Bonsai by the Sea 2024 – Show report

Sun 9 Jun 2024. The Pavilion, The Esplanade, Exmouth. EX8 2AZ.

Setting up a bonsai show with the necessary early start and lack of a good breakfast before leaving home can sometimes be a bit of a daunting affair. The question running through my mind is always: ‘what have I forgotten?’ followed swiftly by: ‘what calamity will have to be dealt with?’. Fortune smiled on us this year, no-one appeared to have forgotten anything major, people turned up on time, and once a little confusion over who was going where was sorted, the whole place took on a life of it’s own, and in very short order we had ten societies displaying a selection of their best trees, and some were very good indeed. The team who sacrificed their Sunday lie-in and turned up to help us set up have my undying gratitude, all I had to do was point and ask…and it was done. A steady stream of volunteers during the day also helped us out by taking money at the door and issuing wrist-bands, sufficient numbers meant that no-one had to sit for hours doing that job. My heartfelt thanks to one and all.

Our annual event coincided this year with a wonderful sunny day which brought out the holiday-makers in their droves. A good number of whom found themselves directed by signs along the seafront into our show. Our thanks go to Mark & Ming who not only brought the signs and banners to advertise our event but put them all up for us as well.

Chris Thomas did his ‘walkabout’ again for us, where he does a tour of the displays, discussing the merits of each of the trees, a side-event that draws a crowd of eager listeners. One year I’ll persuade him to use the microphone so I can hear what he’s saying as well!

It’s probably best however that he didn’t so as to not disturb the five contestants who were taking part in this years British heat of the New Talent Competition, organised by FOBBS. They came from far and wide, and were each faced with a little Juniper which they had to style in three hours. Our congratulations to all of them; it’s not easy to sit and do your best work with a crowd of people watching. All five contestants produced creditable results, but the winner thought by both the judges to have produced the best and most original image was Nathan Oswin from Staverton bonsai society. Well done Nat.