On being decisive
It’s been one of those weeks.
A week when I seem to have been here, there and everywhere, in both mind and body!
I was up with the larks on Thursday morning, catching a train to Paddington. I’d been invited to join one of the judging panels for this year’s UK Bus Awards and looked forward to some interesting discussion and, of course, catching up with the latest developments.
First, though, there were submissions to be read. Pages of nominations, mostly written by marketing professionals and occasionally needing a little interpretation. Some raise a smile, such as that describing someone “rapidly cementing himself in". Not literally, I hoped. Anyway, I read them all, made notes and ticked boxes according to the criteria outlined in the award details.
My meeting was at St Pancras, in The Study of The Betjeman Arms. Of course, I couldn’t go there without paying homage to the man himself. He played a huge part in securing the future of this magnificent building and I love the way he is celebrated here.
I also find myself standing and staring up in wonder at the structure!
I can’t say that I feel the same about the other large bronze in the station, The Meeting Place and here I agree very much with Antony Gormley and others. Except this was the first time I had looked closely at the reliefs around the plinth, of which this is one.
Anyway, I had work to do so I moved swiftly on by and into the Betjeman Arms pub at the corner of the station and joined the other panel members for a day interviewing those shortlisted and hearing their presentations.
Later in the day, my work done and on my way home, I stopped by my other favourite statue, this time on Paddington Station, where for a brief second, there was no-one sitting with the Bear himself, having their photo taken.
Once home, I had work to do in preparing my exhibit for Saturday, when a group of trainee judges would be meeting at Stoneleigh Village Hall for their final assessment. Three of them were Interpretation and Staging Judges and a dozen more had been training to judge preserves. The “schedule” stated five items on the theme of a book, song or film title; two craft, a preserve, a cookery item and a piece of floral art. Right now in our garden, flowers are in short supply, so I was glad to spot this bunch of autumn leaves in the greengrocers and thought they’d fit in with my design.
I was there as moderator, steward and general assistant. I think this might be the third or fourth time I have put this particular arrangement together and will admit that the song it depicts has not always been recognised. Perhaps a closer look at the postcard addressed to “Vera, Chuck and Dave” sent from a cottage in the Isle of Wight might offer a clue? Maybe the floral art created from “Doing the garden, digging the weeds,” might help, or, most clearly, the birthday card celebrating being 64? The jam and scones don’t feature in the song, but I needed a preserve and a cookery item, didn’t I?!
Anyway, you get the picture. We quite frequently have competitions in village shows like this, usually where a group of friends team up to get something together. Our judges have been training in colour theory, how to arrange a display and so on, so that by the time of their assessment, this kind of thing is all too familiar.
We each put together an exhibit to be judged. My colleague had a small issue putting her “Peter Rabbit” display together, because her dog had done a bit of damage to her toy rabbit…so it hastily transformed into Squirrel Nutkin! (No-one commented about the relevance of the “rabbit pie”!)
I think we all recognised the bear, even before we spotted the “marmalade sandwich” under his hat or “Aunt Lucy’s Orange Marmalade”.
Of course, when we saw Janet’s exhibit we said what a good idea she’d had to include a copy of the book in her design!
She wasn’t alone in having that bright idea!!
The challenge was to award marks for interpreting the theme and for staging the exhibit, thus finding a winner. Marks are awarded for visual impact, for skilful use of space and for great storytelling with this limited number of items. Everything should be neat, well finished and be within the space allowed too.
Meanwhile, the other group was busy finding the winners in the preserves class. The rules are strict: the jars need to be a certain size, the tops new and unbranded and the labels should have detailed information on them. Not all of these jars might make the cut!
Every jar was opened and tasted so that marks could be awarded for flavour and texture.
The preserves classes include flavoured vinegars and pickles too. Hmm…I might have trouble tasting all of those, not to mention the fermented products such as kimchi.
Occasionally there was a “little local difficulty”. Thankfully, someone had a jar opener in their bag.
By the end of the afternoon, when everyone had completed their work and the winners found, it was time for home - after the certificates had been awarded, of course. Fifteen newly qualified judges left, proudly wearing their badges and ready to accept invitations to judge next year. Wonderful!
So, sitting down to watch TV last evening and finding it was the final of The Great Pottery Throw Down, my Hero was waiting for someone to say how hard it was to decide the winner. He knew, of course, how I’d react to that statement! Our trained and qualified judges have the answer too 😉
