Annual Honey Show – 12th November 2014
Those who attended last year’s show will remember that our judge made some quite pointed comments about our standards! This year’s competitors left that last-minute jar at the back of the cupboard and submitted some serious entries.Our judge, Ivor Flatman, thought the level and number of entries was very good. Amongst his comments were:
- The “Yorkshire pound” – in the squat pound jars, if you can see daylight between the top of the honey and the lid it will be a tad short of a pound of honey inside.
- Candles need to be in a holder so they can be lit safely.
- One candle was wet and Ivor couldn’t light it, so it had to be disqualified. Its owner (you know who you are) put his hand up to this – he had washed the dust off it – much laughter at this!
- Martin Ainsley’s winning heather honey was noted as particularly excellent in terms of stability – so that when the jar was tilted the honey stayed where it was within the jar. This proves that it was not “blended” with other nectars from the surrounding forage area.
The serious side of the evening was leavened with tasty refreshments – thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute – and by John Thompson’s entertaining quiz.
Congratulations to the winning quiz team of Tim Brenchley, Ann and Bob Parnaby and Paul Taylor, who well deserved something tasty in their stockpot.
The winner of this year’s show were:
- 3rd place sharing was Alan Johnstone & Peter Allanson with 11 points
- 2nd place with 14 points was Martin Ainsley
- 1st Place with 16 points was Mary Ellwood
- Alan Johnstone won the John Fuller cup with his wax weighing over 1lb
- Martin Ainsley got best exhibit for his heather honey & with that he also got the best jar of honey.
You can see photos of the entries here. Do come to the Honey Show next year on 11th November – it is a fun evening but also a great opportunity to learn about producing excellent honey.
