THE ‘CITY’ recently held its Annual General Meeting at Stoneleigh Park, home of the Royal Show and owned by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, writes Mike Stockman.

Members of the Management Committee re-elected the Reverend J Gwyn (Great Dane) Davies as their President. In fact, it made only one new appointment which was that of Bill King, who having recently joined the committee from his day-job with Pedigree Masterfoods, became Vice-Chairman, to acclamation.

Those with reasonably long memories will recall that Stoneleigh was the venue for the Birmingham National Dog Show, in the days of the legendary Owen Grindey, before that organisation de-camped to Perry Park, and latterly by devious paths to the New Bingley Hall, Stafford.

Those who decide that they must pay a nostalgic visit to the site, will find a part of Warwickshire which is still the Midlands at its very best; but also discover that the Stoneleigh we once knew is now considerably altered.

Gone is the Tate & Lyle Hall in its entirety. In its place are a complex of Halls and Restaurants/Cafeteria coupled with the massive Blackdown Buildings to provide a covered area in excess of 20,000 square metres, enough to have all the necessary rings and benches inside.

The Trade Stand exhibitors will find themselves in a totally different area, this time right in the centre of the show rather than round the perimeter as at Perry Park.

Other changes are that the RASE have now constructed an on-site no-nonsense hotel, only a matter of two or three hundred metres from the Halls.

It’s all there in the centre of the group, a matter of minutes from the six different motorways. Who could ask for anything more!