| ©2018 St. Blasius Old Parish Church, Shanklin
“Wish You Were Here” Flower Festival
May 2018
Between
Friday
11
&
Sunday
13
May
the
church
held
its
annual
Flower
Festival.
This
year’s
theme
of
“Wish
You
Were
Here”
saw
a
wonderful
display
of
floral
arrangements
covering
a
variety
of
reasons
why
visitors
flock
in
their
thousands
to
the
Island
each
year.
Beach
&
seaside
displays,
The
Needles
landmark,
places
of
interest
such
as
Osborne
House,
the
Donkey
Sanctuary
and
Shanklin
Chine,
arts
such
as
Ballet
at
Shanklin
Theatre
and
crafts
such
as
those
enjoyed
by
the
Guild
of
Weavers,
Spinners
and
Dyers,
along
with
the
Island’s
Walking
Festival,
iconic
red
squirrels
and
motto
“all
this
beauty
is
of
God”
were
all
beautifully
represented
in
a
stunning
array
of
floral
glory
filling
the
church
with
colour
and
scent.
Pupils
from
St.
Blasius
Primary
Academy
drew
pictures
and
posters
which
adorned
the
Academy’s
display
board
in
church.
On
arrival,
visitors
to
the
festival
enjoyed
the
beautiful
rhododendrons,
coming
in
to
bloom
right
on
time.
A
church
trail
brought
a
fun
yet
informative
element
to
the
festival
with
visitors
finding
out
facts
about
the
church
and
our
Patron
Saint.
Refreshments
were
also
available
for
visitors
with
a
wide
selection
of
homemade
cakes.
The
warm
weather
on
Friday
afternoon
also
resulted
in
an
impromptu
accordion
recital
at
the
Lych Gate by our very own choir director Coral Bratherton!
Culminating
in
choral
evensong
with
the
excellent
choir
and
organist,
Lawrence
Bate,
under
Coral’s
direction,
with
music
including
Stanford
in
B
Flat,
Smith
Preces
and
Responses
and
anthems
by
J.S.
Bach
&
Purcell,
the
festival
and
evensong
raised
over £750 for church funds.
Express thanks go to our supporters Mon Cherie Florist; William
Hall Funeral Directors; The Party Shop, Shanklin; Pam Nye; Karen
Ogier, the Isle of Wight Guild of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers and
all contributors and volunteers who helped make the event a
success.