Gospel from The Saints

By Julia Collins, who lives in Saint Nicholas

With restrictions gradually easing, and vaccination rates climbing, relaxation really has a chance to set in. How succulent every meet-up and invitation feels, how juicy the visit to cafe or restaurant, with (at last) slightly more attention paid to conversation than the door handles we have touched and our proximity to fellow customers! Landmark days are returning by stealth, and a schedule for The St Margaret’s Annual Flower and Produce Show was optimistically tucked inside our regular village magazine. With so many categories, there is something for everyone, from the stolid home produce to the unusually themed flower arrangements. Serried rows of culinary triumphs await judgement as to their perfection — flavour, texture and appearance taking equal share as tough criteria. In the children’s section ‘A Picture of Your Family’ and ‘An Animal Made from A Vegetable’ vie for attention, occasionally merging as far as recognisable features are concerned. Imaginative handicrafts and impressively atmospheric photographs warrant patient scrutiny, while ‘Handmade Toys - Any Medium’ demand a closer look. The main attractions are, of course, the very serious vegetable entries, from potatoes, (coloured as well as white), through garlic, carrots and cucumber to tomatoes. Every item is ‘first day at school scrubbed’ and presented with utmost intent upon a white, paper plate. Herbs and hens’ eggs bridge the gap as we arrive at the plant section: foliage, flowering and succulent, are all equally engaging, before we meet the sweetly perfumed roses and sweet peas. Unlike the floral arrangements, these participants are assessed upon their physicality, the ‘Miss Worlds’ of their species, slender of stem and near perfect in every petal! Innocent brownies and fluffy scones tease the onlooker with their pillowy perfection. Crumbly blonde shortbread and shiny sausage rolls, delicious, immaculate…but not to be touched! Wouldn’t just considering entering such home creations immediately foster burnt edges, snapped stems and wobbly seams?! For the atmosphere is serious. The background chatter may be gentle but, make no mistake, the competition is fierce. Such green and pleasant annual combat carries weight. Although the prize money is endearingly modest, the importance attached to every class is considerable. Village rivals joust with their courgettes, beans and carrots, vie over vases and compete over crusts, for cups can be won and engraved for posterity, tangible testaments to craftsmanship and skill. And there is true delight in the interaction, the shared experience, technically inside, with a bracing breeze swooping off the fields through open windows and doors.