Our Area Day this year was not one, but two days! The event was held on Wednesday August 8th and Thursday August 9th at the Evesham Arts Centre, with the competitions being staged next door at Prince Henry’s High School, just a few yards away. (See our earlier post for images of the competition entries). Lunches were also held at Prince Henry’s High School, and we would like to thank Chantrelles of Worcester for a delicious two course meal, enjoyed by all.
In the morning we had a very entertaining talk by National Speaker Susan Horne, entitled “Oh I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside”. Sue enlightened us on the (sometimes strange) habits of holiday makers in days gone by. We all enjoyed Sue’s talk, and the vote of thanks to Sue was given by our 1st Vice-
Lunch was held in two sittings, and there was plenty of time to browse the various Trade Stands, organised by Jenny Bennett, and take home something special to enjoy. For those who still had room after their lunch, Abigail’s Vintage Scoops provided some delicious ice cream!
After lunch, we had a fantastic demonstration by National Demonstrator Derek Armstrong, whose demonstration was entitled “A Serenade to Summer”, and we were all enthralled by his floral expertise and stories of his career and the interesting floral work he has done. Derek also updated us all on the NAFAS Diamond celebrations next year – it all sounds very exciting! The vote of thanks was given by Andrew Lloyd (Past Area Chairman) on Wednesday, and Katherine Kear, Area Chairman on Thursday.
Our Area Day Chairman this year was Lesley Kay, Chairman of Offenham Flower Club, and her hard-
Both Venues were decorated with beautiful arrangements, and the décor team was Chris Vince, Sheila James, Liz Kerr and Mary Clarke, all of Offenham Flower Club, with Sallie Campbell (formerly of Pershore College) overseeing our efforts. All 25 of the table decorations were sold afterwards.
Our Stewards on both days worked very hard to help the day go smoothly, and we would like to thank Offenham, Bromsgrove and Pershore Flower Clubs for their volunteers.
We would also like to thank Chrissie Harten for photography on Wednesday, and Adrian James on Thursday.
Our generous sponsors were:
Karndean Flooring
Carrick Travel Agency
Bubbles Dry Cleaners
Silver Birch Bouquets
BHGS Floral Sundries
Next year’s Area Day will be held on Wednesday 30th October 2019 at the Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon – watch this space!
