Giant Pot Leek Show at well-known seaside resort

That is a ten pence piece next to that leek, folks. So, as you can see, this wasn't a giant show, it was a show of giant leeks! The black mark is magic marker, denoting the height above the roots where the girth of this monster was to be measured.

Pot leeks are grown for girth, not length, and some exhibits were disqualified because the distance between roots and the 'button' - the point where the leaves divide - was too long.

Where was this stunning variation on the village flower show? At Seahouses on the Northumbrian coast, a lovely little fishing port amongst stunning beaches just a few miles from Bamburgh Castle. The show was in a marquee in the garden of the Old Ship Inn, overlooking the harbour, as you can see from the photos on the left. Too far to pop up for the day, sadly - though a lovely spot for a holiday.

It was a real thrill to stumble upon this show - literally we just saw a blackboard with the worlds 'Leek Show Marquee' chalked on them and an arrow pointing past the pub. For two keen allotmenteers it was the icing on the cake. So read on to see more of the Giant Leeks, not to mention onions the size of cabbages and Chrysanthemums as big as your head.

Here we have the biggest Chrysanths you've ever seen. And, on the right, the same in pink, just in case you couldn't believe your eyes. Both by the same grower, who also won the prize for the leeks - and several of the other classes. We didn't ask the secret of his success as we thought it highly unlikely he'd tell us! But, believe me, we were awe-struck. But more about those leeks . . . here is a selection of photos to give you a faint idea of their stunning hugeness.

The leek nearest the camera is the same one as in the first photo, with the 10p coin next to it. Scary!

And if you want something other than leeks, here are a few other scary vegetables . . .

I admit it, there are few leeks there too. But spot below the 'Disaster Class' Perhaps we should have this for our summer show next year? What do you think?

Mr R Nelson Jnr was very keen to claim proud ownership of this spectacularly unsuccessful carrot. One wonders if he inherited his specialist skills at carrot-nobbling from R Nelson Snr? An example to all of us and proof that there is hope of prize success for everyone. I should say thaT Mr Nelson's other entries were superb, by the way! We've got to run a 'Disaster Class' next year, surely!

For the show report in the Northumberland Gazette click here.