NEWS FROM BOUGHTON

Your monthly update from Boughton

Boughton Flower

Festival 2005

The beginning of May heralded the Boughton Flower Festival. With the same 'crew' as last year plus the help of some very welcome newcomers and the Mothers & Toddlers Group we were able to put on a show that attracted many visitors. This year we raised £556.22 which will be split equally between the church and the village project. This compares with £400 last year, so I hope now that we are an established venue, we can reach even dizzier heights next year!

The theme of the festival was 'The rainbow' which made for some very colourful displays and caused some headaches for the arrangers who took on the difficult colours such as blue and indigo! Some displays incorporated songs and musicals such as The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain and Paint a Rainbow. To augment the flowers we were dazzled once again by the paintings provided by our village artists - Judith Mazur, Pauline Bradley and Valerie Alcaster. Many comments were received on the quality of the paintings - lots of disappointed would-be buyers left the church empty handed!

I would like to thank everybody who took part in any way - the villagers who volunteered to man the church, make refreshments, sell raffle tickets, provide raffle prizes and generally make our visitors feel welcome. Special thanks to the arrangers who each provided their own flowers and worked tirelessly to put on a stunning show. The arrangers this year were Diana Beeson, Debbie Leet, her sister and of course her daughter Megan who once again fearlessly took on her own window (see photograph), together with Pam Wakeling, Sandy Reid, Pauline Bradley, Maryse Golds, Valerie Alcaster and myself. Thanks also to Alan Wilkinson for kindly providing the greenery.

I found myself in a predicament just before the festival because Ian had to go into hospital. I am very grateful to the people who ferried me backwards and forwards to the hospital and the many good wishes we received. Without this support, I probably would not have been in a position to give the flower festival the support it needed. Thanks again.

In addition to the money raised for the festival, £31.50 was raised in Christmas card sales and we have purchased a large waterproof gazebo for use at village events. This is 9 metres x 3 metres so might require a few strong men! This was funded by a donation from Ian and myself for half the cost, the proceeds of the sale of a water colour from Pauline Bradley and the gift of commission on a sale made by Judith Mazur made up the remainder of the cost - many thanks to both of them, because now I can sleep easy knowing we can still 'do teas' even in the rain! Grateful thanks for the donations received from Mr. & Mrs. Aspinall, Pam Watkinson and Bill Miller.

Lastly Judith Mazur is to be congratulated on her excellent guide which has been praised extensively for its colour, information and entertainment value ... I suspect it will be much copied next year!

Your support as always is very necessary to make these events work. We have very few real flower arrangers, but we all manage to use our enthusiasm to see us through - this year we have attracted some new people and the Mothers & Toddlers group -next year come and join in the fun! I can only say I have enjoyed myself once again and made more friends into the bargain!

Boughton Future Events

Open Gardens: Please remember Open Gardens on Sunday 12th June. Even if you are unable to open your garden, you can still help out with teas, selling raffle tickets, running a bric-a-brac stall or sharing the wonders of your baking, either for the cake stall or, for sales with the teas. Any help would be gratefully received. Donations of raffle prizes would also be very welcome.

VE Day Street Party: - Although I still have no word about funding, this will still go ahead. Family storyboards would be welcome for inclusion in an exhibition in the church. These could depict what your family did during the war, life on the land, in the forces or perhaps as an evacuee. The date of the street party will be 21st August and everyone will be welcome, whether dressed appropriately for the era or in modern dress. More details will follow over the next few months.

Pam Wakeling