A Boiled Egg

 I’m only going to share one story about the Flower Show

Ive done it to death over the last week.

But this story is about the power of feeling a part of something.

Of joining in.

Of community.

Eirlys is a friend of mine. She’s like me, not built for fashion or elegance and is at her happiest mucking our her hens in a tired old jumper.

She is the first to say this, before you reach for your keyboards.

Anyhow, it’s been a very tough year for Eirlys. Her husband died in the winter and like many, rural widows, she’s been a bit isolated and all rather flat.

Yesterday she came and chaperoned the arts and crafts judge to help me out.

She also entered the boiled egg class in the cookery section, an event slightly fraught with difficulties as she arrived a whole 24 hours too early clutching said boiled egg on a plastic plate. 

After realising her mistake , she spent yesterday early morning boiling scores of eggs before turning up at the right time but in a rainstorm, laughing but stressed

“I ve dropped me egg in the street” she shouted at everyone when she walked into the hall but with a bit of cajoling peeled it before arranging it on a plate alongside the nine other entries.

She left just before the cookery judges assessed the eggs, with all the forensic detail of a coroner, she was happy that she had played her part.

After the show, I dropped off to her farmhouse with the egg. She had entered a vase of flowers too which I returned too; flowers she had picked from alongside the hard shoulder of London Road. And before she could draw breath I showed her First Prize certificate for Best Egg!

She laughed hard and long and almost seemed suddenly overwhelmed by the happiness and fun of the whole day. 

It was never about the egg,

How could it have been?

It was all about sharing, and company, companionship 

And being a part of something, ever slightly bigger than yourself and your own worries

The Trelawnyd Flower Show

The Manleys

Cameron with his prizewinning succulent 

Me making a final speech

Jo and ian

The family who brought the Hall’s original plans were guests of honour 

Hattie, Adam and Pippa

The hall’s original plans  brought as a gift of the day

Debbie the vegetable judge

 

Enjoy

 I’m buggered and have just sat down with a very VERY large Spanish Sherry.

Dorothy is licking my feet and all is well

In just three hours, Ian and I with just two helpers set up the whole show after the day care kids had left the hall at three.

In previous years six hours was the general timescale 

True I had a mini meltdown because the classes where run anti-clockwise instead of clockwise , but I pulled myself up by my bra straps and stopped my mini strop 

With the school children’s art entries and their novelty vegetable productions mean that our entries number is heading towards 450

Enjoy the video

A little gem by ex villager kelda 

Update 2

 

I’m in between jobs and have an hour and a half window before we set the hall up for the show. There’s a children’s activity day booked in the hall today and they finish at 3pm

That means we have to set up the whole show in three hours 

The exhibits start coming in at 6pm

Yesterday we has 220 exhibits entered

By some good fortune today, we have now have just over 400 total 

How good is that?

Update

 

Well Roger is exhausted 

As I’ve been , baking, and cooking, and constructing novelty vegetable animals and making up hamper prizes, a busy line of villagers has called my name over the kitchen wall in order to drop entry forms in or to donate to the raffle hamper. 

To date we have 220 exhibits booked in!!!!!!!?and enough food to make two luxury food hampers .

Roger has got so excited at the number of visitors he’s bounced himself stupid saying hello to everyone and now is laid out on the carpet with his tongue flopped out and his legs jumping at dreams of multiple cuddles with happy strangers.

He’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever owned 

Deadline for entries is noon tomorrow 

I’m overwhelmed with the support for such a little show 

Thank you to blogger Meanqueen too for her support,  your gift was generous and gratefully received 

Building Up For The Show

It was humid and barmy last night and I sat on the patio for two hours towards dusk sipping some Spanish Sherry, a friend gave me as a gift to remember Barcelona by. 

The Sherry was decanted into what looked like a small Kilner jar and was smuggled in from Spain in hand luggage .

I felt rather pissed when I got up to receive Flower Show entries from Animal Helper Pat and Sue T from London Road.

The Chinese lanterns cheered the wet patio up between showers

Agapanthus, always a showy bloom

The dogs left me though and filled the trendy blue sofa in the living room.

Today I’m baking my “ Against Terry” items for the flower Show

Terry should be doing the same

.

Auntie Glad and her scones 

We are incredibly competitive and have been going head to head in the baking class  since 2010 

Ideally I should be making my scones fresh the morning I needed them like auntie Glad used to do… mind you she once made 70 scones in one morning before the flower show when she was in her early 90s without drawing sweat. I’m making 5 for my challenge against Terry and I’m sweating cobs! 

We are going head to head in the quiche, scones and fruit cake . 

The cut off point for entries is Friday morning and I’ve already received 140 so far including a single bloom from Bethan from Byron Street who had to be talked into sacrificing one of her beloved blue agapanthus.

Terry and I at the last flower Show four years ago

 

 

Other People’s Lives

  I don’t get a lot of rest in Flower Show week.

It’s my second night shift at work and I’ve had broken sleep.

Di from Choir dropped off two jars of jam to be entered as she is away on Friday.

I’ve always relaxed the rules for the benefit of more entries, and am happy to put exhibits in for absent supporters.

I dropped off a cake tin too.

One of the Going Gently characters had asked for it last week and I bumbled into her kitchen like a tubby teenager not initially realizing that she had been crying.

She busied herself inside the pan cupboard and wiped her eyes with her apron.

And I pretended I hadn’t noticed

We talked about the death of Mad Organist of Father Timothy’s recent death ( He was the vicar of nearby Dyserth) and of the Flower Show, of Singing in the Rain and the fact some scrote had stolen two planters of busylizzies that had been donated by the TCA from London road.

As I turned to go I asked her gently if she was alright.

And she nodded bravely through a watery smile

“I will be” she said quietly 

After The Rain (feat. Rachael Wooding & Tom Deering) (Live)

 It’s Yorkshire day today

So says Gabby Roslyn on radio 2 this morning.

I was driving home from work and she was banging on about nothing

She didn’t have much of substance to say about God,’s Own Country

I think I know parts of Yorkshire well.

I lived in York between 1986 and 1989

Then Sheffield between 1989 and 2006

I miss the counties very much 

York was my equivalent time to a young man’s university days 

But I grew up in Sheffield…..

In so many ways