Yapton and District Cottage Gardeners Society show

There were 276 entries for the event at Yapton and Ford Village Hall in Main Road, Yapton, well above last year's total.

These were submitted by 42 exhibitors, eight of whom were showing for the first time at the show on Saturday, October 3.

Chairman Roy Phillips, said: "It was a very successful day and I think we had an above-average attendance for the day, meaning there were about 100 plus people there, which was nice.

"I think this is about the 25th year we have held this particular show and it's always enjoyable."

Highlights in the flower classes at the show included vases of high-quality chrysanthemums and dahlias.

The sections for florets of fuchsias and impatiens were particularly well supported.

There were fine onions, potatoes and tomatoes, but fewer and shorter runner beans due to the dry early-autumn weather.

Apples and pears were well represented and the 'any other vegetable' class featured sweetcorn, chilli peppers and aubergines.

All the exhibits in the heaviest marrow and pumpkin categories were huge, with the biggest being 13-year-old Jack Etherington's pumpkin, brought in by truck and weighing around 400lb.

The cooking class was again very popular, with plum jam, bread and gingerbread on show, and the prizes were well distributed among the competitors.

The flower arranging classes staged good exhibits and were said to be worth the effort of visiting the show on their own.

The photographic classes attracted much interest and discussion, the adult handicraft classes included one for handwriting, and three children competed in a section of their own.

In the afternoon, 120 visitors enjoyed the spectacle of friendly competition, bought winter bedding plants, cakes, bread and handicrafts, took part in the raffle and entered a competition to forecast that night's National Lottery bonus ball.

The kitchen was busy as they consumed several large cakes plus gallons of tea and coffee.

In a non-competitive demonstration, Yapton School submitted 23 pictures by its younger pupils on the theme of My Home, which formed an attractive backdrop to the show when mounted on the stage.

Malcolm Paradine retained the Village Criers Trophy for the most points in the horticultural classes across the society's four shows in 2009.

Alan Humphrey took the Edith Godfrey Trophy for the day's most successful exhibitor.

His vases of dahlias also earned him silver and bronze medals from the National Dahlia Society.

The Deegan Shield went to Mick Minton for the best individual vegetable exhibit, a set of larger onions.

Most successful exhibitor of fuchsias over two shows was Val O'Neill, and she won the Joan Waddington Memorial Vase.

Society chairman Roy Phillips presented the WR Trophy to Joan Jackson as the year's most successful flower arranger, while Tony Bishop retained the Ford Wine Circle Challenge Shield.

Eva Pendreich demonstrated her skills as a photographer to win the Autumn Championship Vase, and her talents in cookery and handicrafts to take the Neil Baxter Memorial Trophy.

Twelve-year-old Olivia Lisle took the Junior Village Criers Cup for being the most successful exhibitor in the children's categories across the four shows.

But the Junior Autumn Cup, for the top children's entrant at the autumn show, went to seven-year-old Eleonore Grimwood.

The village hall in Yapton will host two more society events this autumn.

Judge and exhibitor Peter Collett will demonstrate how to prepare produce for shows on the evening of October 28, then the Yetties folk music trio will give a concert on November 13.

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