Sugar and Smith steal the show in cute cats contest
AN annual cute cat photograph competition held in Tadley showcased the best-looking felines in the area, but there was only one purrfect winner.
All the 86 entrants were displayed at the Basingstoke Cats Protection fair at Allen Ambrose Centre on March 16 and the public voted for their winner on the day.
Four-and-a-half-year-old Tadley resident Robyn Taylor took the top prize for her photo of two cats Sugar and Smith snuggling up together.
Second place went to Sophie Powell from Basingstoke with her photo of Tom in the garden, and third went to Roger Newport from Hungerford for his photo of Colin cuddling up in a cardboard box.
Voted for by judges, best in show
went to Ann Forbes Burford from West Heath near Ramsdell for her photo of Rocky.
Competition manager David Canning said: “We agonised over three photographs for best in show bearing in mind what would attract people to buy a calendar and their technical quality.
“In the end we went for a good sharp close up with no clutter in the background.”
The competition has been organised by Mr Canning and his wife Marion for the last 27 years, and after the prizegiving they presented a cheque of £365 to Andrea Shepherd from Basingstoke Cats Protection.
This donation was made up of profits they made through the sale of their 2024 cute cat calendar (which featured the best of last year’s competition), money raised by taking their model railway to various local shows and a contribution from Bucklebury man Terry Allwood who sells plants.