The photo shows the Great Room at Grosvenor House shortly before the lunch started. it was all very elegantly laid out and, though there must have been something like 1200 people there, there was adequate space for everybody.

The awards were of course what everybody was there for, and we were very pleased that One Tower Bridge won the Grand Award - the "Best in Show" prize. It is an amazing project too, and we are proud to have supplied our products via Scotscape. As these things tend to do, the ceremony did rather drag on. The presenter was Stephanie McGovern, a well-known TV presenter (apparently - but then I don't watch TV!). She did have some trouble holding the attention of the crowd, as the procedure trundled on, but it would have been an impossible task for anybody, as the temperature rose and drink was being drunk. Everybody should get their time in the limelight, but if there were any way of speeding up the presentation of the awards, that would be the single improvement that would make a big difference to the event.

The food was nicely presented and well prepared, but not that inspiring, perhaps (difficult with 1200 guests though). There was a decent amount of drink available and we enjoyed that! The prices in the bar afterwards are, well, London prices... need I say more?

Overall, the organisation can't be faulted. Everything worked smoothly, the catering and security staff did their jobs unobtrusively and there was never any real crush. People were generally well-behaved and I think we all left with feelings of goodwill towards humankind in general and BALI in particular - a good thing at this time of the year!

Today is World Soil Day! It's held annually on 5 December, since 2014 when it was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The date of was chosen because it was the official birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who officially sanctioned the event.

Soils are an important component of the natural system and helps human wellbeing through its contribution to food, water and energy security and mitigation of biodiversity loss. And of course, soils are at the core of our business. We provide topsoils of various specifications, as well as pure composts - these are the "black stuff" you may immediately think of as soil. But plants needs other types of soil as well - subsoil and root zone to get themselves stabilised, watered and drained; SUDS soils for surviving in urban environments (the acronym? it stands for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems); light substrates for use in roof gardens; and endless special mixtures for particularly demanding environments.

The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) estimates that 95% of the world's food is dependent on soil; and that up to a third of global soil is already degraded. It is formed through very long-term processes and cannot easily be replaced. So, look after your soil - it's what keeps you fed!

The Grand Award at the BALI National Landscape Awards went to the One Tower Bridge project. Well done all involved - Maylim Limited received the award for this project, which had Berkeley Homes as the client. Maylim's suppliers included Scotscape, to whom we proudly provided materials.

There were of course lots of awards - see them all at the BALI Awards website - and we were involved one way or another in many of them:

• Total Protection got a Principal Award for the Hard Landscaping Construction (£300k - £1.5m) at Dollar Bay.
• Talbot Farm Landscapes won the Principal Regeneration Scheme over £500k for Hyde Park Parade and also received the Special Award for Best First Time Entrant.
• Bowles & Wyer won no less than 6 awards, of which two as Principal Awards for Soft Landscaping Under £300K at St Peter’s College and for the brilliant Green Roof Installation at Eland House
• Elite Landscapes received an award for the fantastic work carried out at Chelsea Creek
• Skidmores of Hertford were rewarded for the great work done at Kings Langley
• Blakedown Landscapes (SE) picked up another award for St Mary’s Churchyard, Elephant & Castle (In which we were also involved)
• idverde UK among other awards picked up the Principal Award for Grounds Maintenance - Free Public Access, for Manor Gardens in Bexhill
• Kingston Landscape Group won the Principal Award in the Soft Landscaping £300k - £1.5m category and for the Green Roof Installation, both for the Dickens Yard project.

There might be some more observations on the event in the next few days...