The Farnham Flower Festival is back at St John’s Church, over the weekend of May 14-15. There will be displays of flowers, art, craft, poetry, music, delicious cakes, drinks and a raffle. Entry is only £1. It will be open between 10am and 4pm on Saturday, 14thand 12pm and 4pm on Sunday 15th. It is sponsored by Florescence, award-winning florists who have a workshop downstairs at St Mark’s.
Among the exhibitors will be Hale School, William Cobbett School, Badshot Lea Bloomers, Hale Methodist Church, Arts at St Mark’s, the Parish Choir, artists Susie Lidstone and Alison Ridgeon, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, Weybourne Community Church, our own churches, Farnham ASSIST, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, Elmaz Ekrem, winner of the Farnham Literary Festival’s poetry competition, and Florescence.
Bring your friends to see the wonderful displays and enjoy a community event here in the parish.
This year our festival has been sponsored by Florescence, an award-winning florist based at St Mark’s Church in Upper Hale. If you look at wonderful floral arrangements and think ‘I wish I could do that’, Elise from Florescence has made a video here to give you some tips. The finished arrangement can be seen in St Mark’s during our 11am Sunday service.
Thank you
Thank you to all who took part and to all of you for viewing this flower festival online. Our church flower arrangers have also placed beautiful displays in church which you can see at our Sunday services – 9.30am at St John’s, Hale; 10am at St George’s, Badshot Lea; and 11am at St Mark’s, Upper Hale.
The Covid pandemic has had an effect on our finances and the parish is more dependent than ever on donations. Please do give to support our work in the community. You can donate by clicking on the button below. Thank you.
Aspen Salisbury is a young artist who specialises in wildlife-inspired art and can be found on Instagram @byaspencrafts
Dawn Harcourt
Karina Fraser
Karina Fraser is a synesthetic artist who uses the neurological experience of synaesthesia, the cross wiring of senses, to explore and create abstract art. She can be found in her studio at St George’s Church and at www.karinafraser.com
Knitchings
Knitchings is a head of creative arts, a knitter, artist, ‘interior freewheeler’, owner of the world’s most patient and obliging cat – Gladys – and has a large (43k) following on Instagram where she can be found @knitchings
Linda Daruvala
Linda Daruvala is an author and artist.
Penny Fleet
Late Summer Sun
Summer Joy
Sunny Sunflowers
Sweet Joy
Penny Fleet is a mixed media artist, based near Odiham, who creates paintings, cards and collages on canvas, wood and paper using a combination of acrylic paints, inks, hand-decorated collage papers, thread, fabric and text. She can be found at www.pennyfleet.co.uk
Sorrell Price
Susie Lidstone
Gladioli
Lowndes Buildings, Farnham
Susie Lidstone is a watercolour artist well known for her paintings of flowers and buildings especially around Farnham. She can be found at http://susielidstone.com/
Businesses
Castle Vets
Denzil belonging to Rebecca, vet nurse
Garavoche, a foster puppy living with Emma Bunce, vet nurse
Nela, a puppy with a cleft lip, belonging to Natalia, vet
Daffodogs, Merlin and Jasper belonging to Emma Green, vet
Nibbs is a small family business based in Surrey, producing small batch artisan gin in two flavours – elderflower gin, using freshly picked elderflower from the Surrey and Sussex countryside, and a ‘Surrey Hops’ gin using Farnham hops as a botanical. www.nibbsspirits.co.uk
The Rural Life Centre
The Rural Life Centre in Tilford is a living museum which collects, conserves and displays the history and culture of village life in the countryside. rural-life.org.uk
Squires
Squires is a garden centre in Badshot Lea, part of a family-owned horticultural business across Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, West London and Berkshire. www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk
Usborne Books
Usborne sells books for children, often via local agents. To order any Usborne books, contact judywilliams61@hotmail.com
Faith organisations
Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Assocation, Farnham
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association, Farnham, is a socially active branch of Lajna, an auxiliary organisation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. lajna.org.uk
Badshot Lea and Hale
The Bahá’í Faith
Bahá’ís believe the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the future of society and of the nature and purpose of life. www.bahai.org
The Spire Church, Farnham
The Spire Church is a newly formed church created through a partnership between Farnham United Reformed Church and Farnham Methodist Church. spirechurchfarnham.org.uk
Individuals
Angela Hall
The Buckle Family
Buds of Hope by Aly Buckle
Give me Joy in m y Heart by Aly Buckle
Hugo Buckle, 3, planting in Nanny’s garden
Oh, what joy to see the bluebells, by Derek Buckle
Carolyn and Gerry Weston
The Church Cat
Flowers? What is the point if I can’t eat them?
Diana Thomas
Gillian Geraghty
Gillian Hyman
Judy Dudley
Margie Powell
Maxine Everitt
Melissa Salisbury
Melvin Little
Pamela Marsham
Wendy Edwards
Sobriety – an arrangement celebrating a year of sobriety achieved during lockdown of by a recovering alcoholic, remembering both the hope of recovery from addiction through seeking help and trusting the God of our understanding and the joys of sobriety.
Local Groups
Alder Valley Brass
Alder Valley Brass is a brass band based in Farnham, and a small group of its members played at the recent St George’s Day Service at St John’s. It is a traditional brass band of 25 brass players plus percussion and also perform in smaller ensembles from time to time, and it is celebrating its 60th birthday. www.aldervalleybrass.org.uk
Hale Carnival Committee is a group of people who organise the Hale Carnival and fundraise during the year. Sadly the carnival had to be cancelled this year because of Covid but it will be back! www.halecarnival.co.uk
Hale WI
Hale WI is a lively group which, out of lockdown, meets at the Hale Institute on the second Wednesday of the month at 1.45pm. https://surrey.thewi.org.uk/find-wi/hale
Among the therapies offered by Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham therapy through nature, where the sessions are designed to support participants to live well through access to nature, horticulture and the garden, offering the benefits of ‘the great outdoors’ indoors. www.pth.org.uk
Places of Education
Badshot Lea Village Infant School
Sun Class created 100 flowers
Paper flowers by Mars Class
Sunflowers by Sky Class
Fruit and vegetable smiles by Rainbow Class
100 pictures from Tice’s Meadow by Star Classas part of Captain Tom’s 100 challenge
This year’s Farnham Flower Festival will once more be held online over the weekend of May 15 and 16 here on the website with contributions from individuals, businesses, faith groups, charities, schools and other organisations, all celebrating the theme of hope and joy. Anyone who would like to is invited to send in photos or videos of flower arrangements or garden or wild flowers, or floral art to take part in the festival.
This is the third Farnham Flower Festival and the second one online, organised by the Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale in north Farnham. Rev’d Lesley Crawley, rector of the parish, said: “Our flower festivals celebrate colour and new life and the joy of God’s creation, and this year it feels more important than ever to draw attention to the hope and joy that we can find in nature and in the knowledge that God is here in the world, sustaining us.
“Please do send in your photos and videos and celebrate with us.”
This year’s festival is being sponsored by the award-winning florist Florescence who operates from downstairs at St Mark’s. Find out more about the company here.
The Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale 