NEWS RELEASES
Britain in Bloom judges off to a GOLDen start!
2 July 2008
ON Friday 27 June, in preparation for the 2008 finals, specialist judges for Britain in Bloom descended upon Horsham town, last year’s Gold Award Winner in the large town/small city class. They came to see how the town had or had not lived up to its national winning standard! The Royal Horticultural Society try to maintain a fair and balanced approach to judging their finalists so they have an annual gathering of judges at a prime destination to help them all to set similar standards.
This year Horsham was chosen for this exceptional honour. The Horsham in Bloom team took on the challenge to show the 11 national judges and 3 key administrators from the RHS exactly what makes the town a winner. This was no easy task because today’s judging took place far earlier than the customary timing for this kind of event which is August. The tour was allocated less time than usual and the whole process was complicated by the number of people to be moved in and out of a vehicle.
Undaunted - the Horsham in Bloom team rose to the challenge and gave the judges a day to remember. The tour needed to include all of the aspects that are part of the Britain in Bloom objectives, these include community participation, the use of media to spread responsible messages, environmental awareness, council input, cleanliness, sustainability and landscaping prowess. ‘In Bloom’ competitions are all-encompassing they go far beyond dressing-up areas with attractive floral displays. They are very ecologically based and extremely green!
The tour included a visit to Arunside School where pupils take a positive interest in their environment, at the moment they are working towards achieving a Gold standard in the Eco schools competition. The judges visited Warnham Nature Reserve to meet the volunteers who make such a difference, they went to Horsham Museum Garden, Hills Cemetery and the St. Mary’s Parish Church where flower arrangers were busy preparing for this week’s flower festival. They savoured the enthusiasm of local residents and businesses who create outstanding contributions to how the town looks. As expected Horsham Park was a main highlight of the visit and included a look at the central pond where baby ducks were out and about, the Millennium Maze and the Park House Garden where everyone met the press. Wesley Carr is producing a special programme about Britain in Bloom for Radio 4, he certainly teased out plenty of interesting answers from the judges and the local bloom team these will be broadcast in the autumn.
The judges adjourned to deliberate about what they had seen and after a tense wait Christine Costin (HiB Chairman) and Evan Giles (Park Services Manager) were called in to hear the verdict. Roger Burnett, the Chairman of the Britain in Bloom judges revealed that the consensus of opinion was that the town had maintained its GOLDen example. What a relief to know that this group of auspicious experts confirmed that Horsham is still leading the national league table for excellence. A detailed report of the findings will be forwarded to the Committee shortly.
These were judges from all over the country many with years of experience of visiting destinations throughout the United Kingdom. So their high opinion is great for Horsham!
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who plays a part, well done! Horsham is special and thankfully most people who live or work here value everything about it. No one can be complacent, we need to carry on working together to ensure that things get even better. Horsham in Bloom always needs more volunteers and supporters; we would like to encourage people to enter our local competitions this summer because taking part can be very rewarding.
Remember! sponsorship of Horsham in Bloom is good for business -your contribution can make a real difference to our local surroundings and the local economy.
Horsham – Pride of Britain! Winner of Britain in Bloom.
Ends
Contact: Christine Costin Chairman of Horsham in Bloom (01403 266165)
This news release has been published on behalf of Horsham in Bloom