Show Time!

It is nearly a month since the Virginia Water Village Show. I have been meaning to post all about this lovely event for the past three weeks but the start of a very busy school year has meant I have been caught up in other things.

However, before I turn my attention fully to Autumn inspired projects and of course, Christmas, I thought I'd share why I love this type of event - the village show....

As I have driven around the local area and further afield this summer I have spotted so many signs for local village shows and I wonder whether the resurgence in popularity for handicrafts and all things vintage has led to a rise in the number of village shows. From here in Ascot to Cornwall during the summer, I have spotted lots of opportunities for gardeners, bakers, jam-makers and handcrafters to show off their skills and their wares.

For the last two years I have entered and won prizes for my knitted and stitched projects in the craft sections of the Egham Royal Show and The Chertsey Show - both of them fairly large in scale and a great day out for the family. This year Summer holiday plans meant that we were away at the time of shows but I was lucky enough to be around to enter The Virginia Water Village Show. This is a much smaller event but it perfectly embodies what a local gardening and craft show is all about.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't love winning prizes for my makes but there are so many other reasons to get involved in these events. They really do bring the community together. There are competition sections for old and young across lots of different gardening, cooking and crafting categories, so there is something to attract all family members across the generations. They provide an opportunity for local experts to showcase their skills and hopefully inspire others to take up a new hobby. There is also invariably a tearoom at a village show, so they are also the perfect opportunity to relax and make new friends over a cuppa.

This year I was delighted to win first prize in the craft section, but I was even more delighted to put my £1 winnings to use by buying this turban squash (modelled here by Theo), from the fruit and veg stall.

We were also given a fantastic recipe for Turban Squash Soup by the lovely lady from the stall, and following a quick trip in to the supermarket on the way home to buy ingredients we made soup to have as a starter with our dinner. Brilliant! There's nearly a whole year until next summer's shows but there is no time like the present to get making. I thoroughly recommend giving it a go!