Beamer up Scotty

My company car is up for renewal and it is with great reluctance that I have decided to give up my beloved BMW in bell-end red with extra knob'ead accessories and get a totally more practical estate car after several years of headscratching and worry when it came to transporting all my veg and various other exhibits such as flowers, pot plants and cacti to shows. When BMW design their vehicles I feel sure that getting leeks, celery and various long root boxes in and out of the back seat and boot are not considerations that get onto their drawing boards so when it came to the time to make a choice I had to remember that for a few weeks every year I cursed and wished I had an estate car! In future I will now be able to get my veg to and from the shows in much better condition but it does mean I shall spend the majority of the year wishing my new car didn't have all the ooomph of a Yorkshire onion grower when I put my foot down! Such are the choices in life but it will be a while before it arrives so I still have a few more weeks of trying to shoehorn everything in.


As my show season hasn't started yet I need to make sure I have to hand all the various bits and pieces that I will need to transport my produce to the shows, and any staging paraphernalia and information once I get there. You really don't want to be adding to your stress levels in the hours before the show so try and make sure you have everything you're likely to need ready and good to go. This is not an exhaustive list but here goes.....


Raffia (for tying onions)....this should already be done but sometimes you need to re-tie at the show if it comes loose.
Boxes to transport produce.
Various display stands for onions plus black cloth to drape over them
Plates and dishes for the display of 250g onions/shallots/tomatoes and spuds
Vermiculite or dry silver sand for nestling shallots into
Tape measure (to measure 3" if it is required to cut parsnip & carrot foliage)
Runner and french bean display boards if not provided by the show
A sharp knife for trimming celery roots (careful it's not on general view....locked in a briefcase would be best just in case the police stop you!)
Scissors
Green string
Top tray board
Vases and oasis
Judges guides
Pen and paper/notebooks (always handy)
Schedules!

And just remember that showing veg SHOULD be enjoyable. I've always said that the day I get upset at a judge's decision will be the day I give up showing, as you have to trust the integrity of the judge and the process. At village level shows very often they wheel out the guy who has been judging shows since Michael Jackson was black and Leeds United were a top club, and he probably hasn't taken any formal qualification. At this level I certainly don't think you should get upset if a decision you disagree with doesn't go your way. Bear in mind also that the judge has handled your exhibit and assessed any faults, weighed them up against other entries and come to a decision for a 1-2-3. Veg can never be judged on appearance alone and it can never be an exact science, but qualified judges do have quidelines to help them. If you're unsure as to why you haven't done as well as you'd hoped try and seek the judge out after the show as a good judge will always try and stay behind to explain his decisions and this can be quiet enlightening. I actually learnt a lot by stewarding for the judges at our local show for several years. You have to be discrete, especially if you're competing yourself, but by listening in you can often hear their thought processes as they arrive at their decisions.

There has been some discussion recently on the subject of not awarding a first prize if the standard doesn't conform to what a judge would normally expect. But what is normal? At village level I believe it is wholly inappropriate to hold back a 1st or even 2nd prize. In the past I have even been awarded a 3rd place when I was the only entrant and if it had been my first ever show I would have felt very embarrassed and not understood why this had happened. However, as I'd been exhibiting for several years I took it on the chin (it is made of granite!) although I was a little peeved as it wasn't an awful entry by any means and at least I'd gone to the trouble of preparing and transporting the exhibit. However, not everyone is as understanding and laid back as me (cough!) and I have heard of several people vowing never to grace a particular show ever again, so I do hope judges are going to start using a bit of common sense on this issue. The show I judged Saturday morning had several classes with only one entry in and at most shows I attend there wasn't a single exhibit that would have got a look-in but it didn't enter my head to start cocking about only giving 3rd prizes etc. There are now people in that village who feel they're top dogs with runner beans, beetroot or whatever and hopefully they'll want to do more in future years and enter more shows. That's what it's all about at that level folks.