Firvale Pumpkin of the Year

Story: Brent Moya

Sunday 26th October 2008 saw the Firvale Pumpkin of the Year Championship take place. The event, officiated by Barry Ashmoore and Kevin Cooper, took place at Wincobank allotments.

The day belonged to Oliver Henshaw, age 10, of Fir Vale who had endured heartache only a week earlier when he won the same competition at Thorpe Helsey but was unable to collect first place as he wasn’t from the area.

After beating off competition from several older contestants he stood proudly with his trophy alongside his father David and grandparents Tony and Rita Spillings. With his pumpkin weighing in at 112lbs, an ecstatic Oliver described the win as “the best moment of my life” and pledged to compete again next year.

His father said, “This has given my lad the incentive to carry on with something he enjoys as well as keeping him off the streets and out of harm’s way”.