TEN excited and nervous villagers of Bulphan travelled to Birmingham to the prestigious awards ceremony presented by celebrity gardener Alys Fowler. It was a horrific journey (six hours!) as eight of the ten villagers were caught in a standstill traffic jam. After a frustrating and nail biting drive, the team run from the car as fast as they could, only to find they had missed the announcement!
It was not all in vain though as the two committee members that had made it through the traffic had proudly climbed the stage to collect a prestigious Silver Gilt award on behalf of the village.
Specialist RHS judges praised the village on it’s achievements by saying how it is unsurpassed that an entrant has been put forward to national level after only two years. They commented on how the village’s community, of all ages, has worked so hard together to transform this rural village into a local treasure. One of the judges said “you have all done so well, it was hard to find fault as everything was so well done and to get a silver gilt as a first time entrant to national level is an outstanding achievement”.
The villagers are still on cloud nine after their recent successes only two weeks ago at the Anglia in Bloom awards in Sudbury. Where they scooped a GOLD award and were selected as the “Best Village in Anglia”. The village was also nominated for many other special awards for all their achievements – Best Drought Garden, Best Community project and Best Youth Project.
Following a short break for summer they are now organizing their autumn planting days to get the village preened and ready for spring.
Other projects and events will be taking place throughout the year. If you live in Bulphan and are inspired please contact Kelly Fiford on 01375 892794 or e-mail Kelly.norris1@btinternet.com
