Fears that the warm, wet and windy spring of 2024 would leave us with sparsely populated show benches were thankfully proven unfounded.  There were 175 entries in total from 22 members and it was lovely to add some new names to the Spring Show exhibitors list. Although some members reported that their daffodils had "been and gone", there were still some pristine examples to enjoy across all the classes. Competition in the "Totally White Bloom" and "Bi-Coloured" classes was particularly strong with eight entries in each.  There were five individual first prize winners across the section but Ann Achow won both the Robert Gorham Cup for best exhibit and the Society's Cup for most points in the daffodil classes.  The warm spring meant that there were plenty of tulip entries to admire and Jane Wells won the Howard Smith Cup for her entry as the best exhibit in the Miscellaneous classes.  These classes also reminded us of the diversity to be found in our spring borders.  There were charming vases of mixed cut flowers on the bench which included fritillary, leucojum, erysimum, cerinthe and euphorbia.  Examples of flowering shrubs added further colour to the mix and the Evergreen class demonstrated how much variety and interest foliage can bring to the garden.  The Martin's Cup for most points across the Miscellaneous classes was awarded to Lindy Bates.  

On the cookery bench, the competition was very close and three joint first places were awarded across the classes.  Millionaires Shortbread featured in the competition this year, a welcome suggestion from one of our members, and it proved a popular class.  There were also some beautifully decorated Easter biscuits which prompted the judge to comment that they were "too nice to eat"!  Although the first prizes were shared between five members, Jan Page heroically entered 11 out of the 12 cookery classes and was awarded the Durrant Cup for most points overall.  There was also an Easter theme in the juniors section with two beautifully decorated eggs from Theo and Oscar, who shared first prize.

In the floral art section were small arrangements with the titles of Easter Egg and Bursting Bulbs.  The skill here is to scale down both the size of the arrangements and size of the flowers and foliage.  Janes Wells did this to perfection and rightly won the Pat Billington Cup for best small exhibit.  The larger arrangements featured Book Title and Easter Bonnet.  The book titles were very imaginative and there must have been close competition between them.  Bruna Christoff's Swallows and Amazons won the day with the excellent interpretation of this children's favourite.  The Easter Bonnet had to be created with no oasis and was quite a challenge but lots of fun.  The trophy winning entry very nearly didn't get to the show when it was discovered that glueing leaves on a plastic bowl results in black lines appearing on the leaves.  However, rapidly applied first aid resulted in Lindy Bates being awarded the Society's Rose Bowl for best large exhibit.

In photography the titles were New Life and Bird(s) in Spring.  The judge confessed to being envious of the winning entries in both classes and was very complimentary about the improvements in composition he had noted, compared with previous shows.  He certainly enjoys his role as a judge and was very keen to encourage more first time entrants to have a go in the coming year.  Winner of the Photography Spring Cup was Phil Reeves.

In summary, the show was another successful day allowing members to come together to share their enjoyment of gardening and enjoy a chat over tea and cake.  Our thanks go to everyone involved in the planning and delivery of this event for our members.