Page 12 - Simply Veg 1 2024

Southern Branch Judging Exam
On Friday 6th October 2023 candidates Norman Dickinson, Neil Blumson, Colin Redshaw, Q Dickinson and Ron Nuttall arrived in Hythe, Hampshire to start the process of taking the NVS Judges Exam.
Southern Branch have not hosted a Judges Exam since 2017 and we were delighted when John Trim agreed to head up the team, Ian Clemens and Keith Hine were added to the team to pre-judge and the process began.
Quote from John Trim - Moderator
This exam was my 5th as moderator and
the 3rd in my home village of Hythe in the New Forest at the local village hall. At the last exam I provided most of the vegetables, this year we are very grateful for the support of other growers and exhibitors who kindly donated their exhibits from the RHS Hyde Hall Show. This all made for a very high standard of vegetables in the practical exam.
A date was agreed, and John found
the ideal location for the exam to be held. Keith and Ian took on the job of obtaining as many vegetables as possible and this started with a set of 3 leeks from Jim Thompson at the Malvern Autumn Show.
A journey to Hyde Hall after conversation with Fred and Sherrie Plumb and Rob Holmes to pick up unwanted exhibits after the RHS Autumn Show was better than expected. Enquiries had been made of other exhibitors and when the show closed the process of collating all the vegetables started, not 1 but 2 tables were filled with vegetables and we were lucky enough to be given 8 heads of top-quality celery from Trevor Last, Fred, Sherrie and Rob provided long roots, stump carrots, onions, leeks, cucumbers, cauliflowers parsnips, potatoes etc. and the car was loaded. A long journey home and a late evening wrapping and storing all the produce. A big thank you to everyone who provided us with exhibits for the exam.
A week later the car was again loaded
with the vegetables and the weekend began, a good journey to the hotel and I met up with Ian and Norman Dickinson, we travelled to the venue and the candidates assembled for the Friday evening seminar, whilst Ian and I unloaded and sorted the exhibits.
John Trim is an expert and knowledgeable gardener but also knows where we could go for a good pint and have a social chat after the seminar before everyone departed for a good night’s sleep.
Candidates assembled and sat the theory paper under the watchful eye of John’s wife Sally.
Ian and I started the process of setting out the 8 classes and 2 collections in the main hall, all the vegetables had survived a warm week except the cauliflowers and decisions were made on what the classes would be, the collections were assembled, and John provided more vegetables to choose from along with large onions from Ian. A table was set up with 3 diseased exhibits and the candidates would be required to identify the problem and give details of how they could be prevented.
After the final decisions had been made
Ian and Keith judged the show before the candidates took a well-earned break before judging the classes of 250gm onions, courgettes, potatoes, cucumbers, French beans, parsnips, pickling shallots & stump carrots. The collections contained, celery, potatoes, long carrots, exhibition onions & leeks.
Whilst judging John spoke with each candidate who gave an explanation of the judging process for a class. After a couple of hours everyone had completed the practical side of the exam and goodbyes were said.
12 Simply Vegetables
KEITH HINE
The Presentation of Exhibits
Following the round of last year’s shows, I have become more than a little concerned about the way exhibits are left after judging. I should say at the outset, that this may not be a major or necessarily a widespread problem, but one I believe is worthy of consideration and discussion.
The NVS Judges Guide states that;
The need to handle exhibits in the judging process does not give the judge the right to damage or leave an exhibit
in an untidy state. Exhibits, whether they are in an individual class or a collection should be left, after judging, as they were staged by the exhibitor. The public are looking to see an exhibit at its best when they view, not a decimated dish with which a judge is trying to show the world at large all the fault conditions.
Having judged and visited many shows across the country over the recent season and had the opportunity to speak to fellow judges, I’m concerned that there does
not seem to be unanimity about how exhibits are left after judging or whose responsibility it is to ensure they are.
Perhaps the biggest and growing worry
is the need for some judges to leave faults showing on the exhibits to justify the winner or rearranging the exhibits to show discrepancy in uniformity or other criteria. Whether this is deliberate on behalf of a judge, the steward failing to reset the dish or an unfortunate mistake in handling is debateable. Regardless, it shouldn’t happen.
A judge should have the courage of his conviction, without the need to visually demonstrate it. If he or she are concerned the viewing public might be confused
at the award, there are several ways in which the decision can be made clear. Firstly, the obvious one is to stay around long enough to speak to the exhibitors (not always possible I know). Secondly, you should explain your decision to the steward or show secretary for onward transmission, or thirdly leave a note and/ or pointing card to demonstrate the closeness of the award.
As well as the unfortunate matter of displaying faults, I’m also concerned to note other actions which render a dish not as the exhibitor intended. The most common of which I’ve noted recently is