2022 Spring Show Results
The Society’s Spring Show was held on 26th March at the Hermitage Village Hall, having had to be cancelled last year due to Covid.
Unfortunately entries were down this year at just 75, which we believe was similarly due to Covid, so the show was unusually held in the smaller Furze Hall. We were however pleased to have two new members join the Society on the day.
All contestants are awarded points for coming first second or third; 5, 3 and one respectively, with cups being given for the highest scores.
The Lipscomb Cup is presented to the member with the most points in Classes 1 – 5, the Floral Arrangements Classes. Heather Whetter won this year with 19 points; Heather always produces the most beautiful arrangements using flowers from her garden.
The John Rouse Cup is presented to the Member with the most points in the Flower Classes 6 – 32. This year it was won by Roy Marr with 56 points.
A Diploma of Merit is awarded for the Best Exhibit in the Show and went to Janet Burch for her Vase of Flowering Shrubs and Trees, Class 32.
Entries in the produce and photographic classes remained strong. Cups for those classes are awarded at the Autumn Show when points for each of the three Shows are combined.
Everyone who exhibited or visited during the day seemed to enjoy themselves with much cake being eaten! The Committee wishes to thank all those who helped stage the Show, including the members that baked the cakes, and those who helped in the clearing up afterwards.
The Elizabeth Brown Cup is normally presented at the Spring Show to the child with the most points in the Children’s Classes 44 – 49; however, it was not awarded this year as no children entered. We would really like to see this change in the future. Gardening helps children to develop in many ways and is also good for their health. There are lots of websites out there with pages dedicated to gardening for children, e.g. https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/gardening-children-schools and the BBC website. So why not give it a try?
Review of Evening Meeting – Thursday 24th February
In a departure from Horticultural topics, the evening meeting in February was based on the Greek myth of Jason and his search for the Golden Fleece. Nick Cook, retired from a career at Kodak, now spends his time lecturing, speaking and writing on a variety of subjects. His title for the evening, “Cruising with Jason”, gives a feel for his approach.
His entertaining and amusing talk related the story of Jason and his journey on the ship Argo, in search of the fabled Golden Fleece in the east of the Mediterranean. Most of us know something of the story from school or 1960s animated films.
Nick related the story in a light-hearted way covering the reasons for the voyage and the various mythical beasts encountered on the way.
Greek mythology is one of Nick’s specialist subjects, and he concluded his talk by putting the myths into a rough historical context. They were passed on orally for several hundred years after about 1800 BCE and were only written down after about 1000 BCE. Thus, the stories developed and evolved for a long period before being formalised in writing.
Our audience was not large, but all enjoyed Nick’s version of the story and there were several follow-up questions.
2021 Autumn Show Results
The 2021 Autumn Flower Show was held on 11th September.
The Cup winners were:
| CUP | ENTRANT | POINTS |
| Goolden Cup | Heather Whetter | 21 pts. |
| The Classic Decorators Cup | Roy Marr | 30 pts. |
| The Marr Cup | This was not awarded | |
| Hans Overeynder Cup | Rob Burgess | 37 pts. |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Flowers | Robert Cripps | |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Fruit/Veg | Tony Bradley | |
| The Wade Cup | This was not awarded | |
| The Hermitage Homecraft Cup | Heather Whetter | 30 pts. |
| Photographer of the Year | Roy Marr | 8 pts. |
2019 Autumn Show Results
The 2019 Autumn Flower Show was held on 14th September. Entries were better than expected with 20 entrants and 142 entries.
The Cup winners were:
| CUP | ENTRANT | POINTS |
| Goolden Cup | Sue Plummer | 18 pts. |
| The Classic Decorators Cup | Roy Marr | 24 pts. |
| The Marr Cup | This was not awarded | |
| Hans Overeynder Cup | Robert Burgess | 79 pts. |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Flowers | Robert Cripps Class 8 | |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Fruit/Veg | Janet Burch Class 51 | |
| The Wade Cup | This was not awarded | |
| The Hermitage Home Craft Cup | Heather Whetter | 24 pts. |
| Photographer of the Year | Colin Plummer | 15 pts. |
2019 Summer Show Results
The 2019 Summer Show was held on 6th July. There were 100 entries.
The Cup winners were:
| CUP | ENTRANT | POINTS |
| The West Cup | Heather Whetter | 47 pts. |
| Daniel Dorling Tuersley Cup | Mandy Bradley | 44 pts. |
| The Jubilee Cup | Roy Marr | 10 pts. |
| The Dew Cup | Heather Whetter | 25 pts. |
| The Revival Trophy | Brian Barnes, Luisa King, Heather Whetter | |
| Under Eight Junior Gardeners Cup | Not awarded, no entries. | |
| Over Eights Junior Gardeners Cup | Not awarded, no entries. | |
| Fairfield Rose Bowl | Not awarded, no entries. | |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Flower Classes | Ann Beard Class 15 | |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Vegetable and Fruit Classes | Mandy Bradley Class 51 |
2019 Spring Show Results
In common with everyone, our programme for 2020 and 2021 was seriously disrupted by Covid-19. Consequently there were no Shows in 2020, and the Spring and Summer Show for 2021 were also abandoned. These are the results for the Shows which were held since the beginning of 2019.
The 2019 Spring Show was held on 14th April. There were 150 entries. It was the best show for some time, with entries from newcomers to the Society.
The Cup Winners were:
| CUP | ENTRANT | POINTS |
| Lipscomb Cup | Heather Whetter | 21 pts. |
| John Rouse Cup | Roy Marr | 39 pts. |
| Elizabeth Brown Cup | This was not awarded as there were no children’s entries | |
| Diploma of Merit Best Exhibit Spring Show | Tony Bradley | 38 pts. |
