Judges Shown Hive of Activity in Our Bee Themed Bloom Entry

Judges for the RHS Thames and Chilterns in Bloom competition were given a tour of the town last Thursday starting off at the Regal Picturehouse cinema where they saw a display of bees that had been made by the school children in Henley and heard about the ‘Celebration of Bees’ school themed workshops along with other Henley in Bloom initiatives and projects.

This year’s judges Julie Graham and Peter Goff enjoyed a tour which included a boat trip along the river, visits to the Fairmile Vineyard, Badgemore Primary School and the Gainsborough estate before enjoying a lunch with Henley in Bloom members and special guests at the Station House pub.

Henley Mayor and Chair of Henley in Bloom, Councillor Kellie Hinton said, “Every year we struggle to show off everything that we’ve done over the year in just a few hours.  We showed the judges the best the town has to offer which included my favourite place, Mill Meadows.  It was a shame that there wasn’t the normal consistency in a judge returning from last year so that we could show what we have improved over the year.  Although Julie was a judge a few years ago.  I’m very grateful for everyone who helped with this year’s entry in particular park services and the gardening buddies.  A special thank you too to the Regal Cinema for providing a fantastic starting location for this year’s tour.  The judges were particularly impressed with the children at Badgemore School who showed them around their forest school.  They said there were really enthusiastic and very knowledgeable.  I think it well but we’ll just have to wait and see.”