Shopping Extravaganza

Plantspeople and Nurseries 
in great quantity for the plantaholic purchaser

The Three Counties Showground offers the perfect opportunity to shop till you drop in one location - and a beautiful one at that. Where else can you experience the equivalent of a major shopping complex out in the open air than here in a dedicated venue, with such a variety of goods to choose from. Particularly plants of course. For after all, the Malvern Autumn Show is dedicated to the harvest; and that surely relates to sowing and growing. My list of things I want to look out for grows by the minute, the nearer the weekend of September 27th and 28th looms. Maybe it's the same for you, too.

Food stalls always attract large crowds - be prepared with 'cool bags' 
for such perishable commodities as local cheeses and fresh meat

With the Showground divided in roughly seven themes, you can rest assured that there will be something to suit the tastes of every visitor. (And that of course includes you!) To run through them again - you will find a celebration of food, gardening, harvest and nostalgia, each with their own shopping areas; and SHOPPING itself. The 'live' shows also all have their ancillary stands and sales pitches, as do the refreshment areas, plus the undercover halls. Wherever there's space for a stall, you're sure to discover something that takes your fancy. 

Nostalgia in so many areas of the Showground

The thing to do is to come to the Show with an open mind - setting your heart on exactly what you want to find might lead to disappointment. I was surprised last year by just how much I could discover related to my second love (mixed-media art), and in unusual places - antique fabrics (in the nostalgia section), handspun yarns, knitted jackets, retro-kitchen furniture, and crafts of so many genres. Not in just one location, but throughout the Showground. Snap up what you see when you see it - I was disappointed that the beautiful hand-knitted cardigan I fell in love with had been sold by the time I went back to where I remembered seeing it. Maddening.

Enjoying the 2013 Three Counties Caravan Show, and the local area

And before I forget, there's a special offer for those of you who might like to bring your caravan or motorhome and wish to visit the Autumn Show, the Three Counties Caravan Show the following weekend - AND stay on site for the days in-between, during which time you can enjoy exploring the local area. Camping for ten nights!  Or call 01684 584924.

My socially created postcard celebrating 
the 2013 Malvern Autumn Show

This final preview for the 2014 Malvern Autumn Show has been my 'swan-song'; it is time for me to move on to pastures new. I leave you with a reprieve of the 2013 harvest celebrations (my 2013 collage, above), and thank you for following all my posts for various Malvern shows over the last two years. If you enjoy reading my show-related stories, why not follow one of my personal blogs - maybe "Grandma's Eco Gardening Notes" - which will lead you to other garden-related pages, and my blogs on travel and creative mixed-media art (amongst others). It's been good to have you with me since January 2013; maybe our online paths will cross again sometime.

On the way home ... but not quite the end of an era

Actually, I will still be visiting the Showground and writing my show-stories, but not in preview, and not during the actual Shows. Instead they will appear as time-capsules in the spaces in between. I cannot imagine ever forsaking the Hills. I could not; for they have in fact been a major part of my existence for the last fifteen years or more.

Cookery to the fore - an experience not to be missed

The Wot's Cooking purpose-built Cookery Theatre

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. If you have never experienced a cookery demonstration organised and presented by the Wot’s Cooking team, then you have missed a truly memorable experience. For a start, husband and wife team Katie & Glyn Johnson have their own fully-equipped mobile demo kitchen: all mod cons and purpose-built to allow everyone in the audience to see and experience what is happening live, on stage. Whilst Katie ‘presents’, Glyn is  behind the scenes taking care of the ‘technicals’. Last Autumn, I was so captivated, I could have spent the entire Show watching and thinking food.

Presenter and compere,
Katie Johnson of Wot's Cooking

This year sees an even more eclectic programme - with the Wot’s Cooking theatre at the heart of the ‘Taste It’ section of the Show. Featuring a range of knowledgeable practising chefs (some appearing at Malvern for the first time), who could fail to be inspired by the delectable selection of specialties they will be showcasing?  You will need to check your Show Guide for exact times. Bookmark any of the following …

Watch bread being made in the Cookery Theatre, 
and then buy something fresh and tasty - 
there's such a selection from which to choose

Appearing twice on Saturday (27th) is Rob Swift of Swift’s Bakery from Clee Hill, whose family have been baking artisanal and speciality breads since 1863. Rob is fifth generation and passionate about the bread-making process and their wide range of finished products: white, wholemeal and brown, French, international, speciality, and a particularly tasty-sounding ‘healthy eating’ range. Rob’s demos are always fun, and afterwards you can visit their stall to stock up on whatever takes your fancy.

Liz Knight at last year's Show

Also twice on Saturday’s bill of fare is Liz Knight of Forage Fine Foods. She uses ingredients plucked from her garden and local Herefordshire hedgerows. What a pleasure to discover that you don’t necessarily require expensive ingredients to create a feast when what you need is right there on your doorstep. Liz makes flavours and special seasonal treats, loving the taste of wild ingredients and the thrill of discovering new combinations of flavours - her products are a celebration of the best of the wild, adding a new, wildly irresistible dimension to home cooking.

Always popular - take your seats in good time, ladies and gentlemen

Whilst compiling this preview, I learned from Katie Johnson that Chris von Landkammer - head chef at The Elms in Worcester, is the most widely travelled chef that she has ever engaged to work with. Not in terms of Malvern to Worcester (a mere hop) but from as far afield as New Zealand. If the hotel website is anything to go by, you’ll be in for a treat, for he infuses many of their delectable dishes with touches of Asian cuisine garnered from his experience in the Far East.  Using the freshest of ingredients, and fruit, herbs and vegetables from The Elms’ extensive kitchen garden, he conjures up a daily smorgasbord of fabulous meals. What will he offer us in the Wot’s Cooking kitchen?

Calling all vegetarians - oh so tasty (pumpkins to the fore)

For the vegetarians amongst you, Lizzy Hughes of  Our Lizzy Cooking - a Malvern-based vegetarian cookery school - will be there to entertain you on both Saturday AND Sunday. She enjoys using a wide range of locally grown seasonal produce and loves exploring new ingredients whilst developing new recipes. She says, “Autumn is my favourite time of year. I especially love trying out different pumpkins and squash as they work so well in vegetarian dishes.” At the show she’ll be demonstrating a three course Autumnal feast will a warming Roasted Pumpkin and Chilli Soup, Squash and Spelt Risotto, Hubbard Squash and Fava Bean Casserole. (Lizzy also loves using fruit and will show the traditional Malvern Pudding using apples from her own tree.)

Fish - a refreshing change?

Tom Court of Sticky Fig Catering will be appearing twice on Sunday (28th). Established in 2013, their services have grown to include event catering, from intimate dinners to large celebrations, to weddings and parties in the privacy of home. Their aim is to provide the best quality food and service at all events, creating memorable experiences for guests. Sticky Fig is committed to sourcing the best local and sustainable produce from local suppliers whist being mindful of budget. There are bound to be plenty of useful tips from this midlands-based chef who is used to cooking for clients or with them in their home kitchen.

From seed to plate: metres rather than food miles

Andy Link - the award winning head chef, gardener and bee keeper at The Riverside Inn, Amestery (a rural Herefordshire restaurant) - aims to create a true hub for local seasonal produce, showcasing the best the area has to offer. As part of this the chefs have developed over an acre of land to create traditional and experimental vegetable, fruit and herb gardens - which even include their own bee hive. These working kitchen gardens are an essential part of their facilities, offering chefs the opportunity to experiment with different ingredients and plant types, whilst introducing new flavours alongside a great level of freshness, The result?  Some dishes travel only metres, not miles.  Andy says that during the Malvern Autumn Show, he will be “discussing the sustainable way in which the restaurant uses this seed-to-plate approach to create a few seasonal, home grown plates of food using only ingredients from the restaurant grounds."

Oh the shame of it!
 Even journalists have to eat!

Watching food demos is hungry work, or at least one craves food afterwards, or at any time of the day. There are plenty of refreshments on offer around the Showground, clearly marked on the map that accompanies your Showguide. As these are all conveniently located, there’s no excuse for not stopping for a bite and a cuppa – indeed, your visit may well benefit from so doing when you arrive, allowing you time to glance through the Show Guide and formulate a plan of what you most want to do; Cookery Theatre timetable included. Familiarisation can save time and possible frustration, allowing you to pack far more into your day out.

All images are copyright - with thanks to all the photographers who have co-operated with me to produce this cookery preview.


Just to remind you: Show opening times on both days are 9.00am to 6.00pm and there’s a free shuttle bus from Great Malvern rail station. There's also no charge for standard car parking.  Book your Show tickets online, or phone the ticket hotline (01684 584924). More next week - so do bookmark this page.

Taste it! Glorious Food at the Malvern Autumn Show

Local produce to tempt you

Fresh and local is the key for FOOD at the Malvern Autumn Show – and why not when it is held in an area so renowned for some of the finest produce this country has to offer. From fruit to vegetables, meat to pastries, preserves to sweetmeats and bread to chutneys, the three counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire benefit from an equable climate and a tradition of excellence in food production.

Doing the Continental -
tasty morsels from far afield, as well as local to Malvern

But being a cosmopolitan nation, the Autumn Show attracts exhibitors from far and wide, and beyond our island shores as well. Whether it's chillies or olives, continental meats or curries, or something even more exotic, your taste buds will tempt you to go sampling in the various areas of the Showground devoted to TASTE.

Let them eat cake! (It was delicious, too)

Head for the Avon Hall where the WI (Women’s Institute) are staging a ‘Bake Off and Crafts-Village Show’. It’s also home to the celebrated ‘Festival of Food and Drink’ and all related exhibitors; dozens of them. Come early if you can, these stalls will be packed, though the vendors never seem to run out of produce. Moving from stall to stall, your shopping bag will soon be bulging! And there are plenty of stalls to whet your appetite in other locations, notably a Local Arts, Crafts and Food Market sited on the hard-standing  area off Row 2 between the Wye and Avon Halls. 

Wot's Cooking with Katie Johnson and baker Rob Swift

Centre stage in the Avon Hall will be Cookery Theatre where Wot’s Cooking (with lovely Katie Johnson) will be hosting a series of cookery demonstrations throughout the Show. The theatre itself is a work of art, and Wot’s Cooking use different stages for the various events they attend around the country. The Autumn Show schedule is currently building, but following his appearance at 'The Malvern Royal', baker Rob Swift will be returning on Saturday with his entertaining bread making demo;  the Swifts family Bakery  celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.  Also on the Saturday, Katie has a super chap demonstrating all about fish including identification and sourcing (Tom Court from The Granary Restaurant, Shenstone, Worcs). On the Sunday Liz Knight, a fascinating foraging expert from Herefordshire, will feature ingredients she has foraged for in the lanes and at her home, and no doubt at the Showground too. We’ll provide an update on other demos as news arrives.

Refreshments courtesy the WI at reasonable prices

Watching food demos is hungry work, or at least one craves food afterwards, or at any time of the day. There are plenty of refreshments on offer around the Showground, clearly marked on the map that accompanies your Showguide. As these are all conveniently located, there’s no excuse for not stopping for a bite and a cuppa – indeed, your visit may well benefit from so doing when you arrive, allowing you time to glance through the Show Guide and formulate a plan of what you want to do. Familiarization can save time and possible frustration, allowing you to pack more into your day out.

Joe Swift (left) learning how to cook in the Good Life Pavilion (2009)

Hosting both days in the Good Life Pavilion (alongside the edible show gardens) will be the inimitable Joe Swift conducting an audience with Mary Berry – Saturday only. Mark Diacono, from his Otter Farm smallholding in Devon, will also be appearing: head gardener at River Cottage and author of the amazing ‘Taste of the Unexpected’, he is both knowledgeable and amusing.

Have a coffee when you arrive, or before heading home
(or at any time during your visit)

Shop till you drop! But if you’re seriously stocking your pantry and even freezer, do remember to bring along a cool bag, or even an icebox. More previews will follow in the weeks leading up to the Show. But please note that the images used were taken in previous years, and as every year is different, with different themes, there is no guarantee that a specific exhibitor will be at Malvern in 2013. Oh, and don’t forget to book your tickets now and save money – which of course you could spend on food !!

More good eating from other Malvern Shows
Don't miss this year's Autumn Show - 28th & 29th September, 2013

All images are copyright Ray Quinton and Ann Somerset Miles.

And now ....

We are between Shows, looking back at, and assessing, the last - and forward to the next. As this is an interim post, we thought a photo-collage of each would provide a reminder of the one, and an opportunity for you to buy tickets in advance for the other.

My final collage from the many images that I and my 
photographer husband took during 
the 2013 Royal Three Counties Show

The ‘Royal’, as it has become known, or to give it its full name - the ‘Royal Three Counties Show’ was a roaring success, as 95,000 people came from all over Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and beyond, to enjoy the very best of British food, farming and countryside! Show organizer, the midlands-based Three Counties Agricultural Society, said it was delighted that its newly titled event had gone so well, and that it was looking forward to building on that success in the future. (A date for your diary: Next year’s Royal Three Counties Show is set for 13th-15th June, 2014) – three jam-packed days of family entertainment and fun, all in celebration of our great British farming world and countryside.)

Previewing this year's Malvern Autumn Show - more to follow
in the weeks ahead. (Images courtesy Ray Quinton)

And so to this September, and the ‘Malvern Autumn Show’ – 28th-29th September, 2013. A veritable feast for the senses in more ways than one, focussing on a true celebration of harvest: food, the countryside, gardening - and nostalgia. It’s a show for food and gardening lovers, and hosts a range of gardening talks, vegetable displays, cookery demonstrations, vintage tractors, crafts and, as ever, so much more.  I start Show Previews in earnest next week, so do keep visiting to discover all the various aspects being arranged for your enjoyment. Click here for advance ticket sales.

Royal Three Counties Show - Final Day

Bright sunshine here on the Showground, and as I haven't yet 
mentioned horses, I took this around 8.00am

My last post from the Show here at Malvern; a beautiful day and the 'backdrop' as lovely as ever. Ir's been busy on all parts of the showground; I just wish I had been able to share more with followers of this blog. But if I sat in the press tent all day writing, I would have nothing to report!

from Busking vicars to glow-worms!

My Sunday collage is a mixture of what I have seen and done - Jack's Blog covered the farming side of things, though I have sneaked in a couple of animal images, and will post a final collage of farming pics once back home. Animals, plants, shopping, and not forgetting the Orchid Show (the plants middle right were grown by schoolchildren).

A true champion

But my abiding memory of the Show was seeing two very small boys with their daddy; the boys carrying sleeping bags, the father a picnic bag with thermos. It was Friday evening and they were going to spend the night in the livestock pens with their animals. Dedication, love and care surely sum up the farming community. What will 2014 bring?

Royal Three Counties Show - first preview

Previewing the Royal Three Counties Show
(food, farming and countryside)

Welcome back to those of you who have been following my gardening posts, and ‘hello’ to those of you who are joining me for the first time. Ann’s Malvern Jotter (this Blog) now encompasses other activities on the Showground.

Much more to entertain visitors than just food and farming:
The Red Devils in tandem as they descend towards the main arena

I’ve been visiting the June show every year for as long as I have the gardening shows. Of course, it wasn’t the ‘Royal’ then, but plain ‘Three Counties Show’. In its new guise (and since the demise of the royal event at Stoneleigh), the Malvern ‘Royal’ is growing; so much so that it now utilises almost every square metre of the 98-acre showground. Bursting at the seams in fact with a profusion of fantastic activities to inform and entertain you. I will need all three days to see it all!

There will be six food
and cookery demos
every day

Food, Glorious Food: Billed as ‘the best of British food, farming and countryside’, I am concentrating in this preview today on the food aspect. Centrally placed within the Showground is the ‘Regional Food & Drinks Village’ in the Severn Hall. Included in this spacious permanent building, and in no particular order, will be artisan food stalls; the Three Counties cheese competition – open to producers in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire and neighbouring counties.

Feeling hungry? Stalls to buy local produce will tempt you ...

Meat lovers will enjoy the butchery demonstration from EBLEX plus the Three Counties Cider Show together with a People’s Choice competition; local cider makers selling their produce and giving tastings; education on cider and how to make it, plus cider making equipment; a new class for Hotels and Restaurants and a stand featuring the HEFF Diamond Food award winners 2013. Additionally, farmers’ market stalls will lead into Severn Hall from Avenue F to create the Food Market. (For the uninitiated, EBLEX: the organsiation for the beef and lamb industry; HEFF: Heart of England Fine Foods.)

Cookery Theatre hosts
Glyn & Katie Johnson

Returning to the Show will be the immensely popular 'Cookery Theatre' (also within the Severn Hall) featuring local chefs and products in an immensely packed programme of demonstrations. The theatre programme will be hosted by experienced broadcasters, Katie & Glyn Johnson of ‘Wot’s Cooking’.

The 2013 Cookery Theatre in the Severn Hall 
(image copyright Wot's Cooking)

Reading through the advance list of what is on offer in the Cookery Theatre is tantalizing. On Friday 14th: Robert Swift, a 5th generation baker, who has recently opened his own artisan bakery and baking school in Ludlow, producing some of the most delicious and inventive breads imaginable. Vegetarian Cooking ideas will be demonstrated by Lizzy Hughes who runs ‘Our Lizzy’ Cookery School in Malvern Link – discover how to prepare simple, tasty, nutritious food. Daren Bale of The Hop Pole in Bewdley, recently recognised for his commitment to cooking by Worcestershire and Warwickshire Life Magazines, will feature Cooking Local & Seasonal; Rayeesa Asghar Sandys runs Herefordshire’s first and only authentic Indian Cookery School from her home in Mordiford and is a regular at Herefordshire Farmers' Market.

Bread - a necessity of life

Saturday 15th: Daniel Jones – All About Chocolate – worked at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage but his real love is as Master Chocolatier and Owner of 'Daniel Jones - Artisan Chocolatier'. Felice Tocchini – Ready Steady Cook; Felice has appeared on numerous TV programmes including The One Show, Countryfile, and The Gadget show as well as in the media worldwide for his innovative creations. Robert Swift (Artisan Baker) also returns on Saturday.

Cider, fruit juice and
perry all on tap

Sunday 16th: Steve Brown – head tutor of the cookery school at Daylesford Farm; following years of cooking in Michelin-starred kitchens, Steve followed his passion for local, sustainable, organic food, allowing the ingredients to do the talking. Matt Slocombe – It Has To Be Local – serves the very best food and drink that Herefordshire has to offer at the traditional Crown Inn, Woolhope; he is a huge supporter of the region’s produce, especially the cider! Daniel Jones reprises ‘All About Chocolate’.

Starting young - chefs in the making

A Recommendation: With less than three weeks to go until the opening of the Royal Three Counties Show, may I suggest that you purchase tickets now, for advance purchases come for as little as £8.00 per ticket (based on advanced family ticket price) – tremendous value for a grand day out for families: food, shopping and entertainment – and not forgetting the farming side of things.

All the fun of the fair - and Adam Henson (second left -
presenter of BBC Countryfile) will be
at the Show on Saturday 15th June)

And if you love Malvern and their shows as much as I do, it’s worth considering purchasing Showground Membership for yourself or family, or as a gift for friends. For this, you obtain free admission to three Show days in total per year, VIP Parking, Members VIP Areas at the Malvern Spring Gardening Show, Royal Three Counties Show and Malvern Autumn Show. Most importantly save some money!

Up close and personal with the sheep

I’ll be back in two weeks with my second Show preview, and look forward to welcoming you again, Meanwhile, do also follow the posts of sheep-loving young farmer Jack, in Jack’s Blog. And for all aspects of the Show continually updated visit the Royal Three Counties Show website.