The annual Hurst horticultural show brought visitors and the local community together to celebrate the hard work of entrants.
The show drew a crowd of 700 people from across Berkshire in its 112th year, even attracting a group of visitors from America.
“Traditional English village life as we imagined it,” they said about the show, adding it was “such a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.”
Frank Whittaker, secretary of the show, said the enthusiasm and popularity for the event grows every year.
He said: “Incredibly, class entry numbers were the highest ever.
“We encourage this, it’s not just about Hurst, and maybe we can go international next year and attract entries from the USA.”
“We are so grateful to the local pubs, restaurants, local businesses and artisan stallholders for supporting our raffle, which enables us to keep our prices low, and any surplus we do make is donated to local charities.”
In addition to awards presented in the vegetable and flower categories, half of the show’s other entries included baking, art and cooking categories like the ‘Ladies-only Fruit Liqueur’ award, won by Abbie Bennington.
The children’s classes also delighted young entrants in the community who received medals and trophies in each category.
A returning highlight of the show saw David Woolford win the hotly contested ‘Men Only Apple Flan’ prize. The winner’s golden crown and apple medallion was presented by Clive Jones, the MP for Wokingham, who was in attendance with his wife, Nicky.
“We are so grateful to Clive Jones, our local MP, for presenting our trophies and awards this year,” Frank said.
“He and his wife Nicky were really enthusiastic, and spent the whole afternoon with us looking around the entries, chatting amongst the crowd and entering into the spirit of the show.
“He agreed to enter his own apple flan in next year’s show; I’ll hold him to this and maybe he’ll be wearing the crown as 2026 champion.”
Speaking after the event, Clive Jones MP said, “I was delighted to be invited to attend the Hurst Horticultural Show, which has been bringing the community together and supporting local charities for over a century.
“I had a lovely time presenting winners with their hard-earned awards, and I hope to be on the receiving end of one for my flan next year.”
