The Great Bentley Show

This was a real village show, and the first time I had attended such an event. There was a great sense of community there, and gave a city guy like myself a taste of what life is like out in the country.

The first stall we came across was a cake stall. I just could not believe the array of cakes on display.


They were all home-made, although not by Great Bentonioans, but by ladies from nearby Clacton-on-Sea. Straight away a Strawberry Victoria Sponge in the shape of a heart was bought. It was gorgeous, when ate later with a cup of coffee!!! Luckily, for a change, succumbing to temptation was the right thing to do, as about half an hour later when I looked over at the stall, all the cakes had gone.

As the show went on, the big marquee was opened. This was where I realised where script writes to comedy programmes such as “The Vicar of Dibley” got there ideas from. Its true, they have competitions on about every subject. The biggest marrow, the best tomatoes, best flower arrangement, best home made wine, best cake etc. They also had some funny competitions, such as “animal fruit and vegetables”. I loved this penguin:


Walking around the main marquee, it was quite obvious to see who were the leading lights of the Great Bentley Show. The same names kept popping up. It would have been lovely to have seen who these people were. Also, the judges must have had such a difficult job. Every section had a first, second and third prize. They must have been really full and on their way to having bright red faces after tasting all the homemade wines and beers.

There was also a kite exhibition across the green from the main show.


They had kites of various different shapes, but my favourite display was those in the picture above.

I can’t wait for next years show, and have already made a mental note to look out for it next September