The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Events => Scottish Smallholder & Grower Festival => Topic started by: marka on September 28, 2013, 06:48:47 pm
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Just got back from the show and wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed in making it a grand day out, with an even bigger thank you to Rosemary for her fantastic efforts in getting everyone together and organising everything so well.
Already looking forward to next year.
Many thanks All.
Mark, Kirsty & Macey
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Totally agree, fab day out and a perfect show
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I just had a brilliant time. I saw some apples being pressed and drank the juice, got to try milking a goat which was brilliant experience even though I couldn't do it with my right hand and developed a love for four-horned Hebrideans. :love: Guttingly my camera memory card developed a fault when the hebs were in the ring looking properly magnificent. Also saw lots of other gorgeous animals and spoke to lovely owners, seller, spinners and fruity people.
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Sounds fab, didn't make it due to child related chaos, but will definitely be there next year. Well done Rosemary and team.
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Ooops - Thanks to Dan as well, of course.
Regards
Mark
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Thanks Rosemary for a great day. The event was well organised and very interesting, lots to see and do. We had lots of visitors to our Dexter stand ,plenty of interest in the cows. Thanks to all your helpers too. Doreen and Dominic.
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Yip had a great time learned a wee bit about pigs today, most impressed by Hebridean wool lady, the Castlemilk Moorits, the Black Welsh mountains, and lots of others to many to mention. Met some wonderful people, I am knackered but today has fired up my enthusiasm and given me loads of ideas. How lucky am I.
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Good day nice wether fantastic stock well done
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Thanks to Carol (fifesmallholder) I was able to come along and sit at the Central Scotland Smallholders stand. met a lot of lovely people. and just had a wee wander round the stack hall, and manged to watch a class of sheep being judged. Pleased to see Archie and Fiona get 3rd and 4th in what i thought was a strong class. Only there because I wasn't well enough to travel south for my club weekend, but I think the dates are different next year so I am hoping to be there for the whole day. Another fine Festival, well done Dan and Rosemary.
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Glad you all enjoyed yourselves - but Dan and I are cogs in a wheel.
Karen (happyhippy) was utterly awesome - I don't know how she does it - as well as running the Garden, Craft and Kitchen section, she did the Large Black and Kunekune breed society stands, had her sister selling nettle cordial and soap on her own stand and never stopped smiling (well, almost never ;D ).
Bruce (HHs OH) on the pigs, Andrew on the poultry (he's being promoted next year), bigchicken - what a guy; bloomer and Nat in the demo areas; Sue (Cheviot), in demo and on the prizegiving, Tina (mintytwoshoes) and her OH, Martin, Claire, Beth (ballingall) - goat steward extraordinaire and she also had time to win the goat Championship :trophy: , Mandy (milly molly), Cath (tiva diva) in the office, Drew Dougans on tickets, and Alan and Martin in the tradestands and office and everywhere.
You were just all wonderful - we couldn't do it without you and we wouldn't want to :thumbsup: :hug:
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:wave: had a fab time. Great to meet mr and Mrs Bloomer and fab family ( ESP big son :thumbsup: ) and HH with her lush nettle juice and cakes :yum:
Came looking for Doganjo but couldn't see her :wave: sorry I couldn't find you.
Bumped into Rosemary almost literally as she came out from the tannoy room :wave:
Notices SITN hiding behind a large fleece, too late I saw you :roflanim:
Who is the big chap in combats?? Seen you at auctions too. Must be a TASer surely :thinking:
Spent lots of time ogling over the rylands and Jacobs :love:
Spent too much money in the hall and came home with some good ideas after time in the demos.
Thank you all who were involved :trophy:
All in all a fab day :excited:
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I can only agree with everyone else! My son and I had a great day yesterday and we're delighted to bring home a couple of red tickets with our hens. We're already looking forward to next year. Lanark market was a great venue too.
Well done to all envolved, everyone was very helpful and welcoming.
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It was a great day, and thank you very much to the organisers to split the goat kid classes!
One disappointment though was the lack of any artisan food producers who last year sold fantastic lunchtime fare... where were the wild boar burgers, or speciality sausage hot-dogs, or even just the proper coffee (van)man... So lunchtime was a bit limited to the usual food on offer at agrishows, and only one icecream van -there are quite a few really good ice cream makers in the Borders and Dumfriesshire... but that's just a wee gripe
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One disappointment though was the lack of any artisan food producers who last year sold fantastic lunchtime fare... where were the wild boar burgers, or speciality sausage hot-dogs, or even just the proper coffee (van)man... So lunchtime was a bit limited to the usual food on offer at agrishows, and only one icecream van -there are quite a few really good ice cream makers in the Borders and Dumfriesshire... but that's just a wee gripe
I've got to admit it was disappointing for me too, smallholding is so much about producing wonderful food, be it fresh eggs and vegetables or lovingly reared meat/dairy products - I would have loved to have had them all there like last year (and there were plenty of willing would-be stallholders with a staggering array of artisan products)
Unfortunately due to catering arrangements already in place, Lawrie & Symington do not allow any external food vendors to operate in the market :-[ In order for it to happen there, it had to be that way.
But your comments are noted Anke ;) and we will be feeding back to L&S after we've gather all the info.
I just want to say thank you to everybody. Everyone who visited, helped, (hugged or gave me a hard time ;)) smiled and enjoyed the day, all the exhibitors and their wonderful animals and produce - YOU make the Festival what it is, we couldn't do it without you :-* :-* :-*
I am pooped today.....my body aches and I feel drained (maybe because I cleaned out my big shed earlier when already feeling rough ::)) the aches will fade, but the smile won't - it was a great day and I can't wait for next year.
Let the organising commence ;D ;D ;D
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Lovely day, lovely atmosphere, lovely people, lovely livestock :excited: ;D :spin:
Because I needed to collect a spinning wheel that Rosemary was couriering for me (thanks again Rosie :-*), I was sitting on a bench knitting at the very end, as the last bits of clearing up were happening. So I can also report that the Mart staff loved it too - one came to me to comment, "25 minutes after closing, and they've picked up every last bit of litter." She looked awed and very happy.
Maybe they'll want you back so much they'll help you get creative on the fresh food / produce for next time.. ;) Just saying... :innocent:
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It was a great day, and thank you very much to the organisers to split the goat kid classes!
Really glad you had a good time. :thumbsup:
One disappointment though was the lack of any artisan food producers who last year sold fantastic lunchtime fare... where were the wild boar burgers, or speciality sausage hot-dogs, or even just the proper coffee (van)man... So lunchtime was a bit limited to the usual food on offer at agrishows, and only one icecream van -there are quite a few really good ice cream makers in the Borders and Dumfriesshire... but that's just a wee gripe
Please tell us through the Festival feedback form if you have the time:
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=37854.0 (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php?topic=37854.0)
We'll be collating all of the feedback and reviewing it internally and with the venue.
As Karen says the food was an issue for us too, and we're working on a solution for next year. All feedback helps. :)
The challenge is that almost all of the large markets have catering contracts. Anyone who was at the Taste of Grampian event at Thainstone this year might have wondered why with such a fabulous range of food producers in attendance the only hot food you could buy was from vans - it was due to the same issue. :(
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Is it always going to eb at Lanark from now on then? Not swinging with Forfar?
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Ohhhhhh, I just love swinging in Forfar :roflanim:
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Wish I hadn't read all of these comments. I am so jealous.com
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I had a fabulous day too, though its always a really busy day. I'd love to be able to be everywhere at once!
Everyone worked very hard, and for me I didn't see everything that every person does, but (after Dan, Karen and Rosemary obviously) I thought Andrew and Martin in particular did a fantastic job. I think you should promote both of them Rosemary!
I do have feedback (on different topics, some of it picked up from other people). My mum had a good day out too, she met 2 people who kept goats years ago that she knew, one of whom had come down from Strathpeffer! She said she felt she had more time to talk to people than at other shows.
My show was made by the scruffy chicken I pulled out of the hen house actually winning first prize! That was better than my goat winning the championship I think. ;)
Annie, didn't realise you were there, I'd have come to give you a hug! :hug:
Beth
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It was a great day and completely exhausting, but so worth it. It's so short a time ago that the 'shall we have a Scottish Smallholders event?' question was raised, and look at it now 8) Two shows under the TAS belt and already it's an established event. Then to realise it's all run by volunteers - it's truly amazing. I loved seeing all the redcoats busily keeping things on track, as well as all the stewards in their boiler suits. Well done every one and well done all those who travelled so far to get there. I wonder who had the longest journey. Brucklay told me it took her 5 hours each way. I wonder if anyone came further than that? (It took us less than 20 mins to get there - I feel almost ashamed at our lack of effort :-[ )
So a huge 'well done' to all of you who made the show happen and made it run so smoothly. The rest of us can only imagine the effort and time you gave to enable us all to have such a good and valuable day out. Thank you all :notworthy:
I just wish I had had more time to look around the rest of the show and to get to some of the demos. :fc: I will be there next year but without sheep so I can wander around to my heart's content.
Mr fw and I felt there were a couple of issues worth sorting, especially if the show is at Lanark again next year, mainly to do with signs. We have already mentioned some to Dan at the show, and will fill in the form at some point too. Obviously it wasn't a problem for us to find the event, but others did comment to us that there were no signs on the road to direct folk who don't know the town. Dan has explained that finances are involved here, and just what the Council will allow :( but I think it's worth investigating further what is and isn't possible.
The other signage problem we felt was for those unfamiliar with the mart, especially those who have never been to any mart, in other words members of the general public. We rarely had time to venture out into the front foyer, but we felt there were far more people there than seemed to find their way through to the penning areas. It's not all that obvious really where you need to go and how to operate all those gates and avoid ending up stuck in a pen ::) We thought some BIG signs to show the way, and maybe horse tape (or bread crumbs :innocent: ) to mark a route through the pens would help for next year. Also perhaps red coats moving people through and publicising the stands and stalls which were through there. I suppose the mart might not be happy with us putting up giant signs, but it's worth discussing.
I put this on here rather than only on the comments form to see what the rest of you think? You need to put yourself in the position of someone who's never been to a mart before and doesn't want to make an eegit of themselves.
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I think it will need a bigger venue than lanark forfar with good food like thainstone lanark was full next time there will be more trade stands .people was susing it out some of the sterling lot were there .just a thort
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people was susing it out some of the sterling lot were there .just a thort
UA or Caley?
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I've not been in the UA mart, but the Caley is way too small and pokey for the festival
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Caley marts have got planning permission in for a tesco's and if they get it they are building a new site on the edge of stirling somewhere - think permissions just in so might be a while
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Much more pleasurable and calm than the hysterical auctions. Agree with the above comments (and on the food stalls) but would have liked to have seen the stick making and the like in a central area so that 'passers by' could view it informally.
Nice to meet Claire (Brucklay) at last and Big Light. Would like to meet more of you - we need a light bulb or something for next year :D
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would have liked to have seen the stick making and the like in a central area so that 'passers by' could view it informally.
We did it in a more informal way like you suggest Amanda last year in Forfar. Unfortunately it was almost impossible for the speakers to be heard above the general 'hubbub' of the day and so we took the decision to move them into the conference room at Lanark to try and make it a better situation for speakers and audience alike. We're still collating feedback so will wait to see what we're going to do next year depending on everyone's thoughts :innocent:
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I asked before but got no answer - is it going to be Lanark again next year?
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I asked before but got no answer - is it going to be Lanark again next year?
Don't know yet - we'll take some time to review the feedback on Lanark, look at what other options we have, and then make a considered decision.
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stick making and the like in a central area so that 'passers by' could view it informally.
Do you mean the craft competitive classes, Amanda, as opposed to the talks?
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I think it's great, a lot cleaner than some Marts I've been in. :innocent: But I wasn't at last year's festival so have nothing else to compare it with. Hopefully I'll be fit enough to see it all next year! :excited:
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Rosemary, HH, I think I meant like at Forfar (I wasn't there) but I understand what HH says. Just thought it is good to have a 'central' arena for something to be highlighted - a bit like when you go to the Highland Show and they have a fishing highlight or a logging highlight - just a focus every half hour or so perhaps with microphones - it causes a bit of a buzz and noise about the place making it feel exciting. Don't think I'm wording this very well, sorry :-\ no offense meant, it was a good day out. Think the kids would like to see a bit more 'action' though, oh I'm making it worse now :-\ :-[
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It was lucky the weather was lovely - saw kids playing outside and getting ice cream. Mmmm fancy some now - off I toddle to the freezer yum
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It was lucky the weather was lovely - saw kids playing outside and getting ice cream. Mmmm fancy some now - off I toddle to the freezer yum
It wasn't at 6.30am when we got up frozen after the night in the van... despite extra blankets. Well it was not too cold inside the van, but getting up when it was still dark and quite misty... thankfully Beth had a kettle and some cups plus teabags organised, and at a mart there is always a socket somewhere... it really helped! (and I get more organised next year!)
Thanks Beth! :thumbsup:
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I wish it had been rainy :gloomy: as I didn't like missing such a lovely summers day :sunshine:
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Rosemary, HH, I think I meant like at Forfar (I wasn't there) but I understand what HH says. Just thought it is good to have a 'central' arena for something to be highlighted - a bit like when you go to the Highland Show and they have a fishing highlight or a logging highlight - just a focus every half hour or so perhaps with microphones - it causes a bit of a buzz and noise about the place making it feel exciting. Don't think I'm wording this very well, sorry :-\ no offense meant, it was a good day out. Think the kids would like to see a bit more 'action' though, oh I'm making it worse now :-\ :-[
:hug: It's alright, I think I know what you mean ;) And no offence is taken ;D :-*
Karen x
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A great day for me and my Portlands! Lovely to see so many friends there. I'm sorry that I didn't have any pigs to show (though if I had I wouldn't have been able to help out as much, which I really enjoyed), hopefully i will next year.
I echo the comments about the food.
I was shattered on Saturday evening, so I can't imagine how exhausted Rosemary & Dan must have been. Well done, everyone :thumbsup:
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Thanks a lot Rosemary Dan Karen and all the other helpers, we enjoyed it and it was good that a lot of people came by our stall and the CSSA stall and were interested and chatted about small-holding. The only new TAS person I identified was Victorian farmer who I had a chat with about my sheep. No doubt I saw a lot of others incognito. I would like to give a special mention to the man from the market with the beard who was organising the sheep showing. He was excellent and helped me so much as a novice to showing. He must have been exhausted too at the end of the day! It is a problem being on a stall that you do not get to see all the other things properly and miss out on the talks etc.
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I would like to give a special mention to the man from the market with the beard who was organising the sheep showing. He was excellent and helped me so much as a novice to showing. He must have been exhausted too at the end of the day!
Raymond Aitken - a hero, in my book.
And didn't YOU do well in the fruit and veg :trophy:
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Can I say that the 2 of us and a friend travelled down to the show last week for the first time.
We missed last year at Forfar due to other things.
Very good indeed.
The talks/seminars/demonstrations were excellent especially:
-Small scale cattle keeping
-Making a profit from your smallholding
-Optimising grassland
-Stickmaking.
And its great to see pig classes in Scotland. I think the RHS are missing a real trick there.
And hopefully there may be cattle classes in the future?
Many grumbles have already been raised food, internal signage etc.
On a personal note, I think that a slightly more central location might be better (Stirling or Forfar).
Its a shame that Perth Mart closed as it would have been good.
What was the attendance like compared to last year? I heard from a couple of folk that it was perhaps slightly quieter this year but I cant say as I wasn't at Forfar last year.
A huge congratulations to the organisers and those on the ground during the day - a job excellently done.
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Mrs Sskye and I travelled down, which took a while, but as we made a wee holiday of it (and had a super stay of 3 nights at The Lint Mill :thumbsup: - Thanks Colin and Deborah especially for the 2 x super-yummy evening meals!) visiting Melrose donkey Sactuary (Herself sponsors one and wanted to see him in the flesh), plus a short trip to New Lanark (UNESCO site) and a nice look around the area in general.
Show itself was good. The "sign issue" has been mentioned and also the point regarding the hot Food catering (real shame there was not some artisan hot food) and we were, initially, a little unsure where we could wander in the mart-area as, compared to portree, it's massive :tired: .
A Very Big Thank You to all those involved in the show and, especially, those organising. long may it continue and, hopefully, there is still some rotation of venues.
Rgds
Sskye