I was lucky enough to be able to visit Barbados last month for the 12th World Show which was held at the LLoyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Bridgetown. I visited on the first open day, although the venue was well air conditioned to keep the flowers in good condition for longer. As you went in, the entrance foyer was filled with huge international honorary exhibits – over 25 different countries were represented and many had used flowers in the colour of their national flag. The rest of the venue was filled with competitive entries in 25 classes – there were some wonderful arrangements and lots of exotic flowers and foliage that we rarely see here in the UK.
In the evening I attended a fantastic demonstration from 2 great guys, Dr Solomon Leong from Hong Kong and Craig Bullock from the UK who together filled the stage with a striking display of arrangements. I took lots of photographs and a small selection of them are below.

WAFA Barbados 2017

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We welcomed Jenni this month with her presentation of ‘Wind in the Willows’. We probably expected designs representing parts of the well known story and although this was regularly referred to the presentation was based around interesting and very different willow containers.

As usual, we saw a wide variety of flowers and plant material being used to create varied designs – many of which included lots of ‘sticks’ – a love of Jenni’s.

Together with a very entertaining and interesting commentary including tales of the World Show in Barbados we had a very enjoyable evening.

Just a few pictures are included – thank you Jenni.

Committee members visited Wootton 55 club last week and talked a little about the history and activities of the society. They also presented a short demonstration entitled  Summer and Gardens. This was very well received by members.Thank you to Sandra and Lynda for all their hard work and giving up their time.

We had a really lovely evening last night when Melissa Sheldrake, a National Demonstrator, visited us from her home in the East of England to present a demonstration entitled ‘Flight of Fancy’.  Each of her arrangements depicted either a mode of transport or something that flies and her creations were both unusual and imaginative.  As Melissa worked she chatted about her National Test which she passed at the end of last year, recited poetry related to NAFAS and to flower arranging, played relevant music as well as informed us about the flowers and foliage she was using.  Her husband accompanied her to help move and display the ambitious mechanics Melissa used, all made by her husband!  Some had moving parts, some had hidden extras – all were unique and colourful and the overall effect was wonderful. Melissa kept us thoroughly entertained and we wish her luck in her forthcoming visit to Barbados where she is competing. Shown below are photos of 2 of her arrangements – the magical NAFAS bird and an angel.

We had a very enjoyable workshop entitled ‘Exciting Equisetum’ on Saturday led by  Kathy Stangaard. Three very different designs were demonstrated all using equisetum: a tower, a parallel design and a flat Hogarth.  All participants  managed to complete two and many attempted 3 arrangements! Thank you Kathy for your expertise, encouragement and time and also to Ann G and Penny for organising the day. Just a few pictures to give an idea of what was achieved and to demonstrate the skill and talent we have in our club.

Members took part in the Lonely Bouquet initiative on National Flower Arranging Day.  We know of bouquets left on post boxes, park benches, bus stops, on pavements  and  at supermarkets. It makes it worthwhile when we receive comments such as this:

‘I have just found a beautiful bouquet at the  bus stop. After a week from hell this is like a magical gift to me. I will enjoy and look after it, thank you xx💐’

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It was a great pleasure to welcome Julie Woods this month to present ‘A Tantalizing Cocktail’. Julie is a member of our society and also an area demonstrator for both  the Home Counties and  East of England areas of NAFAS. Her contact number is 01223 262902.

Julie was inspired by the book ‘Hollywood Cocktails’ for this presentation – which links the cocktails with mainly black and white movies. Designs were linked with films such as ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, ‘High Society’ ‘ Blue Hawaii’ and ‘ Top Hat’.

A wide variety of flowers and foliage were used; this included lime green griselinia, pittosporum, black thai leaves, a variety of viburnums,  chaenomeles, eucalyptus, papyrus, photinia, spiraea,  arum italicum together with anastasia chrysanthemums, tulips, ornithogalum, roses, carnations, stocks, hydrangea, anthuriums and cymbidium orchids. Many of us were very envious of the amount of garden material Julie had managed to pick from her own garden.

All designs were  very varied in colour, design and shape; all equally attractive and together with  their very distinctive containers  formed a lovely final stage display at the end of the evening.

Thank you Julie for a very enjoyable demonstration , your love and expertise of floral design shone through and your hints and tips very much appreciated – as was your knowledge of cocktails – it was a good job there were no samples available!!

A couple of pictures below give a flavour of the evening

We had a very enjoyable evening when Rekha Naidoo visited us on Tuesday with her ‘Life Begins with Flowers’ presentation.  We travelled through life with arrangements representing Christenings, Bar mitzvahs, the Teenage Years, an Engagement Party, a Jamaican wedding and  Pearl Wedding Anniversary. The designs were all colourful, different in shape and included  several different cultures. The flowers and foliage also reflected this- gypsopholia, roses, pincushion protea, green cymbidium orchids, chrysanthemums, heliconia, ginger flowers, carnations and anthuriums together with aspidistra, papyrus, laurel, ruscus, fatsia  and a wonderful bunch of different types of tropical foliage – to name just a few. All of the designs were embellished with Rekha’s love of beads, ribbon wooden balls, diamonds(!) – all types of bling.

Rekha has kindly allowed us to include a couple of pictures – thank you.

Our first floral demonstration of 2017 was ‘Chasing Rainbows’ presented by Lynda Stamp. Lynda’s love of floral art  and her abundant  knowledge of all kinds of plant material was evident  as she produced designs concentrating on all the colours of the rainbow.The designs  were varied in shape and  texture and  and she has kindly allowed us to include a couple of pictures from the evening. We have chosen red, orange and yellow but all the arrangements were  equally stunning .

The tropical red design  included  palms, a selection of tropical leaves and skimmia together with anthuriums, helaconia and red carnations. The vibrant orange arrangement included orange roses, proteus and gerberas with a variety of foliage and silvered palms in a metal container with orange and pink canes providing movement.

The yellow arrangement was more contemporary with the container made using egg boxes (as paper mache), chicken wire and rope. A couple of fatsia leaves and contorted willow were placed before  butterfly  orchids (still in their tubes) were woven around and through the structure.

At the end of the evening the stage looked stunning  filled with beautiful, colourful displays  as we  listened  to  ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and watched  bubbles floating across the stage.  There were some very happy and lucky raffle winners!

Thank you Lynda for providing us with a wonderful start to our year.

During the business part of the evening, all the officers’ reports highlighted the very positive development of the society over the last year.   Committee, volunteers and all society members were thanked for their continued support and we are pleased to welcome two new members onto the committee for next year. We were also delighted to present a cheque to Doreen Boyles for £500 for the Bedford Daycare Hospice.

Following the formal aspects of the AGM we  welcomed  Janet Cook who spoke on ‘From Floral Art to Fabric Art’; it was good also  to welcome several visitors who joined us after the AGM.

Janet was  originally a member of our society but her passion is now textile art. She started making quilts in 1988, after being captivated by Mennonite quilts in Canada. She has exhibited quilts at many international shows and has won several major awards, including two Championships at national level. Her quilts have been chosen to represent the British Isles in exhibitions in Canada and America.

Janet’s love of and enthusiasm for her craft shone through as she showed and talked us through many of her exquisite designs. She has gained inspiration for her work from so many places and situations: the local North Bedfordshire countryside, her family pets, mosaics in Westminster Abbey to buildings, people and the culture of many different countries to name just a few.  Together with humorous anecdotes, we had a very enjoyable evening – thank you Janet.