THE WI might have been at Holsworthy & Stratton Agricultural Show, but they were having ‘All the Fun of the Fair’ in their tent.

This year the Marhamchurch WI group organised the tent and chose as a theme ‘All the Fun of the Fair’.

Members from each of the five WIs taking part — Bude, Holsworthy, Jacobstow, Marhamchurch and Week St Mary — could choose to make one of nine items of a possible twelve from the three sections; cookery, craft or miscellaneous.

These were then collated to create some magnificently coloured displays, which the judges had a really tough time marking.

President of the Marhamchurch WI, Valerie Wonnacott said: “The judging went very smoothly this morning, they were very efficient but had a tough job this year.

“The judges actually said there was a lovely high standard and were impressed with how each group had interpreted the same subject in such a different way!”

The organising committee met back in February this year and since then WI members have been stitching, painting, cooking and crafting to create something spectacular.

Valerie added: “I would like to thank everyone for their help today, it has been a real team effort and there are some really wonderful exhibits.”

However, choosing the best individual item proved too difficult for the judges as a whopping seven ladies obtained the elusive ‘maximum points’ needed to win the ‘Challenge Trophy’. They were: Gill Hobbs, Bude; Jan Usher, Holsworthy; Pat Rowland and Rachel Roberts (two exhibits), Marhamchurch; Lesley Booker and Cilla Brown, Week St Mary.

All these points added to the groups’ final scores, which saw the Week St Mary Bonaventures beat second place Marhamchurch by just half a point.

The Bonaventures received the Penhale Cup for most points and the Silver Rose Bowl for best display. The members were delighted, this being only their third attempt at the Holsworthy Show.

Member and tresurer of the Bonaventures, who helped organise the team, Sue Dyer said: “This is our third year of entering, we won the first year — didn’t do so well last year — and have won this year. Maybe it will become a pattern and we win every other year?

“The Bonaventures have been running for 73 years. We used to do a lot more showing back in the 60s but we resumed three years ago and haven’t been doing too badly!”

It was a real team effort for the Bonavetures as eight different members helped to create the nine different items needed for a full display — and they certainly stood out with their creative approach.

Susan Dickenson, president of the Bonaventures, said: “It wasn’t the easiest of displays to do. We wanted to choose things that were out of the ordinary and not too cliché.

“For example one of our members was very clever and created a ‘coconut shy’, it is a coconut painted with a shy face — we really encouraged the ladies to think outside the box and they did just that.”

She added: “There is no pressure, we just tell our ladies to do their best and they really have. One of our members was desperately worried for four weeks about her cake because the recent weather hasn’t been exactly optimal for cake decorating but everyone who has viewed the display has said ‘wow’ and ‘what an amazing cake’ — and it really is, she should be really proud, it has gained so much positive attention!”

Susan said there had been a few hurdles to overcome during set up, but they had pulled together as a team — just like a good WI should — and created something to be proud of.