Shrewsbury Flower Show: Spectacular splash of colour for 130th show

The Quarry welcomed thousands of visitors over Friday and Saturday as the flower show marked its 130th anniversary.

David Stacey, president of the organisers, Shropshire Horticultural Society, said he had been thrilled with the way the show had gone.

He said: "God very kindly let up on the bad weather, there was a wonderful window and particularly Saturday was fantastic. It was well attended, friendly, and I think it went as well as everyone could have hoped."

The event included a host of musical entertainment with performances from the Overtones, a massed bands finale, and the London Gospel Choir.

The main arena also included spectacular motorcycle displays from The Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team, The White Helmets, and grand-prix showjumping, while local chefs were joined by Masterchef presenter John Torode in providing cookery demonstrations, and gardening celebrities Penny Meadmore and Joe Swift shared their knowledge in specially arranged talks.

Mr Stacey's post as president is for one year only, and he said he had been honoured to have held the role.

The organic dairy farmer from Hope said the success of the show owed a huge amount to the efforts of the horticultural society's committee members.

He said: "It really is astonishing, the committee is unpaid and it is amazing the amount of work they do.

"There are people working 15-16 hours a day, they simply do not stop."

Mr Stacey said the line-up for the show had proved a great success.

He said: "It is a great show. It is great for the town, it is great for the county. It is a great institution but most importantly it is a great event, not just because it has been going for 130 years.

"Our two favourite pastimes as a country are gardening and cooking and it covers those wonderfully.

"There is also that wonderful tradition of military music. You go round to the bandstand at any time during the day and it was packed. People love that music.

"The sing-along, singing Abide With Me with a few thousand people was brilliant too. I think we sang it rather better than they do at Wembley for the cup final!"

Mr Stacey said his personal highlight had been being given the honour of a salute from two of the performing military groups.

He said: "My personal highlight, apart from the fun of seeing so many people having a good time, was that it was a great honour to receive the salute of the White Helmets and the Royal Signals. Particularly because It was also the last performance of Captain Shane O' Neil (director of music with the Royal Corps of Signals). That was pretty wonderful."

Mr Stacey said he had also been tempted into buying some of the Sarracenia plants which had scooped top prize for Mike King from Telford.

The president said he hoped the carnivorous plants would help him get rid of some of the moths at home.

He said: "The other curiosity for me was the overall winner in the main tent, these carnivorous plants. We have, like many people across the UK, problems with moths so we have bought a ruck of these things to see if they will eat the moths that are rapidly consuming our carpets and jumpers!"