Pudsey Pig or should it be the Pontefract Porker

[shelagh]

Well Brian and I don't mind suffering for the good of everyone else and yesterday we along with Clare and John Dower and Mandy McLoughlin went of to recce the venue for the Summer North AGS show next Saturday and also the PUB.

I'm afraid it's a drive although some of us might need the walk back afterwards to recover the vestiges of a waist band.

A very good menu and they are laying on a room just for us, so bring your pennies, stop eating now and prepare yourselves in true Yorkshire fashion for a' blow out.'

Sorry Ferme won't be with us to defend his title but at least if gives someone else a chance.   Looking forward to seeing you there.

[ranunculus]

Thanks for that Shelagh.
Some of us have taken preparations very seriously indeed and have been at a secret training camp in Turkey, alternating our days between beach runs, hill climbs, river jaunts and pool sessions and our evenings testing three or four course meals (at various establishments with mysterious names) brought to the table by swarthy (but incredibly friendly) characters.
Our liquid intake has been admirable and our specially tailored sweatsuits proved unnecessary in the constant thirty degree heat.
We have been doing regular exercise (usually in the form of knee-drops or belly flops) with the Nikon apparatus and associated aromatherapy in the middle of oleander or eucalyptus groves.
All in all, we should be at our peak for the Pudsey pursuit but we suspect dark forces may have been at work - everyone on the plane home coughed simultaneously for over four hours and we believe this to be an attempt to strike us down with 'competitor's croup' - a mean and dastardly method of 'nobbling' the favourites.  We know who you are and we know how you smuggled the germs on board - we will not be beaten by such unscrupulous tactics and intend to be there on Saturday with empty, but well-tuned tums!!!

[Maggi Young]

As you know, I am full of admiration for the dedication shown by all my gardening chums in their pursuit of horticultural excellence. I think we should all pause for a moment to acknowledge the level of expertise and effort expended (should that be expanded ?!)  on the preparation for the ancillary projects so beloved by so many Forumists.


Avanti, Piglets!

[Diane Clement]

And I'm pleased to announce that a mystery package arrived today in the post, all the way from Victoria, Australia, containing this year's Pudsey Pig prize, kindly donated by last year's winner, Fermi, who can't make the journey this year   
The contents of the package will remain a mystery until the day, as always. 

[ChrisB]

Oooh that sounds very exciting......

[Maggi Young]

The Pontefract Porker will be contested by the Pudsey Piglets,  the hungriest souls attending the AGS Summer Show, North, on  June 16 from 12 noon to 4.00 pm. The show will be held at the Chesneys Centre, Regent Street, Featherstone, Pontefract, WF7 5EW. 

[shelagh]

I'm glad you put the information re Saturday in the correct order Maggi, wouldn't like anyone to think the show was important

[fermi de Sousa]

And I'm pleased to announce that a mystery package arrived today in the post, all the way from Victoria, Australia, containing this year's Pudsey Pig prize, kindly donated by last year's winner, Fermi, who can't make the journey this year   
The contents of the package will remain a mystery until the day, as always. 

Yes, alas, the work/holiday schedule doesn't allow our return to the UK to defend the title!
Diane warned that the date was approaching and so we turned the house upside-down [well it looks like it was!] to try to find the prize which Will and I bought in KL on the way home to OZ last year. We suspect that one of the cats had taken a fancy to it and has hidden it somewhere out of our reach! Fortunately I was able to find a reasonable replacement locally and was able to whisk it off to Diane so that it arrived in time! I'm amazed how quickly those posties can run when the Pudsey is at stake!
Best wishes to all this year's contestants and remember that in an Olympic Year more will be expected!
cheers
fermi

[ranunculus]

What a shame you won't be here Fermi ... you've probably been in training for a number of months and were just at your peak?  Perhaps you can come over and regain your title next year?  All best wishes from the Piglets and thanks for thinking about us.

[Tim Ingram]

Why is it these Pontefract Porkers and Pudsey Piglets congregate so much around the Summer Show North? Are there more truffles around in these regions? Or do you just have better pubs?

[ranunculus]

It's historical Tim ... the story has been told a number of times and dear Maggi may (very kindly) be able to find previous postings?

[Maggi Young]

I think the whole story wasonly told once... and that was in the original forum, the archive of which is sadly lost

 You'll need to re-tell the tale, Cliff... there will be lots of new readers who wonder what on earth you piglets get up too!

[Diane Clement]

You'll need to re-tell the tale, Cliff... there will be lots of new readers who wonder what on earth you piglets get up too! 

I'll start it off, although I hope others will add to the tale.

The Pudsey saga began many years ago.  The AGS Summer North Show was in those days held in Pudsey and friends met for lunch at a local hostelry, renowned for its gourmet food and large plate size.  Brian Smethurst ordered a Mixed Grill and when it arrived it was bigger than him, and he was challenged to eat the lot. 

Amazingly he did, and was named The First Ever Pudsey Pig.  Every year from then until the present, a food loving group has met for lunch, usually at the occasion of the Summer North Show, but as necessary, when this show has not been held, it has taken place at Southport and East Cheshire.  A training event has often taken place at Harrogate Flower Show a few weeks before, where leading contenders have been spotted tucking in to a buffet table groaning with food.

There is a rumour that the winner of the Pudsey Pig is appointed on account of how much food they eat, and indeed first and second place has been hotly contested in the past with a large portion of sticky toffee pudding.  However, the rules have never been written down, and in fact there is only one rule, which is passed down by word of mouth each year, usually by Johnny D who proclaims the rule on the day “There are no rules”.  Some participants take it very seriously and go for a warm up exercise a couple of weeks before, thereby getting a preview of the menu, and are thus able to plan their tactics on the day.  This sneaky exercise is called a "reccy" and is disguised as a ploy to check out the seating arrangements.   

Past winners have sometimes fled the country to escape the paparazzi (well Cliff can be a scary site as recent visitors to Facebook have observed), and now some of these previous winners reside in New Zealand, Australia and Kentucky.  The winner is expected to present the prize the following year, except in exceptional circumstances, such as living 12,000 miles away.

Here's some of the fun, captured over the last few years:
Harrogate 2008
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1705.15
Southport 2008
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=1797.0
Pudsey 2009
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=3716.15
Harrogate 2010
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=5358.0
East Cheshire 2011
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=7198.0
   

[Tim Ingram]

Very many thanks Diane! I have to say that a few of the plants pictured could well have been eligible for the prize too. Some stunning specimens (the Cypripedium pictured by Cliff is very beautiful). I have been known to force down sticky toffee pudding, but I expect we would have to come up with a more refined event down here in the south.

[TC]

Here is a cake that Cindy made for our daughter's first wedding anniversary 20 years ago.  It would seem to be apt for a Pudsey pig-in !