PEOPLE were more than eager to pass through the doors of the St Teath village hall for its 26th annual village show on Saturday, August 13, writes Helen Pusey.

Glenda May, president for 2016, said: “This year has been excellent; if the quantity is down a little the quality has certainly made up for it.”

Tables were laid out with exhibits. There were classes for non-alcoholic drink, a dry and sweet bottle of wine. Classes followed for chutney, marmalade, curd, jelly and jams. All looked very tempting and a hint of their smell came through the cellophane covers. Taste buds were soon starting to respond to the smell of quiche, pasties, bakewell tart and lemon drizzle cake.

There were also many magnificent flower exhibits and classes to see.

In the floral art there was not only a disco theme but also a fairy garden in a four-inch space also a touch of the Great British Bake Off and Rio 2016 of course was bought to the village too.

David Jasper, chair of St Teath village show committee, said: “This year, due to the weather, entries have been slightly less but the quality is still there.”

It was evident that all the competitors had worked very hard to produce their exhibits. Everything looked pristine.

The rules for entry are restricted to people living in St Teath, Member’s of the St Teath Women’s Institute, Gardening Club, St Teath Allotment Association and the schools there.

Children of both the pre-school and primary school worked incredibly hard to produce their artistic work. Judge Mrs Harwood said: “It was almost impossible to judge.”

A 3D model of a favourite story character again encouraged all children according to age to take part in their class. Years 3 and 4 used sticky tape, paint, felt tips, string and straws to create their characters. Year 5 and 6 were both artistic and creative with their use of clay and plasticine.

Mrs Harwood judged and commented that it was: “An excellent class and very hard to pick winners, well done to all!”

What was a very inventive class were the animals made out of fruit and vegetables. A tangerine became a snail in the pre-school class while one competitor from the Year 5 and 6 group demonstrated how an owl could be created using melon for the head, pineapple for the wings, radish and olives for eyes, carrot for the nose and aubergine for the ears. A porcupine made of celery, parsnip and beetroot strolled in to take second prize.

The children continued to be creative with their decorated buns and gingerbread men.

In true Olympic spirit there were gingerbread men donning gold and silver medals as martial artists, created by Paige Allingham.

Miniature gardens, created by the children, showed real imagination.

Soon people took the opportunity to have refreshments and buy a raffle ticket before making their way to the church hall for the other part of this awe inspiring show.

In the handicraft class, exhibits included beautifully made hand knitted items for a child, a handmade scarf and a hand-knitted item for an adult.

A hat for a premature baby was another class. There were around 40 on display.

Anne Perisic said: “After the show has finished the bonnets will go to the premature baby unit at Treliske. There are around 90 on total.”

There was a stunning display of patchwork and one of the judge’s comments was that it was such a pity she could not give everyone a prize.

As well as handicraft there was an opportunity to view the artwork created by both children and adults. There were classes for a black and white sketch. Other classes were a picture painted or drawn in any medium, a picture in oils or acrylic, watercolour, penwash or pastel.

Again there was a chance for the children to be involved with models using Lego and Knex.

Handmade jewellery could be seen, which also incorporated some macramé.

Trophies were presented including those for best children’s craftwork exhibit, best vegetable animal, the best exhibit and most points.