Stroud in Bloom judgement day

I had my regular meeting with the Town Clerk for a couple of hours this morning, to set the Agenda for the next committee meeting which I will chair. We had a full council meeting yesterday evening, the first one for the newly elected councillors to discover what they are in for.

The Mayor popped his head into this morning's meeting and told us he was on his way to represent the Town Council at the lunch for the judges of the Britain In Bloom competition. The judging was happening this morning and one of our councillors is a key member of the organisation co-ordinating the decoration of the town with flowers. We have done very well in this competition over the years and the council's Green Spaces team. The team is responsible for the 24 green and open spaces throughout Stroud and countless tubs and beds. Their crowning glory is the large floral display in Park Gardens, in Slad Road. Shopkeepers add their own decorations outside their premises.

The theme for Stroud in Bloom this year is the rainbow. More than 4,500 plants, including 1,200 yellow begonias and 1,200 purple petunias, have been used in the Park Gardens display alone.

'Stroud in Bloom is a team effort by everyone in the community', said Green Spaces manager Jim Mathison. 'We are proud to be doing out our bit to bring a bit of colour to our beautiful town'.

I thought I would try and find a shot of the flowers to blip today and as I walked up the High Street I decided that a view down Swan Lane would show some of the hanging baskets and other plants. As I started to adjust the camera I saw this group of people approaching me along the Lane and realised that it was Margaret escorting the judges around town. When she saw me, she smiled, as she knows I often have a camera at the ready, although this was completely synchronistic.

Tony, the Town Cryer, was an added bonus. The man on the left was a customer of Woodruff's organic cafe, which is sited on the left-hand corner, and he was preparing to sit outside to drink his coffee. The other two men, and the woman hidden behind Tony, are the judges. We won't know if we have won until September.