Battle of Flowers in full bloom at Saumarez Park
A BIG family outing with a lot of tradition and heart is how the person in charge of organising the North Show described this year’s event, which is a traditional feature of the Guernsey summer.
Thousands of islanders flocked to watch the 98th North Show’s highlight, the Battle of Flowers Parade, yesterday afternoon.
The president of the Northern Agricultural and Horticultural Society Committee Gary Trimbee-Laine was delighted with the turnout.
‘It’s fantastic, the numbers are up on last year so we’re more than happy, and the weather has just been superb, the quality of the floats gets better year on year, so it’s a lovely family occasion.
‘It makes Guernsey, all three shows are different, there’s a different feel to each, but we’re all trying to keep tradition alive.’
As in previous years there were not many floats made of real flowers in this year’s parade, but in every other class there was an increase in entries.
‘We’re celebrating our agricultural and horticultural past, it’s about the importance of our culture and tradition, we really want people to carry on making floats and entering craft and produce in the tent competitions.’
The show, which has its roots in agriculture and horticulture, has expanded its appeal considerably over the decades.
Foodies loved the food tent, where the best of local produce was on show, lots of people were tucking into fare from the fast food vans, alongside ale-lovers slurping refreshments in the drinks tent.
Since the North Show began, the Second Guernsey Company Boys Brigade Band have performed, this year again leading out the Battle of Flowers.
‘It’s the longest event we do and we practise all year for it,’ said captain Steve England.
Fifteen members of the band, ranging in age from 15 to 78 years, took part to kick off yesterday’s Battle in the sunshine.
‘We love doing the shows and performing, we’ve opened the Battle of Flowers every year, except for two occasions.
Around 60 members of the Guernsey Majorettes aged between 4 and 15 years old were also part of the parade.
One of the leaders Kirsty Broome said they had been training hard. ‘We’re coming to the end of our performance season now, and this is one our big events, we’ve already been around twice and they’re still happy and raring to go, it’s very exciting for them.’
The organisation of the show was exceptional, from the yellow flag-waving parking attendants to the blue T-shirt wearers with ‘committee’ written on the back.
Tony Falla, 74, picked up the Senior Prix d’Honneur trophy on behalf of the Northern Warriors, who have won the grand title 10 times since 1983.
‘The three of us are the masterminds behind our float [The Three Little Pigs] – myself, Ian Lewis and Rob Lihou.
‘It’s a bit of an addiction – once you’ve done the Battle a few times you keep coming back and getting the youngsters involved so they continue the tradition.’
Despite multiple wins, Mr Falla said he never expects to take home the trophy. ‘You never know what you’re up against until you come down to the park.’
See all the photographs taken during this year's North Show on the Guernsey Press Picture Store by searching for the North Show.
