PICTURES: St Mary's Flower Festival

The ladies of St Mary's Church in Felpham have presented life in the church through flowers.
St Marys Flower Festival organiser Caroline Stimpson with Wedding, featuring a floral bride and bridegroom. Pictures: Derek Martin DM17731853aSt Marys Flower Festival organiser Caroline Stimpson with Wedding, featuring a floral bride and bridegroom. Pictures: Derek Martin DM17731853a
St Marys Flower Festival organiser Caroline Stimpson with Wedding, featuring a floral bride and bridegroom. Pictures: Derek Martin DM17731853a

St Mary’s Flower Festival, from Friday to Sunday, had the theme Our Life Through The Church, from babes to the end, taking in baptism, confirmation, wedding and funeral.

The festival takes place every other year and the last three have been organised by Caroline Stimpson, a member of the church with flower arranging experience.

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She said festivals in the past had been done mainly by professionals but she wanted the festival to be led by the women from the church.

Pat Mares, left, and Mary Jackson looking at We Enter as Babes in Arms DM17731884aPat Mares, left, and Mary Jackson looking at We Enter as Babes in Arms DM17731884a
Pat Mares, left, and Mary Jackson looking at We Enter as Babes in Arms DM17731884a

This year, for the first time, every arrangement was made solely by church members, from constructing the silk flower garlands to the flower displays in the church.

Caroline said: “It is such a lovely thing. It is so nice to see people take a bucket of flowers and make it into something special.

“My aim was to get just the ladies of the church doing it as a lot of people have said in the past how much they wanted to do it so I am really pleased.

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“It is lovely because you can learn such a lot from other ladies who have been doing it for years. We don’t want to have perfection, we want the love of people in the church to come forward in the flowers.”

Rosemary Gregory with her white-themed arrangement, Confirmation DM17631866aRosemary Gregory with her white-themed arrangement, Confirmation DM17631866a
Rosemary Gregory with her white-themed arrangement, Confirmation DM17631866a

We Enter as Babes in Arms, the display in the church porch, was made by Eileen Anderson, Baptism was a joint effort by Jeanette Fido and Sue Davidson, and Confirmation was made by Rosemary Gregory.

Wedding featured a bride and bridegroom, all created with plants by Bunty Simmans, Mary Tickner, Ann Christie, Jenny Godwin, Sheila White and Sue Davidson.

Funeral was also a team effort, made by Jan Penn, Janet Bidwell, Ann Evans, Margaret Hatton, Jenny Challis, Mary Tickner and Jenny Godwin.

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And up in the bell tower overlooking it all was a piece called Heaven, made by Caroline.

The festival also included Felpham Open Gardens and Felpham Art Group exhibition in St Mary’s Centre over the weekend.