Waitrose
The Royal Show - General Info - Message from our President
It
is with great pleasure and a considerable amount of humility that I find
myself writing this forward for the 160th and final Royal Show.
The pleasure flows not only from the enormous honour of being asked to
serve as President of the RASE but that by doing so I am able, in a very
small way, to put something back into a Society which my late husband,
Ian, held in the highest esteem, serving as its Chairman from 2002 until
his death in June 2006.
Like everyone, I know the Royal Show 2009 is going to bring the most
potent mixture of feelings. It is the 160th show in a run broken only by
World Wars and animal disease. It will be a great celebration of all
that is good in the food and farming world – and yet, sadly, it will be
the last Royal Show.
Since 1838, the RASE has stayed true to its founding principles,
Practice with Science, encouraging innovation on all fronts and always
looking ahead in order that it can serve the needs, not only of today
but also the world of tomorrow. This year’s Show will be no exception as
Stoneleigh Park plays host to the very finest livestock, innovation in
crops for food and energy, a clear focus on environmental needs,
equestrian competition of international quality and educational
opportunities that will bring 10,000 schoolchildren through the gates in
four action-packed days.
Today, we operate in a global market, highly dependent on new technology
to drive large scale, commercial units. We are part of a food chain that
becomes more sophisticated and more international with every passing
year. Specialist, technical events – many developed and organised by the
RASE – are now needed to fulfil its needs.
As this year’s President, I wish visitors of all ages a very special and
enjoyable day. Celebrate an event that has been at the very heart
of the Agricultural world for160 years but perhaps also take a moment to
imagine the very first Royal Show. You won’t have to look far to gain a
sense of the enormous distance that agriculture has travelled in those
170 years.
And remember, this may be the last Royal Show but it is the start of a
new generation of progress and innovation; a launch pad for the Royal
Agricultural Society of England to focus and enhance its
contribution to the development of rural England and the broader rural
economy.
Mrs Adel MacNicol
