. Most of them were happy to try something new and to give it a go if it meant the show surviving. The only negative feedback I got was actually at the show itself from a grower who said he didn't agree with the reduction in long carrots from 3 to 2 as it didn't look right. He is a bit of a purist but the point is he hadn't even been bothered to reply to my letter, and there is your answer in a nutshell. He is undoubtedly a superb grower (and could show at a much higher level) but has never helped out in any way (to my knowledge) but just wants to turn up, plonk down his (excellent) exhibits, take the money and go. Fair enough but I don't think it's fair for him to criticise in that case. I don't think I've ever seen him smile and conversations with him are always quite awkward so I just wonder what he gets out of it all. Winning is always nice but I can quite honestly say the biggest thing I get out of showing are the many friendships I have made.

Over the years I've seen many showers moaning about a decision, giving the organisers grief about bench layout and vowing never to grace the show with their presence again. I've heard of letters being written to local papers and disputes growing out of all proportion to the initial problem. And it's usually because the grower cannot see beyond his own selfishness and look at the overall picture. So what if you've had a bad decision go against you. They all balance out and who hasn't won a class that you thought you shouldn't have won? I've always said that the day I get so upset that I contest a decision (at any level) is the day that I shall give up showing. I've had a local show that I'd supported for several years forget to send me a schedule for some reason, and whilst I've decided not to attend that show for a while I don't intend bad-mouthing them. Perhaps it was an oversight? Perhaps they lost my details? Or perhaps they just think i'm a complete knob and don't want me at their show any more? Who knows, but there's no point getting upset and I sincerely hope the show continues for many years and that many local growers get the showing bug from competing there.

So, if you want to get the most fulfilment out of the hobby I say get involved, muck in and give as much as you take out of it.