I’ve had a busy week at school so it’s took me a while to write up last week’s event.

Me and Betty Boo !

and what a great event it was. The sun shone all day and it was top!

Judging

My first job was as judge for the junior categories along with the Mayor of Mossley

We judged the following categories

• Wonkiest Veg – check out the winning wobbly carrots!
• Floral Garland – the winner used over 10 seasonal flowers – just gorgeous
• Mr Cress Head – bit of a tough one this as all entries were fantastic
• Vegetable Monster – again all the entries were so imaginative, but in the end we went for the ‘cucumber inspired monster’
• Decorated Cupcake – shame I had to taste these – each and every one!
• Home-made Sweets – this was really difficult ‘cos I liked them all. in the end we had to say, which could we polish off and the chocolate ones won hands down
• Gingerbread Scarecrow – I love gingerbread so I had to be reminded to not eat them all
• Hand-made Bunting – a really creative veggie themed bunting won this one
• Scarecrow Picture made from recycled materials – I really liked that there was a category using recycled materials – some really imaginative entries too
• A tree or flower picture from a handprint – I just loved the winning entry; they used a hand to symbolise the trunk of a tree
• A Painted Pebble Animal – all the entries were fantastic, but in the end we chose this lovely ladybird
• Make A Garden Season in a container – every single season was represented and it was really difficult to decide, because I loved them all
• Hand-made Puppet – some really funky designs in this category
• ‘It’s A Bug’s Life’ Photo – well done to the winner of this category – you had some stiff competition!

Here’s the other judge, Gordon, what a dapper looking Gent! Gordon and Julie judged the fruit, veg and flower categories and then there was all these home-bake entries and booze – for some reason they needed tasting more than once!

Hey my Dad won first prize for ‘5 potatoes on a plate’ – they were new potatoes, the variety, Charlotte and I have to admit they are delicious. He was so chuffed!

My Grandma was the judge in the ‘craft’ section – she said it was really hard because all the entries were really beautiful.

Horticulture Shows are just great ways to celebrate the harvest and also a way of showing off your hard work!

Apple Pressing

Operation Farm have been pressing apples at harvest events since I was 5 and I absolutely love the juice – it’s just delicious! I think they collected over 100KG of apples for this event and the juice was flowing.

It’s a great activity that everyone can get involved in. There’s apple picking, apple washing, apple scratting (turning the apple into small pieces using a machine) and finally apple pressing. They have a commercial press and then this smaller one that the kids can use.

There’s a big army of volunteers who help to distribute the juice; people bring their own bottles and demi johns and other people just sample it in shot glasses – I love it.

There’s zero waste, ‘cos even the stuff that’s left gets taken to a local farm and fed to some pigs #WinWin

Seed Planting

So my main job was to inspire kids to do some gardening. I was really lucky to have been sent some rocket seeds from the RHS Campaign for School Gardening’s Rocket Seed Experiment. Yes that’s right, these were the real deal – the actual seeds that had been up to space with Tim Peake – that was a right crowd pleaser!

I had some freebies too, so when the kids had finished planting their seeds I could give out pencils and stickers. I took along a photo album to show people all the work I’d done as an Ambassador and my engraved trowel, which I won when I was announced as Young School Gardener of the Year.

I really enjoyed running my own stall – it felt great and all the kids who visited (and their parents) were really enthusiastic. I did see some children who didn’t want to join in and at first it disappointed me, but then my mum reminded me that when I go to events I don’t always want to do everything and we are all different – so that’s fine.

Bubble Blowing

So I love bubbles – big bubbles and with a couple of canes and some string you can create monster ones. To give me a break from the seed planting I jumped onto this activity and became the Bubble Professor!!

Recipe Giving

My Mum and Grandma ran this stall next to me. My Mum had bought, harvested and collected all these lovely seasonal veggies and wrote recipes to go with them. Recipes like:

• What to do with aubergines – try Aubergine Parmigiana
• What to do with leeks – try a traditional Leek & Potato Soup
• What to do with squash – try Moroccan Squash and Chickpea Stew

Check out my Grandma and Angie both bonkers!

Just Enjoying!

What a top day – it was an incredibly satisfying thing to be involved in, just a really nice way of bringing the community together #awesome

Next Blog – I’m off to enjoy the best of Autumn at Chatsworth Beyond Limits Sculptures – by far one of my favourite Autumn Days!