SOMERSET BUDGERIGAR SOCIETY TWO STAR OPEN SHOW

Held at Bridgwater Sports and Social Club on September 4th 2005

Victim’s of our own success

The Somerset club were nearly victims of their own success this year.  Bearing in mind the difficulty of fitting 644 birds into the hall the previous year, mild panic set in as the entries poured in reaching a fantastic 905, far more than we could have possibly expected.  As in the previous year, the show hall was booked for a wedding on the previous evening so we could not erect staging until the morning of the show.  We also had to cope without the use of the adjoining Function Room as it had been double booked and we gave precedence to a christening, not wanting to destroy a young family’s special day.  We knew it was going to be difficult but we had to manage somehow.  The hall and staging were measured and it was decided to erect the staging in the opposite direction to the previous year.  Provided that there was the usual number of absentee birds, there would be ample room for the exhibits, the judges staging and even some tables and chairs for people to sit at.  However, the office and dining room had to be some distance away from the show hall, not a huge problem given the overall lack of space.

Show Day

A tremendous effort from members and friends saw the staging erected in record time and everything was in place well before the birds began to arrive.  The hall was soon filled with the irresistible aroma of sausages and bacon being prepared by our new Catering manager, Sheila Chubb, with the help of members and friends.  These ladies worked tirelessly throughout the day providing breakfasts, roast dinners and afternoon teas.  Many exhibitors took advantage of the 9.15 cut-off for entries and arrived in the nick of time.  In the end there were 759 birds benched and everything was ready and waiting for the judges when they arrived at 9.30.  Once again the brilliant computer program written by George and Paul Burridge enabled the show paperwork to be produced automatically.  It also enabled the rosettes and certificates to be quickly allocated and everything was on the cages well before the public were admitted at 2.30.

As it was a lovely sunny day, the judges and stewards were happy to eat their dinners at tables set up outside the show hall and the rather remote Dining Room was almost redundant.  Once again it was encouraging to see that a large number of fanciers, who had not exhibited birds themselves, helped at the show or came in the afternoon to meet friends and look at the birds.  An advertisement broadcast on the local radio station lead to many members of the public also coming to the show.  Let’s hope that some of them were suitably inspired to enter the hobby.  Once again, we were overwhelmed by the amount of invaluable help provided by members of neighbouring clubs, so very welcome as many of the Somerset members are new to the hobby and for many of them it was their first experience of running a show. 

The show was a great success, even more so than last year largely due to very had work of lots of people who had come from far and wide to help Somerset BS and had also been more than generous with their donations and sponsorship.  We would like to thank everyone who helped at the show, entered birds, gave donations of food for refreshments, raffle prizes and trophies, or came in the afternoon to see the birds and chat.  There are far too many to name individuals – but you all know who you are!  Your help and generosity made the 2005 show the best ever despite the limitations of the venue.  We would also like to thank our judges, George Booth, Martin Bagnall, Mick Freakley, Ian Ainley, Terry Tuxford and Mick Mapston who did a wonderful job for us, and in particular made Brian Sweeting a very happy man when he was deservedly awarded all four of the major prizes.  Brian is enjoying one of his most successful years ever on the show bench, this was his second successive clean sweep of all the major awards.

Due to the massive commitment and generosity by all concerned, it is expected that the show will make a significant profit, which is something very unusual nowadays.