Monster pumpkin on show at the Riviera Centre
The Riviera Centre was treated to a monster pumpkin this Halloween weighing in at 13 ½ stone. The delivery of the pumpkin involved 4 strong men to lift but it arrived at the Centre just in time for their Children’s Halloween Party on Sunday 31st October.
The pumpkin took 3 hours to carve and was then rigged up with electrical lighting and surrounded by creepy decorations to create an eerie atmosphere. A competition to ‘guess the weight of the pumpkin' ran throughout the duration of the Party with two lucky winners being announced at the end of the evening; Amelia Anderson and Sarah Wilson.
The pumpkin was donated by Tony Mason; a family friend of Phil Davidson, chef de partie in the kitchens at the Riviera Centre. "I wanted to donate the pumpkins I grew in the hope that people would get as much enjoyment from viewing them as I have had from growing them," said Tony.
The largest and award winning pumpkin of Tony's harvest, which weighed in at 14 stone and 12 pounds, was donated to Coombe Pafford School. The children of the School have since been challenged to plant the seeds of the over sized pumpkin to try and outgrow it next year.
This largest pumpkin picked up its award at Torquay Allotment Holders fifth annual show earlier this year; however it wasn't the only award Tony picked up. Others included awards for his shallots and onions which have spurred him on to begin preparations in readiness for next year's competition.
The pumpkins were grown on Tony's allotment in Torquay and he believes it is highly feasible for him to produce even bigger pumpkins next season as he faced various obstacles this year which stunted their growth. "The main runner connecting the pumpkins was squashed under one of the pumpkins and so it split, said Tony. "I will ensure that this does not happen again and so I'm confident I can beat my own personal record. "Next year will be my 3rd year in growing pumpkins, and as my biggest pumpkin of this season is twice the size of my first crop, I'm hoping to double the size again next year."
