Flourishing club is 50 up (From Gazette Series)

Flourishing club is 50 up

DURSLEY and District Flower Society may be celebrating its half century but the club is still blooming. Indeed it is a flourishing group with a membership of 55 and an active programme. Gazette feature writer Kirsty Ramsden spoke to the society's chairman about the club and its history.

THIS month Dursley and District Flower Society marked its golden anniversary with a celebration lunch.

And of course, as befits such an organisation, each guest wore a button hole and floral arrangements decked the tables.

The society was the third in the county to be launched - following Cheltenham and Cirencester.

Half a century ago a talk was given on "flower decoration" at the Red Cross Hall, Long Street, and those present were invited to become members of Dursley and District Flower Society.

An official committee formed and the first monthly meeting was attended by 58 members on December 7, 1954.

The Dursley group is affiliated to the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS) within the Three Counties and South Wales Area - the three counties being Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

Every three months two members of the society attend area meetings.

Club meetings are now held at St Dominic's Hall, Dursley, on the second Monday of each month.

The club meetings include a demonstrator, except for its January and February gatherings.

The club does not meet in August and the annual meeting is held in December.

The meetings include a sales table of flower arranging equipment which the society has purchased wholesale.

However the group does much more than meet for one afternoon each month.

Indeed as chairman Vera Pearce explained: "We do all sorts of things."

The membership has been represented at flower festivals at Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford Cathedrals.

The group has staged flower festivals at most of the Dursley and Cam churches more than once.

It has organised workshops where "everyone has a go", said Mrs Pearce.

The society was part of the community and liked to support other organisations, she explained.

As individuals members are asked to arrange flowers for weddings and do demonstrations.

Society membership totals 55 and it has a 10-strong committee.

The membership, all women, come from Dursley, Cam, Berkeley and surrounding areas.

Mrs Pearce became a member in the late 1960s.

She said: "It is a wonderful hobby and you meet very very nice people. It has been a delight all the way."

She added it was a hobby which could fit any budget.

Although she does not have a favourite flower she likes to work with orange, apricot and yellow-coloured blooms.

As well as its celebration lunch this month, the club intends to mark the 50th anniversary with a cake and a toast at its annual meeting in December.