EVERY other year Morchard Bishop stages a Flower Festival in aid of its parish church. This year the theme was Countries of the World.

The church is in a lovely setting, big views out over Dartmoor, interesting trees in the neat churchyard with the Two Moors Way footpath running beside it for a short way. Then there is the pub and shop in the village.

Seventeen countries across four continents were represented from Iceland with cascading water and geysers created by frothy gypsophila and other white flowers to the heat of the Caribbean with colour and music or Australia and some unusual flowers.

Getting it all together must have been a mammoth task. There was not only the flower festival but in the Memorial Hall down the road, lunches and cream teas were served, there was a jewellery stall, plants for sale, bric-a-brac and clothes left over from a 50/50 Auction which raised at least £200 for the church.

Clothes not sold on this weekend were delivered to various charities.

Every part of the church was decorated with flowers, the windows and even along the top of the rood screen. It really was a testament to the ingenuity and imagination of the arrangers.

The arrangers were Wendy Vere, Christine Bailey, Jane Toulson, Jo and Barrie Trask, Dee Warren, Sarah Gilbard and Emma Heal, Marina Down and Doreen Goodland, Kathy Allder, Mo Sparrow, Judy Downing, Anne Jones, Carol and Steven Watson, Claire Houghton Ward, Fenella Rundell, Pauline Hodge, Jo Eames plus the village school and pre school.

Other people involved included Jenny Holloway, Joy Carrington, Pat Leat, Keith Davies, Tony Sparrow, Laurie Starrs, the Rev Lindsey Starrs, Jean Wiltsher, Richard Tapp and Robert Moore.

Sue Read