All aboard for launch of Upton in Bloom bid

A cruise on the MV Conway Castle will be held at 10.30am on Sunday (May 15) to officially launch the town's bid.

Guests will enjoy a trip down the River Severn, while Diana Raphael, of the Evesham in Bloom committee, talks about the effect winning the competition has had on trade and tourism in the town.

A member of Malvern environmental group Agenda 21 will also give a talk and one of the Heart of England in Bloom judges could also be present. Ticket are £2.50 and everyone who attends will be entered into a free prize draw.

Organisers are hoping to make Upton overall winner in the Midlands region.

Last year, it scooped gold in the large village category, along with the Severn Trent award for water conservation and a neighbourhood award for Berrow Court.

This year's entry is likely to cost about £6,000 and a variety of fundraising events, such as the May Bank Holiday duck race and the cruise itself, will contribute to this, as well as local sponsorship.

Judging take places at 2.30pm on Tuesday, July 26.

Upton in Bloom committee member Eric White said specific plans had to be kept under wraps, but community involvement would be key.

Mr White said: "We have had success in the last two years and we're hopeful about this year's entry.

"But, at the end of the day, it's in the lap of the gods."

Upton CE Primary School and Hanley Castle High School have both been invited to take part.

The 60th anniversary of VE Day could also be a theme for floral displays. The bloom committee is looking for relatives of the town's naval hero, Admiral Sir William Tennant, to meet the judges in the Old Churchyard at the site of his bust.

Admiral Tennant played a key role in the evacuation of Dunkirk and later commanded the large armada of tugs and ships which towed the two Mulberry floating harbours across the Channel for the 1944 D-Day landings.

He was also in charge of the laying of the cross-Channel Pluto fuel pipeline for the same Normandy landings.