PEMBRIDGE VILLAGE SHOW 2024

After a gap following lockdown, the village show will be back in its eightieth year. Judith Rogers looks back at the show's past and tells us how to enter.

Saturday 27 th July 2024

Many village produce shows were started in response to the WW2 ‘Dig for Victory’ scheme. Every scrap of land

was used (including the moat at the Tower of London) and there was probably a certain rivalry about how

successful the crops were over a pint. This competitive trait was harnessed with various horticultural shows set

up.

Eighty not out

Pembridge Village Show was also started in response to the war effort. It has been held at the old village hall,

Court Meadow, The Mill and had 35 years at Long Meadow. The year 2019 saw it return to a smaller format on

the Millennium Meadow. Then Covid struck! Now the Parish Hall Committee are taking it back to its roots and

holding a simple show in the Village Hall. It will be the 80 th show to be held in the village – appropriate with the

80 th commemoration of the D-Day landings.

When I arrived in the village in January 2007, I read of help needed with the show in the Pembridge Parish

News and spent a couple of hours each month at the meetings where the indomitable Julie informed us of the

entertainments she had booked. These varied from dog displays, chain-saw carving, a parade of hounds, an owl

and kestrel display, a spinning demonstration – sheep to jumper. There was always a band or choir to entertain

and a bouncy castle for the children. Various stalls booked a slot – from bric a brac to very good pottery. Julie

booked the marquees, organised the trotting races, decided where everything should go. My job as a

newcomer was to keep quiet at meetings and help on the day.

Except it wasn’t a day! Thursday evening, we went down to the field and moved trestle tables and benches

(they were heavy). Sometimes bales were used as ringside seating (also heavy). Friday evening the tables were

laid out in the exhibition tents with plastic covers and marked with the various classes. The bar was set up and

tablecloths put on the tea tables and any cowpats dusted with sawdust. On the day itself volunteers would

assist the judges by keeping score and writing the exhibitors’ names on the first, second and third cards before

placing them by the appropriate entries. The first got three points, second two and third one. This was counter-

intuitive, and it was easy to award 1 st one point and third three – a muddle to be sorted out by Joyce before the

all-important cups were awarded. Sarah organised the rota for the tea tent and volunteers had an hour’s

session (or more if they wished) of making sandwiches and serving tea, coffee and lots of home-made cake. No

dishwasher on site so plenty of washing up to be done – but a good chance for a chat. Sunday was clear-up

day.

Not Hot to Trot

The trotting races were very weather-dependent. If the ground was too hard the ponies could not trot and the

flooding made everything too wet. There were a few years when the trotting races had to be cancelled for

various reasons. Sometimes the gymkhana was also affected. Difficult to predict for a riverside show. However,

in my rosy memory it never did rain on the day itself.

Inevitably there were errors. One memorable occasion the scales had been forgotten for the judging of the

best (heaviest) crop of potatoes grown in a container. A sweet stall holder was approached, and his rather

dainty scales borrowed. Unfortunately, there was a miscalculation when converting grammes to pounds and

ounces which resulted in the person with the lighter crop getting awarded a first. Then, as a final insult, the

winning potatoes were returned to the wrong entrant.

Still, it was lovely to read the judges’ comments, see the excellent carrots, parsnips, onions etc with the Sun

Valley Perpetual Challenge Cup for Horticulture going each year to Robbie. Gill usually received the Perpetual

Challenge Cup for the flower classes and Kate has her name on the Perpetual Challenge Cup for baking.

Families came and enjoyed all the show had to offer and the trotting races, even if you didn’t know any of the

entries, were exciting to watch.

Enter Now

This year there is a flower section, a vegetable section, a home-craft section – knitting, photography, painting

as well as jams and sponges. There is a flower growing and arranging section and lots of things for children to

enter. Schedules are available in the various businesses in the village, which includes the entry form. An an

entry form can also be downloaded from the parish hall website. It costs 50p per entry with prizes of £5, £3

and £2 and the possibility of a cup to keep for a year.

Have a go!

Judith Rogers