If you have ever had one of those all-day meetings where nobody could reach agreement, then you have some idea of what judging is like.

It certainly makes for a long day, or if the subject matter is interesting, it makes for a highly passionate debate.

Drama and a commitment to the job at hand was certainly the order of the day at the judging.

As a first-time judge, I managed to show some restraint for the first hour or two (okay, the first 15 minutes) but by day's end the formalities were long gone.

We began the day with a plan to select winners in a long list of categories.