Page 20 - ALG Issue 4 2023

RHS Hampton Court Show
This year the NAS were back at RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival. This is the largest flower show in Europe, and we manned the stall from 3rd – 9th July, plus setup on the 2nd. We had literally a carload of leaflets and magazines to give out, plus a great selection of Kings Seeds.
The stall was manned by a fantastic
crew of volunteers. We had at least
four volunteers on the stand each day, mainly from London region but also from Southern, plus help from Tyler at Head Office and NAS Chairman Mike. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, despite the alternating rain, heat and very long days. Everyone had a chance to wander around the show. You get a noticeably friendlier response from other stalls if you are wearing an exhibitors pass too, and we were able to make some good friends and contacts. It was my first show for the NAS, and I thoroughly recommend volunteering for NAS at a show!
Our stall was located by the allotment show gardens, all of which were excellent. The winners of the Best Community Allotment class this year were Bagshot Infant School with Dig For Victory. This lovely plot was inspired by the school’s recent resurrection of their old vegetable garden to teach the children about growing plants and food. I was told that the children grew all the plants (perhaps maybe with a little help from Mr Barker), which shows that you are never too young to start. We were very lucky to have some of the children visit our stand to pick some packets
of seeds donated by our wonderful partner Kings Seeds.
By the time the show closed on Sunday, we were all shattered but happy.
We were all astounded at how many people we had spoken to and how positive everyone was about NAS and allotments in general. The team fielded all kinds of questions, including; how
can I get an allotment? What are the waiting lists like in my area? Does self- management work? What’s happened to my tomatoes? (No, they shouldn’t do that) or do you know what this white spider is? (Wow! haven’t seen one of those before). Oh, and probably the most frequently asked, “where is Carol Klein’s garden?”.
Keith Meakin, NAS London Region Chair and Governance Committee Chair
By the time the show closed on Sunday, we were all shattered but happy.
20 Allotment and Leisure Gardener