Saturday 13th August 2011 saw the annual Summer Show in Framfield and Blackboys take place on the Recreation Ground and in the Memorial Hall. Framfield resident Simon Toyne, author of the novel Sanctus, opened the show at 1.30pm in bright sunshine.

The array of sideshows was wider than ever, some in the long-standing tradition of the show such as Hoopla while others given a modern twist like Bowling for an iTunes voucher. The central arena saw a continual sequence of participation events and demonstrations headed by Deb’s Dancers and followed in turn by Tugs of War, assorted races and ending with the Pig Pat Lottery (Winner Sue Dipple). Mrs Back to Front expertly entertained the children while Newick Folk provided a gentle musical accompaniment to the afternoon. Kathy Gore, Vice President of Framfield and Blackboys Horticultural Society said “I thought it was an excellent show which once again saw a mix of all ages enjoying a very traditional and special summer event for the community.”

Luckily the sun appeared at 10am and this brought the crowds out with the largest ever number of people through the gates at over 1300. With a range of food and drink on offer to sustain the visitors, many stayed for much of the afternoon to enjoy both watching and parting with cash. “Given the weather at 6am this morning, we are so pleased with the huge numbers who put their faith in the weather and came out to enjoy our new bigger show.” said Terry Everitt, one of the organising committee for the show.

The show continued to centre around the 127 classes of competitive exhibits from flowers and vegetables to crafts such as embroidery, poems and cookery. Despite the weather earlier in the year, the number of entries was up on last year to over 620. The results summary is included below.

Our Fun Dog Show, as ever, drew a large entry of over 100 dogs with judge Kate Legg awarding Best in Show Pedigree to Gill Peacock’s “Jamie” and Sue Tubb chose Simon Muxworthy’s “Fudge” as Best in Show Novelty winner. Best Local Dog was Luke Gearling with “Jess” and the Junior Handling classes were won by sisters Maddie and Abbie Draper with “Bruno”.

The organising committee would like to thank all those who participated in any way, from helping set up the event on Friday and Saturday to staffing stalls, exhibitors and the show’s sponsors, NFU Mutual, Uckfield. As Jenny Bacon from the new organising committee said “What a Show! We had the exhibits, the crowds, the fun and the weather. We just could not ask for more. The new expanded team of helpers made a real difference and helped take some of the pressure off of the Show Organisers.” All in all, a true, traditionally English success.