Celebrating Excellence

This weekend I attended the Moreton On Marsh Show, an annual agricultural fair in the gorgeous Cotswolds. It was my fifth time attending.  For anyone with young children (or an interest in rural life), it’s simply a grand day out.  But beyond the sheer entertainment value, it’s a vital aspect to our food supply, and a worthwhile reminder in the importance of celebrating excellence.

Watching my two young boys surrounded by a multitude of things they love (animals, tractors, diggers, motorcycles) – which is pure joy – it struck me that this is a working fair.

While most city folk take their food supply for granted (it comes from Tesco, surely!), this community is part of a network of farmers that are the backbone of the British food industry. While the prize giving for cows and sheep may strike some city slickers as silly, it is anything but.

Prize winner

It’s celebrating excellence in craft, and that’s important and essential.

The farmers presenting their animals and produce apply skill and craft to their pursuits. And their pursuits feed a hungry nation.

It’s easy to dismiss prizes and competitions, but celebrating excellence raises everyone’s game – no matter the category or genre.

In entertainment, we’ve got the BAFTAs, Oscars, and a host of other literary, stage, and screen-centric awards that challenge everybody in the industry to constantly improve their craft and artistry.  These awards tend to be televised and talked about, but every sector of society seems to have prize-giving for excellence, and I think that’s worth celebrating.

Because we can always be better….and excellence is worth the pursuit.