North Uist In The Outer Hebrides
Christopher Tyrer
Some dream of Lanzarote;
Some even more exotic;
Some dream of plains in Spain
Or even more Quixotic.
Some dream of summer heat
But this year has them beat.
So yearn for Scottish isles
Of barren lands for miles:
Endless sand and biting wind;
Splash and colour intertwining
With heath and views spell binding.
Crab and mackerel lay lined
Upon the harbour begrimed
With ageless beauty, untimed
By our remorseless grind.
Breathe in the purest air,
From fern, fen, peat and machair;
Escape life’s breathless hustle
The daily grind of bustle:
Whisky, eating, walking
Replace the mindless talking.
A Brittany Summer
Lyn & Rosie Watterston
These flowers are to us, a definition of our summer holidays in France. We visit a small town in the Morbihan region on the south coast of Brittany. The lavender, agapanthus and hydrangeas, along with the sea - the pinks, purples and blues - are the colours of our summer.
Memories of the Midnight Sun
Frank Hawkins
This year I went on a cruise that went right up the coast of Norway and into the Arctic Circle. For over a week we enjoyed sunlight 24 hours a day.
This made all colours very intense and the midnight sun itself a stunning orangey yellow. My display will try to replicate this.
Away From It All (AFIA) Holidays
Dianne Walker
We all have precious memories of happy holidays and I wanted to highlight a project that Hughenden Mothers’ Union supports.
We are part of a worldwide organisation that is specially concerned with families. For over 50 years Mothers’ Union have been providing AFIA breaks for families who are going through stressful times.
Each AFIA holiday is different to suit the differing needs of the families. For some it may be a caravan stay, a Butlins trip or a special day out.
Through these holidays, priceless memories are created and give each one a break ‘Away From It All’.
Apocalypse
Beverley Snodgrass
A few years ago we were island hopping around the Greek Islands. One Friday we arrived on the island of Patmos. We were amazed at how busy it was and we struggled to find accommodation. We learnt that that very weekend was the anniversary of the Apocalypse. Evidently every 100 years it is celebrated.
It is called the Island of St John the Theologian where the Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This has always been a remarkable couple of days in my memory bank.
[The cave of the Apocalypse is where St John the Divine wrote the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.]
A Month in Brazil
Julia Grant
We were so fortunate in February this year to visit Brazil with our daughter, her husband who is Brazilian and our 6-year-old grandson. In the month we visited four different areas, Rio de Janeiro, Bonito in the Mato Grosso do Sul state, Saquarema a surfing paradise and Minas Gerais state in the mountains. It was an amazing holiday and we experienced much of the different culture as well as the fauna and flora of this enormous country. We were there on the run up to carnival with very lively samba dancing groups and bands rehearsing.
It is hard to encapsulate such a fantastic holiday in a flower arrangement as there was so much to see, so here are represented some things which made the holiday so memorable.
My Happy Place
Lin Smit
Happy Blooming Holidays – in floral arrangements! Said the organisers. I protested. I don’t take holidays, just visit my ‘pile’ (old stones and rough ground). But that’s my happy place in France. That’s fine, they said. (They haven’t seen it!) Twenty five years after falling in love with a scruffy little building with electricity as the only connected service, I still love it.
We’ve dragged ourselves into the twenty-first century with mains drainage and broadband, but the garden still needs serious work. Half a garden’s worth of vines and a potager with mainly soft fruits degenerated to an area of special scientific interest. So much so that the vines were life-threatening trip hazards. The fruit and vegetable beds nurture every species of grass known to French man. The adjoining field generously donates surprise wheat plants.
The garden can be arid from May to September (with serious downpours which the weeds love) to lush waist high grass for most of the rest of the year. And then we have brambles.
But I love it all – God’s in his heaven (and here, I’m in mine!).
Beautiful Britain
Jacqui Howkins
We love holidaying in our beautiful British island. From the beautiful gardens of Cornwall: Trebah, Trelissick, Tresco on the Isles of Scilly, Levels hall nr Kendal and the snow covered hills of Scotland. We find peace in looking at the lovely countryside that is God’s creation and seeing the wildlife running free.
We thank God for this beautiful island. So Happy blooming holidays to all.
By the Water in France
Elizabeth Carless
The French have a long tradition of spending holidays by their vast waterways of rivers and lakes, with walking, water sports and play areas for children. I have spent a number of such holidays with my family at Brides-Les- Bain in the Alps and Le Petit Lac. Bosc in the Dordogne.
A Splash of the Tale
Sarah Withington-Dodd
Remembering my childhood holidays with my brother and parents in farmhouses in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.
There were many sunny days walking around Megaliths, eating our picnics in-stone circles and climbing on Dolmens, and many a wet day entering the magical spaces of ancient churches, curiosity shops and steamy little tea rooms.
I first met “The Mermaid of Zennor” when I was 7 years old in West Penwith Cornwall. She is carved into a bench end, in St Senara’s Church Zennor. I felt an immediate affinity with her and decided that I probably was a mermaid and that’s why I liked the sea so much, and one day I would wake up and find that I had the fishes tail.
I have made several mermaid effigies throughout my life. This is the latest one, sitting on top of a piece of fossilised rock I collected in a quarry (on a Dorset holiday) age 9. The flowers and foliage represent the sea.
Aperol in Avignon
Sarah Johnson
By July 2021, after enduring three national lockdowns due to the COVID pandemic, cabin fever had well and truly set in. My 20-year-old daughter, who had been working at Wycombe Hospital, was preparing to start university in September when it suddenly dawned on her — she hadn’t made any plans for the summer.
With international travel restricted to countries classified as amber risk, she opted for a spontaneous walking trip in the sweltering 36°C heat of Provence. I decided to join her, and together we spent four days exploring Avignon, enjoying Aperol spritzes in the town square each evening.
Predictably, the COVID risk level in France shifted to red during our stay, and we both had to quarantine upon returning home!
Wartime Holiday
Jan Jaycock
My theme of, Red, White and Blue Flowers reflect the commemorations this year, marking the eighty years since the end of the Second World War.
In 1942 my parents took my sister, aged five, and myself, aged three, to Paignton in Devon for a holiday. The beach was fortified with rolls of barbed wire and each day an opening was made to allow us to play on the sand and paddle at the edge of the sea. However, swimming in the sea was not allowed as there were black mines with projecting spikes bobbing menacingly about in the water. They were there to deter German boats from landing.
We were having a lovely time when a siren sounded and a loud shout of, “Run, Aeroplane Coming”. A large plane, low on the horizon was heading straight towards us. Dad and Mum picked up my sister and I, and ran for shelter, in case it was German and about to attack the beach. Then a second shout “It’s alright, it’s one of ours”. It was probably limping home after a bombing raid and totally off course.
To us children, it was all a big adventure. We did not realise the danger … or maybe, I did. Because to this day, in my minds eye, I can still see that plane coming over the horizon.
Echo Beach
Eleanor Stillwell
Whenever I take a break, a walk is essential — a ritual that grounds me in the present. I find myself not only gazing out and up at the scenery but also looking down appreciating the rich variety of plants in each unique habitat.
Every beach offers its own unique atmosphere: the sea cliffs of South Devon, the windswept Southwold’s gentle link between the Channel and the North Sea, and sun-drenched Mediterranean islands. These landscapes are adorned with plants that survive and thrive at the very edges of possibility. All of it is memorable; each walk and each place leaves a lasting mark, woven together in the tapestry of my travels.
Provence – South of France
Dawn Jafari (on behalf of the U3A)
This arrangement is inspired by the popular holiday area of Provence, in the South of France where golden sunflowers and fragrant lavender stretch endlessly across the countryside. The striking stripes of yellow and purple that roll across the hills under the bright Mediterranean sky, fill the air with warmth and a calming scent.
I have incorporated large, garden roses, a few dahlias, yellow crespidia and verbena which bloom in abundance in the garrigue, shrubland landscape. By including the natural garrigue vegetation of vine leaves, olive branches, cypress, rosemary and thyme to represent the low-lying shrubs and aromatic plants, I hope to give a good interpretation of the floral character of Provence.
The overall effect is one of warmth, nostalgia and serenity as one sits drinking coffee outside one of the numerous cafés, people watching, as time passes by.
South Seas Island Wedding
Sylvia Clark
This is definitely not my favourite hymn, but it can easily take me back to school assemblies at Clapham Manor Primary School circa 1955. We usually had a hymn. This one is by a lady from Baltimore, Lizette Creese, who died in 1935. It’s quite lovely actually. Go to YouTube!
My arrangement is a tribute to my grandson and his new wife who is half-Samoan, whose wedding we attended in Samoa in June this year.
The ceremony was held on the beachside overlooking the blue Pacific Ocean with the sound of surf breaking over the coral reef which surrounds the island.
Samoa is extremely lush with the most beautiful, colourful foliage and flowers and smiling people everywhere. We have lovely memories.
A Holiday Blessing
Ruth Smith
My arrangement recalls all the wonderful ski holidays that I have had over the years, with my parents, my husband and my children. A particularly special one was the trip to La Thuile with our three children and their partners in the January between my cancer diagnosis and the start of my treatment. The snow, the sun, the clean mountain air and the beautiful scenery are enough to raise anyone's spirits, but sharing them with my nearest and dearest enabled me to focus on something other than the gruesome time that lay ahead. I came home feeling refreshed and ready to face the ordeal!
I dedicate my arrangement to my husband and my children.
The Good Life
Elizabeth Aylward
During lockdown I was able to concentrate on the garden and now since physical restrictions have made it impossible for much travel, when the sun is out, my holidays are happily spent sitting amongst the flowers, watching the bees and the robin, a good book and a glass of juice at my side. No queues, no stress, no delays …
Steam Train Memories
Ann Callow
My flower arrangement is of a very fond memory of a holiday, spent with my parents when I was nine years old.
We set off for Barnstable, from a London station (I can’t remember which one) in a steam train. We had been invited to stay with my aunt and uncle for a week.
I can still smell the sooty smell of the coal and steam; the whistle blowing and the sense of great excitement!
My father warned me that when the train went through a tunnel to keep well away from the open windows. Of course I disobeyed! My parents were most displeased when I turned to them with a very dirty face, covered in smuts!
Sadly, my parents, aunt and uncle are no longer alive, but the memories of a happy holiday and the joy of the steam train, especially, are very fond memories.
Memories Down Under
Sara Badrick
My Happy Blooming Holiday was when my husband and I went to Australia. It was something we had wanted to do for many years as I was born in Australia.
I was 9 years old when my parents came to England. My mother was English, my father Australian. He was always very proud of his heritage as am I even after so many years here.
It was an exciting time as we travelled around and I was so happy when we visited the town we lived in and spent time visiting my old school etc which I remembered clearly.
Australia is such a vast continent made up of many different parts. Rain forests, the bush the outback and not forgetting the wonderful coastline. I have tried to depict this in my arrangement but it is not easy to do it justice.
Such a wonderful Happy Bloomin’ Holiday I will never forget.
Hommage au Midi
Ann Moore
When I was a student, I spent a year teaching in Grasse, famous for its perfume making, a little town perched in the Alpes- Maritime in "Le Midi", the south of France. I often visited a friend in nearby Provence and sometimes her French colleagues took us for tours of the region.
Thus began my love affair with The Midi and I was enthralled by the light, colours and scents as had many famous painters before me.
My family has enjoyed it all, from sophisticated Nice and Cannes with their splendid hotels and the dazzling blue sea to the softer, greener inland Provence and the elegance of Aix-en-Provence.
I have tried to reproduce the vibrancy of this region, its colours, its flowers and scents as a memory of wonderful holidays spent in this beautiful area of France.
Remembering Minehead
Emily Eaton
The Eaton family's best holiday memories are made each year at Minehead beach enjoying the fun of butlins fair, swimming and the sandy shores. Gods natural world to explore .
A Coastal Holiday Retreat
Carole Leybourne
The rugged coast of North Cornwall is one of my happy places, so earlier this summer I returned to camp in my little red tent to embrace my love of the outdoors - the joy of connecting with nature, finding time for mindful prayer, and space to breathe.
Blessed with kind weather, I was able to enjoy yoga, cycling, swimming in the sea, walking the beaches and headlands beneath wide skies and glorious sunsets over the sand, which brought peace and gratitude. I indulged in alfresco Cornish fayre - pasties, cream teas, fish & chips and ice-cream and rounded off the trip with a wonderful visit to the Minack Theatre.
My flowers reflect sand, surf, and sky, with hardy blooms mirroring cliff-top plants; symbols of beauty, resilience, and restoration.
Here, the Psalms whisper:
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” (Psalm 23:2)
“The heavens declare the glory of God; The skies proclaim the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1)
Like a holiday by the sea, God’s creation invites us to rest, restore, and rejoice. This display is my offering of joy and thanks.
Fishing and Chips
Chris Gould
Beautiful memories of sunny days at the seaside in the 1950's, these were special times when all the family were together enjoying the simple pastimes.
One of the favourites was fishing, not that we caught much except for a few crabs in the rock pools, although this never stopped us trying! The fishing was usually followed by a swim in the sea where the fish were happily going about their business in and out of the seaweed. They were much too clever to get caught by us with our nets!
The highlight of the day was having fish and chips sat on the sea wall swinging our legs and enjoying the taste of fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, with loads of salt and vinegar!
Tried but happy we made our way home still nattering about the fish that managed to avoid our nets! Still there was always next year.
“Gone for a dip – be back soon!”
Penny Gerrard
I am imagining that I have enjoyed a morning relaxing on a comfy bed chair reading my book and doing my cross stitch while on holiday in Puerta Mogan in Gran Canaria. I have been admiring the beautiful sugar pink bougainvillea flowers which sum up Gran Canaria for us. I have now gone for a swim and a relaxing Jacuzzi, leaving a message for my husband.
Gran Canaria is our favourite holiday destination and we head off for some warm spring sunshine whenever we can, enjoying a great hotel with tropical gardens and the little beach and harbour with its cafes, shops and quaint little streets with bougainvillea at every turn.
As far as the flowers are concerned I have been nurturing some baby bougainvillea through the summer and, as I write this, I am desperately hoping that one of them will be in full flower for the festival! If not, you will be looking at whatever bright pink flowers I can find to its place. We’ll see!
Climbing Holidays in the Alps
Penny Austin
In 1987 my late husband and I were invited to join the British Association of the Swiss Alpine Club’s Annual two-week Climbing Holiday in the Alps. We got hooked and continued to repeat this Sport every Summer for the next 15 years. Climbing, roping up with three on a rope were new to us but so were a lot of the flowers.
So, equipped with heavy boots, crampons, ice axes and layers of warm clothes we discovered a new activity, made lots of new friends and were charmed and amazed by the huge variety of flowers that somehow managed to cling to the steep mountainside that steadily became more rocky the higher one got.
We would aim to reach the snow level and a mountain hut perched on a rocky ledge around 4.00 pm where we would enjoy hot lemon tea. A hot meal and a short sleep/rest on bunk beds followed only to be woken up around 1.00 or 2.00 am. On with more layers of clothes, head torches, boots and crampons and out into the cold air. We would be roped up and climb in silence.
Day would begin to dawn and very gradually a Panorama of snow topped mountains would be revealed- breathtaking! The return journey would give us more time to really appreciate the flowers, take photos and once back at base record the flowers we had seen and knew and identify from our books the ones we did not know.
A Holiday In Cape Town
Nicky Fairbairn
Whilst working in South Africa for five years during the 1990s, I was fortunate enough to holiday on several occasions, with my family, in beautiful and vibrant Cape Town, a cosmopolitan city on the southern-most tip of Africa.
The spectacular landscapes include the grandeur of Table Mountain (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) with its rich vegetation, forests and vineyards and multi-coloured rock faces. The mountain offers an excellent vantage point for viewing the beautiful expansive beaches and vast oceans. The richness of flora and fauna were always an inspiration.
Beneath it lies Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, where indigenous flowering plants are cultivated, including Proteas and Ericas of the unique ‘Fynbos’. We admired the breathtaking bright colours of spring annuals and, travelling away from Cape Town, the miles of orange, pink and yellow Namaqualand daisies.
We discovered locally sourced gemstones at the ‘Scratch Patch and Mineral World’: Lapis Lazuli, Rose Quartz and Blue Lace Agate amongst others.
The roguish baboons at Cape Point never failed to entertain, whilst whales demonstrated their graceful acrobats.
Then there is the music … what vibrant and memorable experiences … no wonder I ponder the richness of God’s world.
Pavillon de la Reine, 28 Place des Vosges, Paris
Susan Brice
Last year when I realised 2025 would be our Golden Anniversary, I looked at the calendar and saw that the 10th May 2025 was a Saturday. Where did I want to be on that day I wondered. It didn’t take me long to decide that the answer was Paris. I wanted us to celebrate in Paris. I knew which hotel we would choose: Le Pavillon de la Reine in the Marais. Divine!
And indeed it was, completely. We had stayed there once before and loved it; a peaceful, country house hotel with a beautiful courtyard garden in central Paris, just 15 minutes walk to Notre Dame and the Seine. The weather was perfect for walking and eating outside, just warm and sunny. We went to many galleries: Rodin, Picasso, Dali, the D’Orsay and of course had coffee and wine and drank in the city.
On our anniversary the hotel gave us flowers and champagne. That evening we ate in the courtyard surrounded by the fragrance of jasmine and lit by lanterns. The meal was wonderful and we toasted our 50 years together.
Summer in Somerset
Neil Brice
Family holidays! Sun, sand and sea.
The Pilgrimage
Susan Brice
In February 2020 we joined a group from this church going on a pilgrimage to Israel, staying in Jerusalem and then Galilee. It was a memorable and fascinating 10 days, seeing places that we had only known about from the Bible. Inevitably some places were over commercialised, but now and then you were able to truly feel you were walking where Jesus had walked.
We feel so fortunate that we went on that particular journey. By the time we returned, people were wearing masks and a few weeks later the country was in lockdown. So many planned pilgrimages must have been cancelled. And now, 5 years later, there is war and who knows when pilgrims will be able to walk that way again.
(All the plants and flowers on the pilgrimage display are indigenous to Israel.)