The KCAS, formed in 1923 to stage the Kent County Show, is a pioneering charity promoting farming and horticulture throughout the county. Students in full-time education up to the age of 21 and young farmer members can join the society for only £18 a year – compared to the usual £50 membership.

Membership entitles holders to:

• Free admission to all three days of the Kent County Show – held July 13, 14 and 15 in 2012
• Free admission to the members’ facilities during the show, including the Members’ Restaurant, Grandstands and rest rooms
• Free parking in members’ car park during the show
• Discounts at specified agricultural suppliers
• Discounted entry to other events at Kent Showground

George Jessel, KCAS chairman, said: “We hope this excellent discount will encourage more young people to become members of the society. Agriculture and horticulture play hugely important roles in the life of the county and young people represent the future of these roles. We are also keen to get some new young volunteers to steward at the annual Kent County Show.”

The society is keen to support young people who would like to make a career in agriculture, horticulture or rural industry within the county. It presents the Hooson Award, a £500 bursary to assist the successful student to pay for their studies.

It also presents the Irene Lady Astor Award – named after the society’s president – of £200 to the ‘Best Kent Young Farmer’ for the year. To qualify nominees must be paid up members of a Kent Young Farmers Club.

KCAS hosts The Living Land at the Kent Showground, a free one-day event which attracts more than 3,000 schoolchildren aged 7 to 9. It aims to educate children in the areas of farming, agriculture, the countryside and healthy eating.

It also supports Farming Futures, an event which gives students an idea of the variety of careers within the land-based sector.

For further information on memberships, call 01622 630975 or email info@kentshowground.co.uk.

The show, organised by the Kent County Agricultural Society, has been chosen by the Maidstone & District and East Kent Bus Company Club to celebrate its diamond jubilee. It will include bus displays, trade stands and free vintage bus rides with stops positioned around the showground at Detling, near Maidstone.

There will also be displays celebrating the 50th anniversary of the MGB Roadster and the Massey Ferguson 35X as well as celebrating 100 years of AEC buses.

Buses, ranging from 1912 to 1989, will include such examples as a Leyland Titan in Kent Freedom Pass livery, 1945 Bristol K6A Weymann, 1963 AEC Reliance Harrington Grenadier single-deck coach, 1969 Daimler Fleetline Park Royal, 1972 Leyland Leopard Marshall and 1984 MCW Metrobus 2.

The Heritage Transport Show & Auction is a must for enthusiasts, featuring a wide range of vehicles, stands, competitions and guest speakers. The auction, hosted by Lambert & Foster in partnership with Kelsey Publishing, will feature tractors, commercial vehicles, cars and memorabilia.

Roger Moore, Kent Showground’s executive manager, said: “The Heritage Transport Show & Auction was a tremendous success last year and the 2012 event promises to offer enthusiasts even more in the way of fascinating displays and entertainment.”

Tickets for the Heritage Transport Show & Auction can be bought online via www.kentshowground.co.uk or call 01622 630975. Advance prices are adults £6.50, with under 12s free. Tickets on the day cost £7.50.

Roland Graves from Vigo, Kent has been interested in buses for as long as he can remember and was fascinated by them as a small child. As he grew older, this fascination turned in to a desire to preserve the vehicles.  This journey must be familiar for most people who now have a passion for commercials.  It was during Roland’s time at Wrotham Young Farmers Club that he met a like-minded individual Rob Durrant who had just purchased a 1948 ex London Transport AEC Regent III. RT 542.  Together they set about their first refurbishment project in 1975.

Over the next few years the duo purchased two more buses a single and a double decker, although once Rob married his commitments increased so two of their buses were sold.     Roland kept a Leyland PD1, which came from Barton’s of Nottingham.  This particular bus was unusual because it was originally manufactured as a single decker but was re-bodied as a double decker with a low bridge body in the mid 50’s.

In 1978 Roland and eight other enthusiasts founded The North Kent Vehicle Preservation Group, which now boasts 25 members, 10 buses and a collection of vintage cars and vans.  His enthusiasm for vintage vehicles does not end with the group he helped to form. In the mid 90’s he became involved with the Heritage Transport Show and Auction’s predecessor, The Detling Steam Rally that took place at the Kent Showground during the summer months until 2006.  His role as a steward at the Detling Steam Rally and Kent County Show and his committee involvement with the Heritage Transport Show is something that Roland enjoys immensely. He could not attend the first of the re-branded Transport Shows in 2010 due to a clash with an event that the North Kent Vehicle Preservation Group was helping to organise at Cobham Bus Museum in Surrey.

In 2011 he was very much involved when the Heritage Transport Show linked with Maidstone & District Bus Company’s Centenary. Roland saw a wonderful opportunity to have a large number of buses in one place; in fact in the end there were around 140 buses and coaches at the site in Detling.  Roland explained, “The Showground at Detling is an ideal venue for a big show where enthusiasts enjoy talking to the public as well as other commercial vehicle owners.  It is wonderful to exhibit and quite often we will get approached with charmingly nostalgic stories from the general public who remember travelling on particular buses”.

It is such a shame that there isn’t the same interest from younger generations for these wonderful commercial vehicles as there is with vintage cars.  Many of the stalwarts involved with commercial vehicles painstakingly restore these majestic vehicles themselves, part by part and can take years to complete.  The Historic Commercial Vehicle Society are looking to address this problem and events like the Heritage Transport Show and Auction is a good way to talk to visitors and hopefully spark an interest with a younger audience.

Without doubt one of the most popular attractions is the ability to run the buses at the Showground.  Last year visitors queued at stops around the 72-acre site to take a ride on a variety of buses and coaches, single and double decker as well as some fine open top exhibits.  Owners are able to take passengers on a real trip down memory lane.

Roland now has part ownership of two commercial vehicles; the first being a 1963 AEC Reliance Coach that spent most of its working life locally in Sevenoaks, Kent for Camden Coaches.  With its blue and white livery, the fully restored coach is the only remaining vehicle from the Camden fleet.  His other bus is a 1958 Albion Lowlander from South Notts Bus Co. Nottingham, where the co-owner actually drove the bus as a way of earning money whilst studying at Loughborough University.

Roland’s newest passion is for a 1950 Lanchester LD10 which has featured in two editions of Kelsey’s publications once in August 2004 and again in September 2006.  This unique vehicle caught Roland’s eye whilst holidaying in Wroxham, Norfolk.  The small commercial van was tucked away in the corner of a classic car showroom and after returning home and doing some research, Roland took possession of the little green van in November 2002.  The van had been built for Gordon Thoday, a Haberdashery firm who used the vehicle to deliver supplies to a number of its stores in and around the Cambridge area.  This particular vehicle is unusual in the fact that it has a fluid flywheel and a pre-select gearbox more commonly found in larger commercial vehicles such as the original London Transport RT bus that started it all back in 1975.

Roland will be using his van as one of the support vehicles for the Heritage Transport Show and Auction on 31^st March and will also be working with Maidstone and District and East Kent Bus Clubs to help celebrate their 60^th Anniversary.

Trade Stand application forms are available to download so if you want to have a stand at the 2012 Show you will need to start applying now.

Each year Members of the Society can nominate employees from Agricultural businesses for a Long Service Award.  This year we had one recipient Margaret Gilbert from Biddenden Vineyards.  Margaret joined the vineyard around 1961, when the farm was still apple orchards.  She started work outside apple picking, but was soon asked by Mr Barnes, the owner to help in the packing shed, and so stayed with the farm, picking, pruning and packing apples.

The first vineyard plantings took place in 1969, with just 1/3 acre as a trial, that today has grown to 22 acres of vines – most of which Margaret helped plant and her hard work and dedication shows in the high standard of the wines now produced by Biddenden Vineyards.

Margaret retired in June this year after 50 years working at the farm and her experience and knowledge will be hard to replace.

Lady Astor of Hever was delighted to present Margaret with her award on the Friday

Many schools took part and it is hoped that next year even more Kent schools will enter.  The competition this year was won by All Saints CEP in Chatham who managed to grow £99.99 worth of produce.  The rules of the competition dictate a monetary value for the different produce grown and is adjudicated by Headteachers and Governors who verify the amount of produce weekly leading up to the Kent County Show.

Second place went to Mereworth Primary and third place Teynham Primary.  The winning school was presented with a trophy on Sunday 17^th by George Jessel, DL, Chairman and will be visited by Roger Moore, Executive Manager in September.

Details of the project can be found at www.growninkent.co.uk

The afternoon programme saw HRH visit the Men of Kent and Kentish Men display before walking down to the new indoor Cattle Rings and Agricultural Area.

The Duke was said to have had a marvellous day and remarked that the Show had highlighted the importance of food production and farming.

The Bolddogs Lings team on Friday amazed the crowds with their daredevil skills and the Flying Gunners showed real fighting spirit when they cancelled only one of their displays on the Saturday due to the dangerously wet conditions in the Brachers Astor Ring.  There was a really positive feel to the Show this year and those of you that ventured out in the torrential rain on Saturday have to be congratulated.  The Kent County Show celebrates the very best of the County and the people that live and work here, this year epitomised the determination we all have to showcase our wonderful farming and countryside heritage.  The website gallery has been updated with photographic highlights.  http://kentshowground.co.uk/show2011/gallery/

The exhibitors felt that the day was valuable, FAST ltd stating: “Running the Research and Science workshop was very worthwhile” and the English Apple Man deeming it “A very enjoyable day with some very interested students.”

There was also hugely positive feedback from the teachers, Sittingbourne Community College saying the day was “well organized. Students found it very interesting and were surprised at how many opportunities are available” and Milestone School claiming “the information available was very useful and all of the exhibitors were willing to spend as much time with us as we needed.  My students enjoyed it a great deal (and I made some very good contacts!).”

But it was the students who were the main concern, the event being held to open up new doors which many never would have thought existed within agriculture, two Valley Park pupils commenting: “I had really good fun. I enjoyed learning about different farming” and “I would definitely come back here as today was a thrill.”

With the event receiving such positive acclaim everyone hopes the words from exhibitors Milbourne Equine are echoed – “I was thoroughly impressed with the first, of what I hope turns out to be a regular occurrence, Farming Futures exhibition.”

Each of the participating schools was able to download a comprehensive resources pack with everything needed to start growing produce.  The fruit and vegetables listed had a harvest value, which the schools weighed and recorded. The values were then verified by the Headteacher and a School Governor.

The winning School was provided with tickets for the Allotment Club members to come to the Kent County Show in July where Society Chairman, George Jessel, DL presented All Saints Church of England Primary with a Prize Card and Rosette.

On Monday 19^th September, Roger Moore, Kent County Agricultural Society Executive Manager was invited to the School to formally hand the students an engraved trophy and certificate of achievement.

Mrs. Lesley Fielding and the after school Allotment Club were presented with the trophy at their morning assembly.  All Saints have had a substantial growing area a short walk from the school site for three years.  All pupils at the School have lessons when appropriate at the allotment.  The next group to use the facilities will collect fruit and vegetables to make fabric dye as part of their Anglo Saxon studies.  The Allotment Club meets each Thursday after school to tend the area, which has reached RHS Benchmark Scheme Level 5 and supports over 100 varieties of fruit and vegetables.  Recently they have added a wildlife garden and dipping pond to the allotment area, which has proved to be a valuable resource for the school.

Mrs Fielding was delighted to accept the award on behalf of all the pupils at All Saints CEP School.  This week the children had been harvesting leeks, carrots, kohlrabi and beans which were going to be used at the after school cookery club.

During peak harvesting produce is sold to raise funds for a school they support in India. Lesley Fielding explained “this project would not be possible without the support of the parents who help tend the crops particularly over the summer break.  Some of them have even taken their own allotment on the site to continue growing produce even after their children have left the School.”

The Kent County Agricultural Society believes that every child should be given the chance to garden and to ensure that they grow up with a love of learning, a strong grasp of essential life skills and robust physical and emotional health.

Roger Moore, Executive Manager at the Kent Showground said “we are looking forward to even more schools taking part next year.  All a school needs is a small amount of space and a passion to grow fresh food.”

www.growninkent.co.uk