Sidmouth in Bloom has won a Gold in Britain in Bloom’s Coastal Town category, the first time they have been nominated, let alone have won a national competition! If that wasn’t exciting enough, Sidmouth in Bloom’s Chair Lynette Talbot and Secretary, Peter Endersby were both named as Community Champions – becoming just 2 of the 11 people in the whole of Britain to receive the title. While the team knew that they had been nominated for the Coastal Town category, the Community Champion Awards were a surprise on the night, with none of the winners being notified prior to the ceremony.
The awards were announced at a ceremony in London on 10th October, although Sidmouth has won a string of regional South West in Bloom gold medals, this is the first time they have been finalists nationally, and the win came despite the judges visiting during Sidmouth’s annual Folk Festival.
Chair, Lynette, praised the organisers and visitors to the festival for how clean and tidy the town was, the judges were said to have been impressed with the floral displays, after beginning their tour at the Belmont Hotel and finished in Connaught Gardens.
Lynette Talbot thanked all the Sidmouth in Bloom volunteers, representatives from Sidmouth Arboretum, the Friday Group and the Sidbashers Himalayan Balsam removal taskforce who came to meet the judges for their tour.
Next, Sidmouth will be attending the award ceremony for the South West in Bloom Awards, in which they are a finalist. The results will be announced in the next week.
