How times have certainly changed

Fascinating records of past local shows can be found in various archives and during a 20-year stint as secretary of Alnwick Flower Show (staged in a marquee near the castle) I delved into its beginnings.

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It started life in 1819 as a gooseberry show held in a local tavern. Meeting minutes in copper plate handwriting cover the years 1819 to 1835, by which time exhibitors had started to bring large vegetables and attractive flowers they had grown and wished to display just for interest.

They were gradually incorporated into the exhibition schedule and the full show was born.