Whilst British shows are relatively small compared to some of their European counterparts, what they lack in size, they more than make up for in interest and quality. This year's Hayward's Heath show, also often referred to simply as the SUssex Show, was no exception and was probably one of the best ever laid on by the Sussex Mineral and Lapidary Society (SMLS). A big congratulation to John Pearce and the club for arranging such a first class event.

We arrived early on Saturday just as most dealers were unpacking their specimens. A quick tour showed that the quality of specimens was going to be high. Last year we were amused by another dealer's story that significant trading happens in the car park, even before the doors open to the hall. One such arrival was eagerly awaited by a number of collectors. Eventually Barry Gamble arrived with his selection of Cornish specimens. We crowded round to see what was available. In spite of some frenetic activity the quality and range of minerals was actually quite uninspiring. Somewhat disappointed we headed inside.

As usual the show is held at the Clare Hall in the town centre. The venue consists of a large central hall, with two smaller rooms leading off a corridor to one side. One of the first dealers we spoke to was David Hacker. For a sometime David and his wife Elizabeth have been regarded as having one of the best collections of Northern English minerals in the country. They are, however, gradually disposing of the collection and on their table were some superb Calcites from Cumbria. One was a large cluster of water-clear dog-tooth crystals, unusual for the locality by the lack of iron staining. Other great specimens included a rather nice Fluorite crystal group form Frazers Hush Mine and a very good Galena and Sphalerite cluster from Nenthead.

Haywards Heath Main Hall	Fluorite on Display by the SMLS

Nearby was a table occupied by Nick Carruth. Nick usually has a great selection of mid priced quality specimens from around the world, many of which he acquires during his annual pilgrimage to Tucson. In addition, he usually also has a great selection of Cornish specimens, and it these we wanted to see. Amongst the best was a large Jack-straw Cerrusite from Herodsfoot as well as great Scorodite from the recent find at Liskeard.

Next door was Richard Tyler. Although the majority of Richard's specimens are miniatures and micromounts, he has the knack for finding rare and unusual species. Amongst this year's finds were Lollingite and Berzelianite. Incredibly, amongst his specimens as a very nice specimen of Cinnabar. We had spent most of the summer looking for a nice example for a client, including a trip to Munich in late October, without any luck. Yet Richard had a couple of specimens all the time!

Fluorite Competition - Heights Mine Specimen	Fluorite Competition - Rotherhope Fell Mine

By now we were in need of refreshment so decided to see what was on offer. As usual this is one of the highlights of the show run by the female members of the Society. Their sandwiches and cakes are famous and it wouldn't surprise us if some visitors to the show didn't come just to taste these delicious goodies. Once again we were not disappointed and the refreshments were as good, if not better, than ever.

After the brief break, we decided to view this year's special exhibits. The first was a display of outstanding British specimens by the Natural History Museum. Positioned just inside the entrance the case was filled with mineral classics. Amongst these was a Plumbogummite and Pyromorphite combo form Roughton Gill, featured on the cover of the Cooper and Stanley famous guide to the Caldbeck Fells. Also on display was a huge Bournonite cog-wheel from Herdosfoot Mine, a 10cm blue Barite crystal form Cumbria and a world-class blue Fluorite from the Holmbush Mine, Cornwall.

Plumbogummite and Pyromorphite	Fluorite from Holmbush

Rather humbled by the experience we next viewed the display by the SMlS of specimens collected by its members on Society field trips. The SMLS is one of the few remaining British mineralogical societies that still has an active collecting programme. Most others have stopped because of health and safety and insurance concerns. Nevertheless, the SMLS perseveres and have even coined the phrase 'geotourism', holding at least one visit a year to a classic worldwide location. These are highly successful and recent digs have taken place in France, Tsumeb and India. On display were therefore a number of really excellent specimens including blue Fluorite from Asturias in Spain, pink Stilbite from Poona in India and Smithsonite form Tsumeb. It shows that self-collecting is still possible and that enormous pleasure can be obtained from well-planned and well-supported field trips.

Alan Hart announces the winner	Ian Jones' acceptance speech

Back in the main hall we next talked to Mike Brooke, Roland Thomas and John Lawson. Mike as usual had some good sulphide minerals from around the world, especially from Central Europe and Africa. Roland has recently acquired a large selection of excellent Chinese Fluorites, and John, back from the summer collecting season, had brought a selection of unusual purple octahedral Fluorites from Ireland. Opposite, was the display set up by Ian Bruce from Crystal Classics. Ian is known for his high quality specimens with prices to match. This year he was selling mostly British specimens from the Scoble collection, consisting mostly of Weardale Fluorites; and Calcite, Hematite and Barite from Cumbria. Next to Ian's stand was a banner displaying the Mindat logo, although Jolyon, who runs the site, proved elusive to find. In the end we managed to track him down and snap a picture of the great man himself.

On the stage in the hall was another highlight of the show. This year the SMLS had organised a competition in which a handful of collectors from the UK were invited to show their British Fluorites. The competition, as far as we know, was the first of its kind in the UK, trying to emulate the continental shows like Munich and Bologna. The specimens in the display cases were truly world class. All fielded a mixture of British specimens including rare examples from Cornwall and Derbyshire. Of course, Weardale specimens featured prominently. The five entries were judged by Alan Hart from the Natural History Museum. After much deliberation the first prize was awarded to Ian Jones, whose display also contained a number of cut and polished fluorite gemstones. Overall, we feel that the specimens on show represented the best Fluorite collections in the country. Next year's theme is Barite, but any competitors will have a major challenge beating the quality if this year's specimens.

Before leaving the main hall, we noticed that there were more overseas dealers at this year's show than last. This is great to see because it means that foreign visitors continue to regard the UK as a viable market. Our collectors should support these visitors because it means that more will be encouraged to come in future years. The benefit to domestic collectors is more competition, therefore lower prices, and the availability of an ever growing range of continental specimens giving us more variety to choose from.

Jolyon takes a stroll	The winning competition display

In the smaller halls we found a couple of dealers selling books, some quite rare and a couple of mineral classics. Towards the side of one hall we were delighted to see a crowd of excited youngsters surrounding a polishing machine. Each was trying his or her best to get their turn at polishing a stone clasped tightly in the hand. The SMLS is working very hard to encourage young collectors, and amongst other 'treats' were a very colourful display of UV minerals run by Richard Belson and a rather frantic fossil dig. The fact that the SMLS takes the trouble to organise these child-focussed events is a great credit to its members.

Moving into the last room we discovered a treasure trove of African specimens. Both Bob Mauer and Warren Taylor had brought with them great quality specimens from a number of classic locations including Beryl from Zambia and colourful copper minerals from Congo. However our excitement grew as Warren unpacked a case of stunning specimens from Tsumeb, We discovered that he had actually worked at the mine as an engineer and picked up a large number of specimens before the mine closed up. We immediately picked out his best specimens including wonderful Cerrusites, Azurites, Calcites and Smithsonites. It was a great feeling to pick up specimens such as these directly from the person who had first hand experience of obtaining them right form the source.

A superbly rich Cerrusite from Tsumeb	Golden Smithsonite from Tsumeb

By now the show was drawing to a close and it was time to leave. We spoke to the show's organisers and sadly the number of visitors seemed to be down on last year. Also, many dealers had complained that sales had been rather slow. We have commented on the prices that dealers are asking and won't do so again. However, the penny may drop one day that rising prices, beyond the means of most people, will eventually make collecting inaccessible to all but a handful of collectors.

Otherwise, the quality of the show keeps getting better. Whilst not on the same scale as other European shows, it nevertheless provides British collectors with a great experience and a wide choice of British and foreign specimens, albeit mostly expensive ones. The Sussex Society works extremely hard to support collecting, first by providing interesting activities to youngsters and secondly by inaugurating the annual mineral competition. Our only criticism is that the competiton is open to invited participants only and that the theme is very narrow. Whilst it is not a problem to find collectors of popular minerals such as Fluorite, we suspect that finding next year's Barite collectors may prove much harder to find. Our suggestion would be to base future competitions on wider themes such as locations or mineral properties such as pseudomorphs, rather than individual mineral species.

Duftite from Tsumeb	Beautiful pink Cobaltocalcite from Tsumeb

On the subject of mineral species for sale, we were pleased to see many of the traditional staples such as Fluorite, Galena and Calcite, but there were enough new specimens to satisfy most collectors. We were particularly delighted with our find of Tsumeb minerals, as well as a number of good specimens from India, Pakistan and Russia. We even discovered a few specimens of Hungarian Kochasondorite, a species only formally accepted by the IMA last year.

Lastly, we would encourage all collectors to visit the show next year. It is without doubt one of the leading highlights of the British mineralogical calendar and should therefore not be missed. We will certainly be back next year and look forward to another great event. We hope to see you there!