IT WAS GREAT TO BE BACK!
West End Village Show 2022
A warm sunny day saw the return of the West End Village Show and a bumper crowd turned out to savour all that was on offer, all made the more enjoyable after a two-year absence.
With entries in a hundred different classes, the exhibition marquee saw its usual vibrant display of quality fruit, vegetables, cakes, jams, handicrafts, photographs and children’s work, much of which was successfully auctioned off at the end of the Show. We thank producers who dealt with a heatwave and drought conditions; and also new families who entered for the first time.
The Arts and Crafts were situated outside the main marquee for the first time and proved popular with both the public and sellers reporting a wonderful day. Joining the return of our favourite regulars, was a variety of crafters including stained glass, quilts and garden ironwork.
The green sported a good balance of food, homewares, charitable and art stalls and it was great to see the return of children’s favourite the Shetland Ponies. Our Smash-a-Plate stall saw record participants this year but, sadly, it wasn’t possible to run Dunk-the-Damsel due to the hosepipe ban.
New to the Show was the Elmbridge Ladies Choir, who proved very popular, along with the classic Epsom & Ewell Silver Band ensuring we were kept cheerfully entertained throughout the afternoon. In addition to our traditional food and drink offerings, it was good to see Winterdown Coffee, Dough Shack and the local ice cream van all doing a roaring trade.
The Raffle was a constant hive of activity with some wonderful prizes on offer, generously donated by our sponsors, local businesses and villagers.
The new ‘Fun’ Dog Show was more popular than ever before. With over seventy entrants ‘Sausage Catching’ and ‘Musical Sit’ proved to be favourites. A fantastic amount was raised for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. Huge thanks to everyone who brought along gorgeous and well-behaved dogs!
You may have noticed that we didn’t erect our usual colourful awnings, which was due to a lack of volunteers and committee members but I don’t think this was detrimental to the overall look or the success of the Show.
It was wonderful to see so many friendly, happy smiling faces on the green and I take this opportunity to thank everyone involved. Without the generosity of villagers when we knock on your doors, it wouldn’t be possible to hire the marquee or afford some of the attractions. However, I need to emphasise that In order for the Show to continue, we desperately need more members on our committee. Please do get in touch or come along and meet us at our AGM on Monday November 7th at 8pm in the Village Hall – we really are a friendly bunch! Contact details can be found on our website
Steve Kelly
Chairman, West End Village Show