Saturday morning saw us arrive at the showground on Bermagui Rd. 8.30am and hustle and bustle everywhere. Exhibitors, organizers and in my case judge, one of many. At the gate I got my pass and one for Tina and inched our way up the main track through people and tractors, exhibitors setting up stands and occasional horses. Definitely organised chaos. Parking as near the exhibition hall as we could we found someone official and got directed to Shirleyanne who with other volunteers were setting up the photo exhibits.

I knew this would be a different experience and I wasn't disappointed. There were 5 overall categories, Colour with 11 sub groups, B&W with 7 sub groups, Series was for colour or B&W, Junior and under 12's each with 8 sub groups. Wow thinks I this is going to be fun. and in reality it was, of the best sort. While the volunteers finished off the set up, Tina and I had a sneak peek at some of the other exhibits on show, flowers, quilts, veggies  et al. We wandered outside and watched the first of the show jumping. By 9.30 I was back and well stuck in and finished just before 12 noon.

Take away messages? Perhaps some sort of feedback to the individuals who had gone to the trouble of submitting their work. Maybe a pre exhibition review early enough for the entrants to apply the lessons learned. I leave these thoughts to the enthusiastic volunteers who make the whole thing work. I've no pictures from the show but you might like this one of the road to Cobargo for inspiration.

Peter Cotton