Petal power attracts visitors to floral festival

The 21 displays adorned the interior of St Mary's Church to delight visitors to its latest flower festival.

This coincided with the village's annual open garden weekend. A total of 22 gardens opened to provide a range of areas for visitors to enjoy seeing.

The occasion raised about 4,000 to be divided between St Mary's and the RNLI. The total compared well with previous years.

Open gardens organiser Derek Yeates said: "It was a lovely weekend. Everything was perfect. We sold about 350 open gardens programmes which we were happy with.

"The weather was gorgeous. The gardeners were all complaining the event was too early, but the last time we did it on the last weekend in May, four years ago, the weather was as nice."

The two-day flower festival was based on the theme of creation.

This prompted the designers to produce displays based on the rain, wind, snow and ice, the earth, fruits and vegetables and rainbows among others.

Their colours lit up the church with gladioli, lilies, carnations, hydrangeas, larkspur and michaelmas daisies.

The contributors included Doreen Bridgen, with three displays, Caroline Stimpson with two displays and Bognor Regis town mayor Eileen Anderson.

Group contributions came from Felpham and Middleton Horticultural Society, St Mary's Sunday School and Felpham Flower Club.

Church vicar, the Rev Timothy Peskett said: "The displays are absolutely beautiful. They are very tasteful and creative.

"This is a good community village and brings people into the church. It's their church and it's important they get the chance to visit it."

Festival steward Sheena Hoad created one of the displays for last year's event.

"There's a feeling of comradeship when you are creating the displays together and it's satisfying to see them on display," she said.

She was also among the church choir members, led by organist and choir trainer James Rushman, who performed African Jigsaw to a packed audience on Saturday evening.

The jazzy piece told the story of African shanty dwellers whose dreams of riches in a big city prove false.

The festival opened with a preview evening attended by about 100 guests.

Festival weekend also saw an extension to St Mary's finished.

The extra space includes a meeting room for some 40 people, a kitchen and a toilet for disabled people.

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