A message from our Chairman about the Workshop yesterday:

On Saturday 31 July, a group of us gathered together to go on a coach trip to visit Beth Chatto’s gardens just outside Colchester.  After weeks of dry and fine weather it was dull and drizzling with rain and by the time we reached the M11 an hour later it was really raining!

However, once we arrived at the Garden, the sun was making an effort to shine and after lunch in the cafe we set off to admire Beth’s extensive and varied garden.  It was very peaceful and easy to while away a couple of hours before going to the Plant Nursery where there were hundreds of different plants available to buy.  I think nearly everyone on the trip returned home with a plant or two (or more!) as the luggage compartment of the coach was full of plants! I just wish my garden was more like Beth’s ………!

Well what a lovely day I had at the National Show on Friday.  It was a hot and sunny day and I’d almost gone off the idea by thinking about how hot the halls were going to be and how crowded.  But in fact the Harrogate International Centre is very spacious and although there were a lot of people there it didn’t seem too crowded.  I was glad I made the effort, some of the arrangements were truly stunning.  After wandering around for an hour or so, I decided to give my feet a break and went into the NAFAS Education section where a learning session was just about to start on using sticks in Continental designs.  It was very interesting and I picked up some useful tips.  I also bumped into Penny from our Committee in there! (Many of you will know her from the Book Stall!) Later, as I was in Harrogate town centre on a break for lunch, I bumped into Pearl also from our Committee (Raffle table supremeo!)  What a small world it is.

In the afternoon, I went to see a demonstration by Michael Bowyer entitled “Hallelujah”.  A really spectacular show. 2 hours of Music, Dance and Singing accompanied by some wonderful flower arrangements.  There were dancers from Pakistan, songs from famous shows and all types of music.  It ended with a comedy sketch based on The Full Monty which saw Michael ripping off his trousers while his team of helpers hid behind large umbrellas!

I took so many photos during the day but have chosen just a few to give you a small flavour of the day.  If you really want to find out what it’s like, you should make a date in your diary for next year when it will be held in Torquay on  22 – 24 September.  It sounds like a good place for a weekend away!

This first set of photos are some the class entries in the show ranging from traditional pedestals and country gardens to a really bright and bold class called ‘Pandemonium’

The final photos are just a few from Michael Bowyers show.

On Tuesday 6th July we were joined by Jane Ellis, a recently qualified area demonstrator.  Jane created 6 colourful arrangements along the theme of “The Seeing Eye” and in one of them she used some Florigene Genetically modified carnations in ‘Moonlite’ – a lovely shade of strong mauve.  She also showed us some interesting manipulative techniques with Snake Grass and included a variety of interesting other techniques including one that caused gasps from the audience when Jane removed all the petals off some bright yellow sunflowers before placing them in her arrangement!  The results of her endeavours can be seen below.

Lisa Howarth came to Bedford to visit our club on Tuesday 1st June to present a demonstration called ‘We’re going on a Summer Holiday’.  Unfortunately I wasn’t there to see her as I really was on my Summer Holiday but from what I’ve been told she created some lovely arrangements and everyone not only enjoyed watching her but also learned a lot about the care of flowers.  One of our members took some photos of her creations that you can see below.

After a particularly cold day, we all needed cheering up with thoughts of summer – and that is exactly what Barbara gave us – 6 lovely arrangements of bright and cheery flowers accompanied by humerous chatter.  The results of her endeavours are shown below:

We also held one in our series of ‘Your turn’.  This month the title was ‘Recycled’ and we had some lovely floral entries as well as a photograph section.  Some of the arrangements made by our talented members are shown below.  We have another ‘Your Turn’ event next month (June 1st) – why not have a go yourself?

(I should just point out that I moved 2 of the smaller exhibits to fit them into the photo and they had got coins placed beside them in their original position!  The coins are put down by other members to show their appreciation and favourite, last week the tall one with the catherine wheel on the top was the most preferred.)

Tuesday 6th April

Wow!  John Chennell certainly believes in doing things on a grand scale!!  We had a really good turnout on Tuesday evening of both members and visitors to watch John create his stunning arrangements and no-one left disappointed.

For our first demonstration of the new year, we were pleased to be visited by Sharon Badger from Market Harborough. Sharon talked about her forthcoming challenge of designing and staging an arrangement to represent Mauritius at Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Day next week, as well as her family connections with Bedford, while creating 6 very different flower arrangements – and all this with a bandage on her arm and a dodgy microphone! Sharon didn’t let it put her off, and some photos of the arrangements she created are below.

On Saturday morning, a group of 16 of us gathered at Kempston All Saints Church hall to spend some time creating our own Christmassy arrangements under the excellent guidance of Ann Gray.  We all thoroughly enjoyed having some quality time to be creative and were able to produce some beautiful flower arrangements.  We also had time for a break during which we enjoyed a light buffet with sparkling grape juice.  It was a lovely workshop as you can see from the photos below.

On December 1st Margaret Rumens came down from her home in Solihull to entertain us with her Christmas demonstration entitled ‘Season’s Greetings’.  We had a really good turnout of both members and visitors and instead of our usual plant stall we decided to have a small ‘Bring and Buy’ sale to raise money towards the NAFAS charity of the year – Breast Cancer Care.  We also had a selection of festive fare for everyone to enjoy before watching Margeret create a selection of beautiful arrangements with apparent ease.  Some photos are below of the arrangements that approx 10 lucky ladies were able to take home with them at the end of the evening after being drawn out of the raffle.