15th September 2011

The Heart of England in Bloom Awards were held at the Mount Hotel, Wolverhampton. Jackie, Sylvia, Andrea and the Mayor, Cllr Andrea Morgan attended.

The Judges Comments:

Upton in Bloom
Gold Award & Category Winners
Judges: Robin Russell & Ken Whittaker
Observer: Ed Webb

A delightful start was made to the tour from the Kings Head public house situated by the river; from there we went on foot to see the repainted mural under the bridge. Moving on past the Matthew Wilson bed which is establishing nicely to view the Recycling Centre where the gardening waste is returned as Green Grow compost used in the tubs and planters. We then visited the Riverboats. The school children showed us the vegetable planting. We were then able to view some of Upton's beautifully maintained front gardens on route to the Cemetery where we saw the newly installed water butts, a god send in the dry spring then on to the local allotments which are soon to be moved. The next stop was at Berrow Court for a bird's eye view of the Ham, which is one of the oldest Lammas field in the country and an SSSI. We finished the tour walking along the river to the old church yard where we were greeted by a host of local people.

Areas of Achievement:

* The beautifully maintained private gardens and public spaces
* The improved and redesigned Old Church Yard bed that's now easier to maintain
* The newly planted native trees, some having snowdrops planted around them
* The reuse and saving of plants where possible from one year to the next
* Saving of plastic bottles for an eco friendly greenhouse we look forward to seeing it made now the school children have saved 2000 bottles
* The clean and tidy streets
* The human fruit machine, a very novel way of raising money
* The good use of the press to raise awareness
* Information boards around the village
* The web to inform / advertise Bloom Events.

Heart of England in Bloom Discretionary Awards
Certificates of Merit
Diane & Peter Bellamy

Heart of England in Bloom Award for Outstanding Achievement
Jackie Surtees - Upton in Bloom
Jackie Surtees has been involved with Upton in Bloom since the beginning, nearly ten years ago, in one form or another. She has become the driving force [Roger Bache broke into the comments to say 'or perhaps it should be the cycling force'] that has kept the bloom going when members have left and new faces have joined, we know that's not always been easy to do and we are so glad she has. Entering the bloom has made Upton upon Severn a more colourful place to visit and live in. With her help they have been one of the Heart of England in Bloom entrants in Britain in Bloom on more than one occasion which is not bad for an entry that is not quite ten years old. We wish them well for this year lets hope it's a gold award they achieve at St Andrews this year. It would be fitting award as they enter their tenth year - long may it continue.