With judges from the national Britain in Flower Festival (BIFF) due to arrive in Smalltown, organisers of the Smalltown in Flower Festival (STIFF) issued a last minute appeal to Smalltown and Dullbridge (SaD) Town Council to do something about the weeds.
“It’s getting out of control” STIFF organiser Dave Ferret told councillors at the Annual Town Council meeting, held earlier this month, “Everywhere you look there are weeds. The judges are due any day now and if we are to stand any chance of winning a gold petal you need to send someone out to do a cull.”
Members of the council spent some time discussing whether a cull was the right thing to do, with members of the BeFuddled Party claiming that “Weeds have rights too. We can’t go around killing them” as well as pointing out that “Weeds are just flowers growing in the wrong place.‘.
Headmistress and Town Mayor, Kelsey Dullard commented “We need to consider our green credentials. Surely any sign of green is better than no green at all?”
However councillors finally agreed that they’d send out one of the SaDTC groundsmen to pull up a few green interlopers in the areas the judges would be viewing.
Coincidentally, the flower beds on Smalltown South Promenade have also received a make over, with a resident telling SomersetClive “It was an incredible transformation. The flower beds have been neglected and barren for years but I pulled the curtains back on Thursday morning to look out of the window and discovered that they were full of colour. Anyone would think we are expecting BIFF judges.“
Coincidentally, judges from the Keep the UK Tidy (KUT), visited Smalltown and Dullbridge on Monday to assess the Estuary Bay gardens and Pinnacle Park to see if the areas qualify for the coveted Green Bag status. Green Bags are awarded to public open spaces which show they are well managed on a regular basis.
A sudden and rare flurry of bin bag activity was observed in both areas prior to their arrival.