Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, gave out prizes to gifted gardeners at the recent Rayleigh Horticultural Society Spring Show at the Mill Hall. The local MP toured the display stands, before handing out prizes and certificates to the winning exhibitors, at the end of what had been a very well attended day.
RHS show organiser, Peter Noble, explained that the number of exhibitors was up this year and it was heartening to see that more and more people living in and around Rayleigh had put forward the fruits of their labours for others to see and for the experts to judge.
Among those recognised for their green fingers, Mark handed out the Golden Jubilee Shield to keen gardener, Peter Pope, in recognition of, amongst other things, his contribution to the society in recent years.
Commenting on the event Mark Francois said:
“The Rayleigh Horticultural Society is an important part of our local community and I was pleased to be invited to hand out the prizes at the end of their popular spring show. Despite the bad winter weather, people have really made an effort in their gardens and allotments and that was evident from the quality of exhibits on display. Apparently Peter missed out being given the shield at a previous event, so I was happy to help put this right by awarding him his prize this time around. The RHS do great work and I hope to be able to visit further shows in the future.”