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VILLAGE SHOW 2015
Any village show on a sunny day can bring a community together, but add in the complexity of an unfortunate and shocking incident like a fire during preparation and things can go one of two ways; either a year’s planning goes up in smoke and there’s no enjoyment for anyone, or everyone pulls together to turn a potential disaster into a wonderful and memorable occasion.
Thankfully in our case, it was the latter, and under the superb direction of Vice-Chair and Field Planner, Rob Bendy, the layout of the showground was rearranged and then all hands were on deck to move the bar and seating area, the bbq, the hog roast, plus four marquees and their contents to safer areas. With a large part of the showground in front of the pavilion now unusable, it was a mammoth task to reposition everything to new and workable locations, but it was all done with great community spirit and enthusiasm and the show got underway with only an hour’s delay.
So, at midday, the Seaforth Highlanders started the show by leading the fancy dress parade onto the showground. It couldn’t take its usual route up Main Street due to traffic congestion, but this was just one of many challenges we faced throughout the day. Instead, the parade circled the showground and then entered the main arena, where Mr Maddison once again had the difficult task of picking winners from a fantastic array of outfits fitting in with the show’s theme of ‘In the Garden’.
Despite the chaos on the roads around Butts Field, all 46 stallholders arrived and were able to set up in time for the start of the show – a great effort considering the delays in being able to drive on and off the showground.
Owain Gunn directed traffic at the main gate with calm authority and our thanks go to all who helped with traffic control along College Street and Main Road and to everyone for their patience and understanding.
No show can continue without food, and with the burgers, buns and charcoal gone up in flames it was a race against time to replace everything. Gonalston Farm Shop came to the rescue by providing in excess of 500 burgers in record time, and Kevin Booth and his fantastic team of helpers performed what was effectively a massive supermarket-sweep, going to unsuspecting shops and clearing them out of bread rolls! With help from St Peter’s school in the form of extra bbqs and charcoal, plus some necessary utensils, the food area was back up and running, and as busy as ever.
The main marquee had been setting up and receiving entries even before the fire. There is a huge amount of work done behind the scenes in this area, and it was a delight to see that, once the judging was complete and the marquee was opened to the public once again, the tables were decorated beautifully with the usual high standard and number of entries to the homecraft and horticultural categories. Well done to all our winners this year, and to everyone who entered.
The decision to have two arenas this year was, by all accounts, a huge success. It meant that we were able to offer a large space for our main acts – the H&M Dog Display team and the Dako Flying Angels – and a smaller area which better suited our two children’s dance acts and the circus workshop. The fact that the latter ended up being right next door to the seating (and bar) area seemed to please plenty of the parents who came to watch. In fact, the change of location for the seating area seems to have gone down extremely well with everyone, and will certainly be something to consider for next year.
We were unable to accommodate the Rodeo ‘Sheep’ as originally planned, as well as the Classic Cars which had to be abandoned due to lack of space on the field. Our thanks go to Ian Tomlinson and all the classic car owners for their understanding of the situation and we look forward to welcoming them back next year.
Due to time restrictions we also missed the egg-throwing competition and hence the opportunity to watch the catching talents of the younger visitors and to enjoy the entertaining commentary from David Maddison. Again, this will be back next year.
A few changes to the scheduled itinerary were not through our own making. The flypast, for instance, was a Hurricane and not a Dakota as originally advertised. But we’re certainly not complaining; it’s a highlight of the day and a privilege that they recognise our show at all, and all credit to Martin Waring for changing his commentary at short notice!
The next surprise was the unannounced arrival of the winners of last year’s Tug of War competition, who turned up expecting to defend their title. With four teams already in the line-up, suddenly having five made it a bit of a logistical nightmare but it was just one more challenge for us and by this time we were getting used to flying by the seat of our pants! The problem was resolved by putting an ‘EB All Stars 8’ together to take on the fifth team. The All’s Star went on to victory in that contest and in the main event the St Peter’s Dads team, coached by Simon Christensen, regained the title and took the trophy.
Around the showground plenty of entertainment went ahead unaffected; the inflatables, the junior go-carts, the donkey rides, farm corner, the walkabout circus act and the Punch & Judy stand to name but a few. The music and Morris Dancers worked together fantastically to co-ordinate their performances, while the WI hut were busy all day, providing tea and refreshments.
We hope that we got the overall balance of entertainment, activities and stalls right, and suggestions for next year are always welcome. It is with great thanks and relief that the fire service and the Parish Council allowed us to continue and despite everything we recorded a massive 4,112 visitors to the show – the biggest turnout to date.
Some might say that it was the lure of the smoke, but I’d like to think it was because of great camaraderie, beautiful weather and our reputation for putting on a great event for everyone to enjoy.
All the planning in the world could not have prepared me for the shock of the fire, but I’m absolutely certain that the fact we could pull off an amazing day despite the terrible circumstances was down to two things; having an amazing team of people on the committee who managed their own areas of responsibility brilliantly under pressure, and living in a wonderful village where people care and are willing to work together to make the very best of every situation.
Sophie Brewill
Chair, East Bridgford Horticultural Society
Village Show Update June 2015
Saturday 27th June 2015
Theme: In the Garden
June is here which can only mean one thing; the annual Village Show! Show day is Saturday 27th June and proceedings start, as always, with the traditional Fancy Dress Parade setting off from St Peter’s School at 11am prompt. From then on there’ll be plenty of entertainment throughout the day, finishing with the Dog Show and Raffle Prize Draw.
Programmes will be on sale door-to-door around the villages shortly – look out for our team of volunteers in their distinctive orange shirts – as well as through the Post Office and East Bridgford News later on in the month. Also on sale will be raffle tickets with some great prizes, including garden equipment, family days out, meals, beauty treatments, and much more!
This year’s Show highlights include:
Seaforth Highlanders leading the Fancy Dress Parade
Morris dancing & live jazz music
Rodeo Sheep
Bungee Run
Junior Go-Karts
Circus Workshop & Walkabout
Main arena entertainment: H&M Dog Display Team & Dako Flying Angels
Egg-Throwing competition
Dog Show
Tug of War
Punch & Judy shows
Inflatable obstacle course, slide & bouncy castle
RAF Dakota Flypast (weather permitting)
A wide range of stalls to browse & buy from – OPEN FOR BUSINESS FROM 11AM
Hog roast, barbecue, pancakes, WI sandwiches and teas
Performances by Bingham School of Dance and Starlight Dance Group
Licensed bar, Pimm’s tent
Main marquee displaying Homecraft & Horticultural entries
Floral demonstrations by the East Bridgford Garden Club
Don’t forget to bring your Homecraft and Horticulture entries to the main marquee between 8am and 9.45am, as well as your scarecrows.
We look forward to welcoming you all on to the field on the 27th.
Sophie Brewill
Chair, East Bridgford Horticultural Society
Village Show Update May 2015
Saturday 27th June 2015
Theme: In the Garden
Village Show 2015
Saturday 27th June
Theme: “In the Garden”
When the committee voted on the theme for this year’s summer show, ‘In the Garden’ was an out-and-out winner, and now that spring is here and we’re venturing outdoors, it’s easy to see why. You only have to walk around East Bridgford (as I do often with my dog, Cookie) to see the care and attention given to the gardens in this village, as well as the popularity of the allotments. So – no pressure – but we’re expecting a pretty impressive display of home-grown produce in the horticultural marquee this year!
The horticultural and homecraft categories will be listed, as usual, in the show programme which will be sold around the village at the end of May (watch out for our door-to-door team in their distinctive orange shirts). They’ll also be displayed in the window of the newsagents, the notice board outside the Post Office, and also on the village website at www.eastbridgford.org, so there’s no excuse not to enter!
The same theme runs through to the fancy dress and scarecrow competitions, but don’t just think flowers – it can be anything you might find in the garden. So, as well as flowers, we’re hoping to see butterflies, fairies, gnomes, frogs, birds – and plenty more. Remember, the parade starts at 11am from St Peter’s School, where the pipe band Seaforth Highlanders will once again lead us all up Main Street and onto the showground for the start of the show.
There’ll be some fantastic raffle prizes on offer (tickets are being sold on the programme rounds and will also be available on Show day), as well as prizes for competition winners. If you’re entering the scarecrow competition you’ll need to display it outside your house from Tuesday 23rd June, but please bring it to the showground on the Show day.
There’s lots planned for an exciting Show day, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Sophie Brewill
Chair, East Bridgford Horticultural Society
Village Show Update March 2015
Saturday 27th June 2015
Theme: In the Garden
Preparations have started for the 2015 village show, so make sure you’ve put the date – Saturday 27th June – in your diary as it’s going to be another fun-packed day for all! Top of the agenda at our recent meetings has been the main arena entertainment, and we’re delighted to announce that this year we have lined up the following:
H&M Dogs
The most original, fast-moving dog display team on the circuit! Their act includes 30 minutes of non-stop entertainment with fast-moving agility, speciality retrieving, jumping through hand hoops, picking colours at the request of the audience, a high-jumping spectacle, and much more!
Dako Flyers
Always a favourite at the Show, The Dako Flying Angels are back to wow us with their gymnastic talents.
As usual, around the showground there’ll be a selection of stalls, food and refreshments, music, and the return of the Morris Dancers. For the younger visitors we have a bouncy castle, Punch & Judy, go-karts for primary school age kids, and a rodeo ‘sheep’ for – well – anyone who fancies being thrown around! There’ll also be circus entertainers, an inflatable obstacle course and slide, and, new this year, an inflatable ‘bungee run’. Come and find out what that’s all about!
We hope as many of you as possible will enter our competitions; we have the favourites, including fancy dress, egg-throwing and the dog show, and our scarecrow competition is back for another year. And, of course, we’re looking forward to all your Homecraft and Horticultural entries, too. Entry details will be in the show programme, coming out soon.
Sophie Brewill
Chairman
Show Update - December 2014
On the slightly later than scheduled date of Tuesday 11th November, Village Show committee members met for the first meeting of the 2015 Village Show. Our venue was the Reindeer Inn, and although it hadn’t officially opened at this time, new tenant, Martin Hallam and his wife Emma were happy to open the bar for us and give us a sneak preview of the newly refurbished pub.
Numbers were high around the table, and in addition to the familiar faces we were pleased to welcome Adrian Driver, Neil Morton and Roz Howie onto the committee.
The agreed theme for the 2015 show is ‘In the Garden’; an appropriate choice for such an event, and hopefully one which will inspire you to bring in your home-grown products for judging, build your best scarecrow and put on your fanciest fancy dress. Don’t just think flowers – birds, bubble bees, fairies, flowerpot men, butterflies, garden gnomes – the list is endless. We had a fantastic turnout for the parade last year which made for a memorable start to last year’s show, so let’s do it again, and remember, we want to see the adults dressing up too!
You may wonder why all the planning starts so early when the event isn’t until next June, but from past experience we know that booking the entertainment promptly is essential if we’re not to miss out – we clash with Glastonbury you know!
So the preparations are well underway and we’ll keep you posted with our progress.
If you have any suggestions or ideas you want to put to us, please drop me an email at brewill@btinternet.com.
For stalls, please contact Simon Christensen at christensen@hotmail.co.uk.
Finally, from the success of last year’s show we are delighted to make donations totalling £2,675 to the following village organisations:
St Peter’s Church (plus Kneeton Church)
Methodist Church
St Peter's School
Pre-School Group
Mother and Toddler Group
Junior Football
Guides
Scouts
Brownies
Village Hall
WI
Garden Club
Care Group
Wildlife and Biodiversity Group
We are also pleased to donate the village Christmas Tree and lights and would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.
Sophie Brewill
Chair, East Bridgford Horticultural Society
VILLAGE SHOW AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Village Show committee was held on Thursday 18th September in the WI Hut.
Chair, Sophie Brewill, congratulated the committee on achieving what they had all set out to do last year - to provide an exciting day out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Show. The additional expenditure spent on entertainment and decoration had indeed made it a memorable event, with a record 3,679 visitors through the gates and plenty of positive feedback. Her words were followed by the Treasurer’s report, presented by Huw Cadwallader, which showed that the finances were in place for the 2015 village show and for making donations to selected village societies and other causes.
The Officers for the 2015 Village Show are:
Chair: Sophie Brewill
Vice Chair: Rob Bendy
Vice Chair Liz Meylan
(continuity)
Treasurer: Neil Morton
Honorary Auditor: Max Teare
Secretary: Andonnia Baseley
The date of the first committee meeting for the 2015 Show is Tuesday 4th November, venue to be confirmed. If you are interested in attending please email the Secretary on andonniab@gmail.com.
Finally, the committee expressed its thanks to retiring Treasurer Huw Cadwallader for all his hard work and commitment to the Show, and to Martin Waring and Lisa Hampson, who are retiring from managing the Bar and Pimms tents respectively. All have held these positions for a number of years and their time and effort has been greatly appreciated.
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