Thousands flock to ‘best ever’ Cheese Show

Story posted on September 26, 2012

THOUSANDS of people turned out for Frome’s Cheese Show, which has been hailed as the ‘possibly best in the show’s 130-year history’.

Show Secretary, Brenda Scott said, “It will take some time before we have an attendance figure and confirmation of the amount raised in ticket sales, both in advance and on the gate, but almost whichever way you look at Frome Show 2012,
it was quite possibly the best in its 130-year plus history.”

Brenda credits the show’s success to the sheer amount of stalls and events that were set up to entertain all ages.

She said, “There was unprecedented interest in what was going on in the Cheese Pavilion where a host of imaginative promotions and a fantastic array of products from all over the UK and from further afield, were set to draw the crowds to enjoy a feast of cheeses and other dairy products that was bigger, better and busier than usual.

“With stands sales up, all of our trade stands were sold well in advance and specialist marquees like the Fine Food Hall and the Local Food Hall were bursting at the seams. We had to increase the size of the Local Food Hall to cope as there was such a strong call on space and with advance ticket sales going through the roof, we had to order a re-print to cope with demand. We had record entries in the vast majority of show classes and competitions so everything was pointing to Frome Show 2012 being a massive success.”

“Tables in the show’s Cheese Pavilion were heaving under the weight of hundreds of different types of cheese and other dairy products, including those competing for the Global Cheese Awards.

The Village Green saw a whole host of events put on to entertain the crowds including stunt motorcycles, pony club games and ferret racing. In the main ring there was show jumping competitions, carriage driving and hunt beagles, along with races for scurries and shetland ponies.

Hundreds of sheep, cattle and goats competed for honours in the Livestock Village.

Radio 2’s Nigel Barden was in the Cheese Bar, which mixed Somerset’s finest products, cider and cheese.

“All we had to worry about was the weather and that was, in the event, just fantastic, with the morning mist clearing and leaving us with what was in many ways a perfect summer’s day even though we are now in the autumn. Even the chilly night on Friday worked to our advantage as it helped keep temperatures down in the Cheese Pavilion,” says Brenda.

“It’s ironic that in a summer where so many shows like ours have had to be cancelled because of the rain, the roadways on the showground at West Woodlands were so dry that we had to spray them to lay the dust.

“As it was, visitors started pouring in through the gates as soon as they opened and the flow of people into the showground continued well into the afternoon.

“Our thanks must go to every one of those stand holders, to our sponsors, to the thousands of people who entered competitions at the show, to every one who helped in any way and, of course, to all our visitors, many of whom had to patiently endure long traffic queues before they could get into the showground.”

Congratulations to Ms M Lucas, who won a family ticket to the Frome Show after entering the competition in Issue 360 of the Frome Times.