Horticultural show

Allow me a few comments on the horticultural show held at San Anton Gardens.

I have nothing but praise and admiration for the flower exhibits, which showed great originality and imagination and which rightly attracted most attention. However, that is as far as my praise goes. After paying one's entrance fee, the visitor is on his own. There was no plan displayed as to the whereabouts of the exhibits.

A visitor not acquainted with San Anton had no information about the location of toilets or of the refreshment area. There was nothing to guide one as to the best way to see the "show" or where to begin. There was no programme of events and, apart from an announcement that a dance company was to perform, there was nothing to tell you that.

The show was scheduled to remain open until well after dark but it was badly lit and some exhibits were positioned totally in the dark. It was just as well the vegetable produce could not be seen. If one looked closely enough, one could see that no attempt was made to trim off the leaves of cabbages, and cauliflowers among others.

The two types of lettuce we grow in Malta were indeed a sorry limp sight after they had been left lying on a wooden bench under a hot sun. Could they not have been left in a bowl with some water?

Each exhibit was marked with the name of the person presenting it, but none of the exhibits showed any information as to the type of flower or plant being exhibited.

We are not all botanists or experts. There was one item that displayed the relevant information which the visitor appreciates and that was the varieties of seeds which one never sees after they are planted. It rightly won first prize in its category.

There were tourist visitors at the "show" and their inevitable conclusion was, as the British say, that we could not even organise a drink up in a brewery. Poor marks to the Malta Horticultural Society.