29^th. July
   The South Coast Show -  I prayed for a bit of sunshine to help me out, 2 days at 30 & 2 at 29 28°c respectively. Without it I would have been left counting the days till next year, many of my plants didn't make the day and could still have done with another week. The sun saved the day for me to get a few blooms on the bench.
   Morning of the show started with a lay in, I was out of bed at 4 am, it was hard to find enough blooms to take that were up to size (A) All the blooms looked even smaller than the day before, the blooms were all tucked up still asleep. Hopefully they would awaken on the journey down to the coast. The sat nav was set and I was on the road at 7am straight to the venue - no mess ups, Havant Garden Centre, I arrived at 8-20. A quick walk through to see where to go and there was the normal stalwarts Brian & Chrissie Simmons, Dave Coates & Norman Burgess. Soon found out that Pauline Coates had to stay and wait for a plumber, Dave was on his own so had to make sure he remembered where he put everything himself. Blooms were soon staged on the 6, 3 & 1 cut blooms boards.
   Bill Squibb was the last to arrive as usual. Roy the soft southerner had already staged his exhibit.
With free tea & coffee laid on by the centre for the exhibitors I must say we were all made to feel very welcome by all the staff at the centre. Once all the exhibits were up and ready first panic set in - I had left my camera at home on our green garden waste bin in the garden, a quick phone call to the wife camera saved. Our judge for the day was Alan Harris, judging started on time ably assisted by 2 stewards Dave Coats & myself. It soon became apparent that the man Brian calls king was still going to keep his crown. Once the judging was over the in day was saved by the arrival of 3 or 4 cameras with lots of photos taken and 2 that I have never seen before at any show. Me personally managed to get a second with 1 bloom (B) & third in the 6 cut bloom classes (C), happy just to get blooms on the bench let alone any cards. Dave Coates took top honours with Brian Simmons second in the 6 cut blooms, I'll let Brian give the rest of the results. On the The Show page there are 2 special pictures one of all the exhibitors and the 2^nd of the 5 entries in the 6 cut blooms with all the growers standing behind their blooms. Again many thanks to Havant Garden Centre, it was nice to see people's faces & asking the question "are they real".
I would certainly like to go back again.
   On arrival home it was out with the old & in with the new (D), 2 weeks to the National.