I’d like to begin June’s blog with a huge ‘thank you’ to all of our members, hobbyists and everyone else who turned out in their droves to support the 43rd National Koi Show.
Myself, Paul Henderson and all of the committees’ members are hugely grateful for all of the support. This was the busiest National Show in terms of attendance for a long time - possibly the busiest since the National Show moved to the Heart of England Showground.
As most of you will be aware, a Nippon Nishikigoi-supplied Sanke from Sakai Fish Farm, owned by Lee Manning, won GC (Grand Champion).
Congratulations to both Lee and Simon Austin on a 2nd GC for this fish, as it also won GC at the 2022 All England Koi Show.
As always, check out Liam's Blog over at World Of Nishikigoi for further updates.
I could probably take up an entire blog thanking people, but I’ll keep most of my thanks for July’s Blog, otherwise I’ll struggle to fill a page!
I’d certainly like to thank both our Committees, as it isn’t often you see the entire Society assisting with the National; this was inspiring and great to be a part of.
When running a show of this size, it is inevitable you’ll encounter a few hiccups; a mistake in our programme regarding an award, some challenges during benching which were magnified by a number of late arrivals (traffic and breakdowns; benching vats at 8pm is never ideal!).
We’ll be taking these small issues and a couple of others forward for discussion at our Wash-Up Meeting, making the necessary improvements for next year.
As a side note, if anyone is interested in getting involved with benching, give me a shout - it’s open to hobbyists who are members of the BKKS. Allan Tait and I have already discussed a number of improvements, and we’d love to bring some of you along on that journey.
I’ve taken three weeks’ holiday from work; the first week for the show, and after Show Breakdown and a few hours’ sleep, I drove some 800-odd miles to Capbreton in south-west France for some much needed R & R… Which means I’m going to leave my blog here, turn off the laptop and take it easy for a little while.
Whatever you’re up to, stay safe and enjoy the hobby.
P.S. For this years National we enlisted the help of the Zen Nippon Airinkai (ZNA), who provided a Judge from the Belgium Chapter. Below is the super letter received from the International ZNA Division.
Feel free to get in touch via chairman@bkks.co.uk
