Island Life August/September 2018

Interview
example Acorn, was replaced with
the word App and Conker with
Chat-room. While the majority
of young people in urban society
may have stopped using words
Acorn or Conker, children in
rural communities, like the Isle
of Wight, have not. Thanks to
generous local donations 43
copies of the book were presented
to every primary school on the
Island. And a poetry competition
was held in the theatre at the
Show with entries from all
ages and the mainland too.
Along with the Show, the Society
also promotes the Wight Marque
for Island food, education and
the rural environment with the
schools and most important the
Rural Careers’ Fund. It is because
we believe in the importance of
this fund that Nick and I give up
our time every year to run the
Members’ Area. The fund helps
to ensure the Island has good,
well-trained young people able
to work in the rural sector.
Anyone under 25 years old
with a strong connection to the
Island can apply for a Bursary or
Scholarship of up to £3,000. This
adds value to the IW farming
and land-based industries and
ensures young Islanders gain the
relevant qualifications or skills.
We all know the future of
our beautiful island lies in our
young people and so helping
to enable them overcome
financial diffculties to train
properly is vital, especially in
these times of cost-cutting and
with the increased price of travel
to the mainland courses.
So I urge all of you to come and
join the Society. Membership
is only £28 a year on Standing
Order and includes free entry
to the Show worth £10, free
entry to the beautiful Members’
Enclosure in its prime location,
and special rates all year round for
members on Wightlink ferries.
So you get a huge number
“We all know the future of our
beautiful island lies in our young
people and so helping to enable
them overcome financial diffculties
to train properly is vital.”
of added benefits for your
£28 membership - but more
importantly, the money from your
membership is vital to ensure the
future of the Rural Careers’ Fund.
This year was particularly
challenging for the Royal Isle
of Wight County Show. Firstly
we had to move the date from
its usual slot at the end of June,
because it clashed, as a result of
the change of date, with the much
earlier IW Festival. Obviously the
two couldn’t happen on the same
weekend. So we moved to the 8th
July for 2018. This was not ideal
as it made it diffcult for some of
the regular participants. Then with
one of the hottest summers on
record it was testing setting up the
ground, especially with the rockhard
earth and sweltering heat.
Flowers, animals and people were
all wilting by the time everything
was ready and in place. Then
with the usual aplomb, the Lord
Lieutenant and the High Sheriff
were there to open the Show. It
was a glorious day, possibly too
hot, as many may have decided to
head to the beach. But in the end
the Members’ Area was buzzing.
The lunch for 200 was packed and
everyone had a great day out.
The committee will shortly meet
to review the day’s events, what
went well and what areas we can
improve. It is only by constantly
reflecting on and thinking
through the future of the Show
that it will be able to survive and
continue on into the distant
future for the benefit of us all.
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