Page 7 - Simply Veg 1 2024

and Simon had also put together a very entertaining quiz. It is now being talked about as the “impossible quiz”, but what fun we all had. It certainly put our knowledge to the test, from music in the 70’s, to the depth of oceans and also gardening. It was a very enjoyable evening with, dare I say, a fair degree of competitiveness, fun, great food , drink, banter and chat, Thank you Simon.
My last Show was the Midlands Branch championships at Malvern and for the first time in many years I was able to attend on the exhibitor’s side, rather than the organizing and setting up side. It felt very strange at first, but it meant that I could have a long, enjoyable walk around the showground, whilst our new, hardworking team took control. On the Friday evening
I attended yet another social gathering in a local hostelry... more food and drink! As Mark and I had put the bikes on the back of the campervan, we spent the Saturday cycling around the Malvern countryside, something we have never been able to do in the past.
Although I missed the Scottish Branch championships, I’m not going to leave them out, and as I write this report at the end
of October, I intend to go to their annual Seminar held in November.
The support that everyone gives to all our NVS shows is so appreciated, whether an exhibitor, an organizer, host, sponsor, visitor, steward or judge... the list is endless, a big thankyou to you all.
Now, I don’t know whether you have noticed, but there is one common denominator to all these weekends away and that is the social evenings. Not only do we enjoy growing and showing vegetables we also enjoy food and drink and a good chinwag with our other like-minded exhibitors.
Over the last few weeks, the weather has been the dominant factor. We have had plenty of rain and strong winds where I live, and the River Severn has flooded as usual, not as bad as some other areas of the UK, so I hope you have all come through it unscathed. So now, whilst we dry out and keep warm on our Winter evenings, I do hope some of our members are enjoying our new programme of Zoom talks. Thank you to all who have volunteered to do a talk and to Raymond for organizing it all.
News from the Trustees
The Society’s 2023 AGM took place at Newby Hall on the first day of the National Championships. Attendance was good and the minutes will be published as usual, ahead of the 2024 AGM, in the summer edition of Simply Vegetables magazine.
The existing committee members who were due for re-election for another term were happy to be re-elected. In addition, Sean James Cameron of Southern Branch was elected as our first social media Officer. He is very welcome and has begun by posting interviews, photos and videos from the National Championships and AGM awards ceremony, all of which have been well-received.
Following the AGM, the autumn Trustee’s meeting took place on 10th October. The first task was to co-opt Welsh Branch member Andy Wall, who has volunteered to take on the role of Webmaster. Andy will be working closely with Sean to create a strategy for the website and social media and we’re very excited to see where this takes us!
Norman Dickinson reported a continuing upward trend in our membership numbers, mainly as a result of hard work by all the volunteers who were busy this summer, attending
a multitude of shows across the UK
and Ireland. We’re currently looking at how we can best support the DAs and Branches in attending events, in terms of further standardising the availability of resources and publicity materials.
The new expenses policy and claim form have been added to the Resources section of the website. They are designed for use by all NVS volunteers and will help the Society comply with the guidelines on good practice issued by the Charities Commission and HMRC.
The Trustees are also reviewing
how the Society should continue
to comply with the Data Protection
Act 2018 (“GDPR”). Assisted by our support organisations, the Society holds a significant amount of data, related to everything from delivering Simply Vegetables magazine, to on-line payment of prize money. It is important that we maintain robust systems for protection of this data in the rapidly changing digital environment.
Vice Chair Raymond Higgins is well underway with organising this winter’s programme of Zoom talks. These begin on 15th November with David Thornton, who will tell us about the growing of exhibition shallots. Keep an eye on the website and social media for details of the rest of the programme, and how
to attend. The talks will be recorded and added to our website library as a members-only benefit.
Thank you to all exhibitors who return the survey on National Championship class quantities. The deadline for return of the survey forms was extended to capture feedback from some exhibitors, who had missed the paper copies distributed at shows. The results will be discussed by the Trustees at meetings scheduled for 24th October.
A full report on the National Championship is included later in this magazine. Our Sponsorship Manager Chris Spree has been busy liaising with our generous sponsors to confirm 2024 discounts, membership benefits and class sponsorship. The date for 2024 National Championships has been set as 21st to 22nd September, and the venue will be the South of England Autumn Show at Ardingly. This is a new venue for the NVS, and we’re looking forward to it.
Simply Vegetables 7
RAYMOND HIGGINS FNVS, NATIONAL VICE CHAIR
Free Seeds
We are delighted to report that, in the SPRING edition of your SV Magazine, Medwyn’s of Anglesey will be providing a free packet of Romanesco seed, variety; Navona F1, for all members and this seed will also be
required to be used for Class 26, The Chairman’s
Challenge Shield, at the 2024 National Championships in
Ardingly. Your Spring edition will contain an article with hints and tips on how to grow this wonderful vegetable along with your free packet of seeds.