With no show reports to publish, and this being the month after Bradford Championship Show, I thought I would compile a few of the past results from that show, out of interest. Ed

No sign of the mouse section on this photo!

2002
Best in Show was Joe Bennett with a Siamese, BOA Bob Chappell with a Black Tan. There was an entry of 1065 from 278 exhibits, Alan Birchwas Best Satin with an Ivory,Phil Hall Best Self with aBlack, and J Blackburn wasBest Marked with a Broken. Judges were Jack Hartley(BIS), Trevor Fearnley, John Mackerill and David Montgomery. Show Secretary was Stuart Smith. The venue was Doncaster, which was quite different at that time and had aunique and enthralling atmosphere.

2005
Best in Show was John Mackerill with a Choc Tan, BOA Briony Carter with a Chinchilla. Briony was a Juvenile exhibitor, so much credit there. 1390 entries from 347 exhibits. Best Self was Alison Barker with a Black, another young exhibitor, Best Marked Alison Barker again with a Dutch, Best Satin Amy Reeves with an Agouti, Best AOV Roger Kettle with an Argente. Judges were Ray Carter (BIS), Don Parkinson, David Montgomery and Dave Safe.

2007
BIS was David Whittaker with an Argente, BOA Smith & Hollis with another Argente. 991 entries from 324 mice. Best Self was Dave Safe with a PE White, Best Tan Iain Scott with a Cham Tan, Best Marked and Best Satin both Sandside Stud (Peter Barker) with a Dutch and a Siamese. Judges were Ernest Waterhouse (BIS), Paul Threapleton, Bob Chappell and Val Brown. Show Secretary was John Mackerill. In 2006 the show moved to Harrogate, a sprawling venue but still with its own atmosphere.

2010
Best in Show was Serendipity Stud (Paul Threapleton) with a Black Fox, BOA Mick Shutt with an Even. 1189 entries from 302 exhibits. Best Self Serendipity with a Red, Best Tan Smith & Hollis with a Dove Tan, Best Satin Minstrel with a Cream. Judges were Don Parkinson (BIS), Phil Hall, Dave Bumford and David Montgomery. Show Secretary was John Mackerill.

2012
Best in Show was Sandside Stud with a Black, BOA Smith & Hollis with a Dove Tan. 1496 entries from 350 mice. Best Marked was Dave Bumford with a Variegated, Best Satin and Best AOV both Sandside with Siamese (meaning Peter won 3 sections). Judges were Sarah Cudbill (BIS), Heather McLean, Terry Thorne and Phil Arnold. Show Secretary John Mackerill.

2015
Best in Show was Sarah Cudbill with a Red, BOA Kathy Habberjam with a Black. 692 entries from 175 exhibits. Best Tan Kathy Habberjam with a Black Tan, Best Marked Oakelm Stud (Emma Martin) with a Variegated, Best Satin Oakelm again with a Cream, Best AOV Sarah Cudbill with a Pearl. Judges were Sarah Yeomans (BIS), Dave Bumford, Kelly Holdgate and Cait Walgate. Show Secretaries were Stuart Smith and Ruth Hollis, taking it over as John Mackerill sadly died in 2014.
One thing which is clear from these snapshots is that there is no variety which is more likely to win Bradford Championship than any other. The 6 shows above comprise 30 sections in total, which are represented by 21 different varieties. Black had most section wins with 3. Dutch, Siamese Satin, Siamese, Cream Satin, Red, Variegated, Dove Tan and Black Tan had 2 each.
All 5 BIS were won by different exhibitors and the BOAs went to another, different, 4, the only duplicate being Smith & Hollis with 2 BOAs.
I wonder who will win this year? Of course, we’ll already know by the time you read this!

Now for a bit of older history, taken from Jack Wormald’s scrapbook of 1935 (thanks to Phil Hall).
The items are stuck in the book in a very haphazard way,so parts are missing, headlines are in the wrong place etc, but I think the gist of this is right. There are some accompanying photos inside the cover. The quality of the originals is very poor but they have been much improved by Stephan. Even so, they aren’t the best!
The article headline reads “Bradford’s Record Entry of Nine Hundred” (this was before the days of block entry of course so 7 or more classes available to each mouse). Special prize winners were:
“Mrs Turfrey’s champion Dutch doe, best mouse in show, including the following: War Mem. Bowl, Mason App. Bowl, one guinea best in show, presented by Mrs Blowers, 10/6 best ad. Self, silver spoon best opposite Self adult. Mr Fountain’s PE White adult won Tuck Cup best opp section to best in show, spoon best Self adult, 10/6 best Self in show adult, best exhibit by 1934 member. Same owner’s 8 weeks PE White won spoon best 8 weeks Self. Mr T Keep’s Cream wins Warkwork [sic] Bowl. Mr Goodman’s 8 weeks Blue-and-Tan 10/6 best 8 weeks A.V., stainless bread knife, George Barber Cup, silver spoon best opp. Self 8 wks., 2nd best 1934 member. Mr F Heseldine wins Happy Days Cup; Dr Pickard, spoon best Pearl; Messrs Slack Bros , best Dutch 8 wks.; Master K Clifton, best novice, also 3rd best novice; H Daniels, 2nd best novice; D Champness, spoon best Cham. 8 wks novice. All members will appreciate the sporting spirit shown by Mrs Turfrey in withdrawing her champion Mara, Dutch doe, from the show bench so as not to kill competition in Dutch. Mrs Turfrey has decided to place the doe in the breeding pen. We all wish her every success, and hope she will soon produce a Ch. Mara the II.”
Happy Days indeed!