After this year's miserable 'summer' we were waiting for a bit of luck for the Festival of Fishkeeping and, in the end, we got two 'miracles'.
Setting up went more smoothly than ever before, the whole Exhibition was 'ready to go'on the Friday evening instead of trailing over into the Saturday morning - "A 'first' in the Festival's entire history," says Joe.
Secondly, the weather for the whole weekend turned out be be blue skies and sunshine from beginning to end and visitors poured in early on Saturday morning and appeared to do so again on Sunday.
An unusual feature greeted visitors this year as outside the main entrance to the Show marquees was a celebratory 'Cake' designed by Peter Caira, of Hounslow & D.A.S. in honour of the Federation's 70th Anniversary. Each side of the Cake featured an aquarium or an Aquascape.
Although an 'enclosed event,' the several marquee-enclosed 'Halls' never gave a sense of being claustrophobic. Thanks to some clever planning, each 'aisle' had a theme whether it was Discus, Koi, Goldfish, Trade and Craft Stands or Competitive Fish Show areas.
A centrally situated refreshment area made a very convenient resting place between sections!
The Discus Show commanded instant respect, especially as fish on dispaly were from such diverse countries as Poland, Spain, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore and the UK.
Still with an oriental connection, Star Fisheries provided a magnificent centrepiece display containing fish especially collected fronm China for the Festival.
Tetra showed their talent for 'one-upmanship' as their bright orange Mini was equipped with not the obligatory sat-nav but a DVD player – with display screens both in the boot and on the dashboard!
Working on the principle that big is not necessarily best, UKAPS, the online aquarium plant Society, displayed three stunningly-furnished nano tanks, two of which featured glass sides of exceptional clarity.
But, naturally, the essence of the weekend for a lot of residents was the competitive side. The largest physical Shows - the Discus and Koi - ran literally side by side over the two days; on Saturday, the British Open, Catfish, Killifish, Betta and Goldfish Shows taxed the brains of the Judges and the anxiety of the exhibitors. This year two new Saturday Competitions were added - for Best Pairs and for Best Breeders.
Sunday was no better, with the Festival Open Show and the FBAS Supreme Championship to contend with!
There were shocks on the Fish Show front and it turned out to be a case of 'doubles' all round in some cases.
Cindy Tan won both 'Open' categories in the Discus Show with her stunning entry, and Tony Vaughan of Ireland upset the applecart by not only taking Grand Champion in both 'Hobbyist' and 'Open' Discus Shows, he had the audacity to do so with a 'Wild' fish, putting all the other man-made varieties to flight. It just goes to show that Mother Nature can't all be bad, after all.
On the 'British Open' and the 'Supreme' front, again a single fish (from TDC, of course!) took both top honours.
The Society Furnished Aquarium Competition again proved to be very popular with visitors. It was interesting to see how many swings occurred during voting - many youngsters voted for the aquarium with the castle and coloured gravel, whilst adults favoured more sedately furnished tanks.
The top four places vied for position over both days but only one Society, Dunstable & District Aquarists Society, managed to top the votes on both days and so proved triumphant overall.
Probably the most popular stand was the 'Home-bred Fish Sales Stand'. Stocks were snapped up eagerly by fishkeepers looking for high-quality fish at bargain prices.
You had to be up early in the morning to take advantage of the offers as many found out to their disappointment. Luckily, careful (or considerate) planning by 'suppliers' meant that some stock was reserved for the second day!
Tucked away in mid-marquee was the Lecture Room - you probably missed its blacked out windows - and here the Guest Speakers, Dr Peter Burgess, Professor George Turner and others strutted their stuff to the followers of their various subject matters.
For those specialist devotees, the British Livebearer Association, the Anabantid Association, UK Discus Club and the British Cichlid Association had informative displays and the latter held their Convention and their stupendous Auction (which was still going strong during the final day's prize-giving ceremonies) at the Festival.
But the Festival wouldn't be the popular event it is without the residents. Early Friday evening, the recurring topic of conversation was "Great to see you again, how've you been, how are your fish doing?" just going to prove that to some the social scene is just as important as the fish on the bench.
Saturday evening saw the traditional Children's Fancy Dress and, although there was only one entrant in the Adult version, one could not deny his enthusiasm!
Thanks to all for coming, whether you were an exhibitor, resident, Judge, Trade representative, Guest Speaker, Day Visitor or Steward - you made it all worthwhile - and very many thanks to the Show Organisers, Manager and Staff of Mill Rythe for hosting the best aquatic Festival of the year.
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