Malvern Autumn Show. One of the biggest and most important Autumn shows in the country. Organised by the RHS and the 3 Counties Showground, the show brings together tens of thousands of like-minded people over the course of 3 main days who all have one thing in common. A love of gardening, growing and spending time outdoors.
Having been to the show several times over the years, this visit was a little different for me, but more on that later. The show itself takes over the sprawling site at the 3 Counties Showground in Malvern and has something for almost everyone. Consider yourself a bit of a ‘Foodie’? There are stalls, demos and professionals to see with plenty to taste and buy. How about an interest in classic vehicles, both road and agricultural? Then there are plenty of exhibits, proudly shown off by their owners and societies who love to tell you all about them.
There are all sorts of stalls and stands ranging from tools to clothing to art and craft to hot tubs and garden buildings and everything in between, all trying to separate you from the contents of your wallet. There is also no denying that the Autumn show is also the pinnacle for growers of fruit, veg and flowers from all around the country.
As an allotmenteer, how could you not be drawn to the Canna barn, home to the National Giant Vegetables Championships? On entering the barn, the absolute centre piece has to be the massive display of pumpkins taking pride of place in the middle of the room. With rumours of national and world records on the line, entering the barn felt a bit like walking into a TV studio with a plethora of TV cameras and presenters doing their pieces to camera dotted all around the hall. There was even a live feed on the BBC News website as judging for all sorts of categories was being carried out. Proud growers were giving their thoughts to journalists and reporters but without trying to give away all their secrets.
This year’s winner of the heaviest pumpkin wasn’t quite a world record breaker but was officially recorded as second heaviest in the world. It weighed in at 1258 KG and was grown by Ian Paton who reportedly had to water his massive specimen through the hottest of summers with the equivalent of 3 bathtubs full of water every day. An astonishing feat of determination and commitment!
Elsewhere in the giant veg categories, prizes were being given out left right and centre for the largest, heaviest or longest. One thing is for certain though, there should have been a category of ‘Ugliest’ too!
Leaving the Canna barn behind, we turn our attention to something which for some could be considered as slightly more achievable or within grasp. Although the standards here were extremely high too. In the Harvest Tent, the big double marquee was a shared space with displays of flowers and vegetable competition benches. On the vegetable side, one half was given to The National Vegetable Society and their main show event.
The other half of the space was given to the traditional Malvern Show benches. To be honest, the quality of the produce on both sides was exceptional. The tables were adorned with the name cards of the entrants and if you did well enough, when you returned to your produce after the judging had taken place, you might even find a winner’s card too. The attention to detail in these categories is remarkable, and the judging strict. I challenge anyone to find quality as good as this in any supermarket or grocers!
Representing the National Allotment Society
This year, visiting the show and wandering around was only half of the reason for going. Each year, a call goes out for volunteers to go and assist the West Midlands branch of the National Allotment Society with their stand. Our very own TAA Chairman, John, is also the Regional Representative for West Midlands at the NAS and it is him who I joined for my afternoon on the stand.
Kitted up in NAS polo shirts, it was our job for the day to talk to members of the public who visited the stand, promote the National Allotment Society and be on hand to offer help, advice and encouragement on all aspects of growing. Be it in an allotment, a community garden or in a private garden. Throughout the afternoon, we had plenty of people come and visit, and it was a genuine pleasure to speak to people and hear about their stories and experiences.
As well as getting to meet like minded growers from all around the country, it was also particularly good to meet up with other regional members of the NAS and get key insights into their allotment sites and associations. Exchanging ideas and stories of how people work their growing spaces is absolutely invaluable and is a great way of learning and improving your own knowledge.
During my time on the stand, there were two particular highlights. Firstly, the stand was awarded the Silver Medal for best stand – a particular surprise for all concerned as nobody knew we were even going to be judged! Secondly, as people come and visit the stand, they are invited to take part in a prize drawer. The drawer is made at 3pm each day and it was a thrill to see John pesent one lucky visitor a large bundle of approximately 30 packets of Kings seeds to the day’s winner.
The shift on the stand, and the end of the day was all wrapped up by 5.00pm as other stand holders started to shut down for the evening, and numbers dwindled as visitors made their way home with bags, trolleys and hands full to bursting. And now, looking back I ask myself, ‘Would I do it again?’ The answer. ‘Definitely’. I had a great time and have already started talking about volunteering for the Spring show, if they’ll have me back that is!
