Lee Village Flower Show 2025

Recently I decided I should commit to doing something for our villages. I found myself on the village flower show committee and before I knew it, I was being elected as their chairperson.

I found this quite amusing, especially as when my wife Pat was alive, she called me the James Bond of plants: Licensed to kill. This I would add emanated, from when shortly after we married, Pat asked me to do some weeding. I set about the garden with naive enthusiasm. When Pat returned home, she found I had removed most of her dormant plants, having mistaken them for weeds. I will not repeat what she said to me. Needless to say she was not amused.

Lucy Scarrott wrote an article in the autumn edition of 2023 Lee & Link’em News, pointing out that the village flower show began in the 1930s. After Covid the committee was keen to resurrect the village flower show again. To their great credit they managed to do this.

Whilst committee names and structure change and despite life-changing events such as a world war, pandemics and even foot and mouth disease, this quintessential way of village life has survived.

Committees are essential to organise events such as the flower show, but they can only continue if villagers commit to enter and support them.

When Pat and I came to Lee and Lincombe in 1996, events such as the flower show were keenly entered. I thought perhaps, with the amount of holiday homes, that the numbers of villagers had dwindled to such an extent that entries in the coming flower show on 31st July would be poor.

However, the recent village photograph in the village hall, saw the hall filled to capacity. Not only adults but children too, can enter the flower show. If everyone in the village entered at least one of the sections the flower show would be a tremendous success. The show is not just about flowers and plants. It is also about arts and craft, cookery and even written work.

In preparation for the flower show, a coffee morning takes place every year, in May. This year’s coffee morning, in the village hall, is on 5th May. It is an opportunity for villagers to show their support, meet other villagers, purchase plants, programme of events, entry forms and refreshments.

I know the committee will do their very best to make this village event a memorable one. Without your support, however, it will dwindle away and another part of our way of life will pass into history, It will be a show at a theatre without an audience. Please this year show your support. Come along to the coffee morning on the 5th May and enter the flower show this July 31st.

Tony Seymour