It was the "Growers and Gardeners" AGM this evening.
In no time at all, the official business was duly completed and all the committee members were unanimously re-elected.
Then it was on to the main event for the evening, a talk and slide show by Mike Davey.
Mike is a highly-qualified, and experienced scientist who, for many years worked for Nottingham University at its Sutton Bonington Campus.
For around 8 years, up to Covid-19, we had a Village Show in Cropwell Bishop and Mike was our judge for all the exhibits that had been grown.
It was during those years that Mike worked alongside the Show Committee each September to endeavour that all went off smoothly – and it always did.
Judy Thomas was a member of the committee and Mike maintained contact with Judy during the years of her illness which took her life earlier this month.
Mike put into writing his memories of Judy and has given me permission to repeat them below:
As a fellow gardener, I first met Judy when the newly formed Cropwell Bishop Gardening Club invited me to talk at one of their meetings and shortly later when your members visited our garden in Ruddington for afternoon tea.
Judy and others invited me to give subsequent talks to your gardening club. I always enjoyed the way Judy chaired the meetings in her organised and friendly way, encouraging everyone to take part to improve their gardening interests.
It was always a pleasure judging at your Horticultural and Village Shows and to discuss with Judy and colleagues the entries. Judy’s baskets of vegetables were always delightful; they reflected her artistic skills and her attention to detail.
She led by example and was full of encouragement for everyone, especially children, as she recognised them as our future gardeners.
I especially enjoyed seeing her wild-life cottage garden with its wonderful display of insect-friendly flowers.
I last met Judy when she visited our garden again during the summer of 2022 with members from Cropwell Butler and Cropwell Bishop.
In a quiet moment we talked about health problems; Judy emphasised the need to keep pressing ahead, to initiate new projects and to keep as active as possible even during very demanding times.
Clearly, a lady of immense courage and determination. Everyone will miss Judy so much, but I know we will retain fond memories of the time we spent together.
It was a great privilege to have had the opportunity to know her.
Thank you Mike for your kind words.
Back to this evening. Mike could have happily talked about plants, but he has a wide range of interests and is forever involved in village projects in his own village of Ruddington.
This evening he shared his passion for country walks in this area of South Notts that we all live in. With numerous slides and an informative commentary, we were treated to a tour of off-road routes and sites that I, or one, never knew existed – and all within half-an-hour of Cropwell Bishop.
Here are a few pictures captured from the show.
Tony Jarrow