MELBOURN S annual winter flower festival provided a blooming marvellous day out. Flowers of all shapes and sizes adorned All Saints Church in the village for the three day festival, which took place last weekend. Organiser Rebecca Gatward said: There we

MELBOURN'S annual winter flower festival provided a blooming marvellous day out.

Flowers of all shapes and sizes adorned All Saints' Church in the village for the three day festival, which took place last weekend.

Organiser Rebecca Gatward said: "There were displays with various themes all around the church, some representing festivals of light such as Candlemas, Diwali, and Hannukah, and others representing winter scenes, such as tobogganing on Therfield Heath.

"The National Association of Flower Arrangers did a big display about the winter solstice, which was hung over the altar in the church," she said.

The festival raised about �1900, which will be put towards the cost of the new All Saints' Community Hall in Melbourn.

Rebecca added: "Luckily the snow held off until after the weekend, and the festival was very busy.

"We had visitors from all over the place; Sussex, Oxfordshire, and all parts of Hertfordshire.

"There were lots of arrangements of colourful and plain white flowers, and it was a very successful weekend," she said.