SHOW PRIZE WINNING TIPS

Catriona Brodie (nee MacFadyen! - see What's In A Name) has won the Horticultural Cup twelve times in thirteen years. Being Catriona, she takes such fame with a pinch of salt,* a laugh and a shrug and finds it very difficult to explain how she does it. Not because she is possessive of any tips that she might have hidden away in padlocked gardening notebooks at Ballard, but because "it just happens, somehow".

Further prodding, however, elicited admission of the fundamentel factor underlying her horticutural achievements which she is understandably reluctant to broadcast too far and wide for fear of exploitation. For the first time, exclusive to readers of the Coll Magazine, Catriona tells the true secret of her success.

"First of all you have to have Alan" she says, simply.

(* Also good for keeping the slugs at bay)

Alan trenches the garden round about the end of March with seaweed from Crossapol. "Leafy tangle is best". Then Catriona takes over. Crops are always rotated and attention paid to obtaining a good product at the very beginning, whether it be seeds or transplants. It is not just successful growing that determines Show quality. Clean and uniform presentation add on the vital points.

Matching up is usually in threes; onions and potatoes in Catriona's experience are the most difficult to match. Onions with thick necks are no good. Her onions sets go in about the 12th of April, cabbages and cauliflower are under glass by the beginning of the month.

If Catriona's best ally at the beginning of the growing season is Alan, her worst enemies, once the seedlings come through, are the sparrows. Those comments are unprintable………..

Linda English, winner of the Handcraft Cup, says that entering the knitting classes for the Show over the years has greatly improved her standard and believes that a good judge's criticism can only spur one on to further improvements.

"I like knitting with Double Knitting and I like doing Aran sweaters. The only hints I can give are the ones a judge gave me 5 years ago.

Always use the type of wool the pattern recommends. You can use a different make of wool but if the pattern says Double Knitting use D.K. and be very careful how you sew up. The judge told me to top stitch into ribs but always back stitch the seams. I never iron or press my woollens."

And here is Chrissie MacKinnon's prizewinning recipe for Madeira cake. Chrissie was winner of the Challenge cup in the Industrial section.

MADEIRA CAKE
8g Flour A pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
A little finely grated Lemon Rind (optional)
5g Sugar
5 g Butter or Mug
3 Eggs Milk to mix
Citron peel slices.

METHOD
Sieve the dry ingredients and add the lemon rind. Cream sugar and fat together until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs a little at a time. Add the sieved dry ingredients with a little milk and essence. Pour into the prepared tin and lightly add the citron peel (or put on top when cake sets) . Bake for 1 - 1 1/4 hours in moderate oven.