We've been making Stony Stratford even more beautiful since 2007
Committee and helpers
And all our volunteers - well over forty of us! Here are some SSIB people!
And so many other volunteers including
Mel Munro, Mary Martinez, June Allen, Bob Williams, Helen Johnson, Colin Matthews,Jane Wood, Ken Chambers, Gary Marshall, Mary Cater, Anne Wood, Mary Cater, Debbie Russell, Eiliish Friedman, Clare George, Cazz Britain, Ann Bunyon, Helen Havens, Jill Dyer, Jeni Pratt, Caz Tricks, Jane Wolfson
Obituaries
Val Geddes
It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that our dear friend and fellow volunteer, Val Geddes, died today, Thursday 17 October 2024. Her daughter messaged me to tell me this heart-breaking news. Those who knew Val know what a lovely person she was - and until illness got in the way, she was the most loyal and dedicated of volunteers. Every Wednesday and Saturday she'd sail to the work party on her bike, looking at least twenty years younger than her age, and get down to work. Unbelievably, she would have been 88 in February. She was a legend for refusing to stop for coffee until she'd weeded a bed so it matched her standard of perfection.
In this 60 Year anniversary of the national Britain in Bloom competition the RHS chose the theme of friendship - and I immediately thought of Val, as she and I certainly became firm friends through Stony in Bloom. In her message to me, her daughter, Pauline said 'she loved Stony in Bloom, and that's what kept her going during Covid.' And in turn, the Stony in Bloom work party regulars loved Val. Only a few weeks ago, when the work party was on the Clailey Court bed near her house, she came to join us until her strength gave out - and we were all delighted to see her.
When I spoke to her last week she said she wasn't having a good week, so perhaps I should have been in some way prepared for this. But of course I'm not. I know we'll miss her very much - we all somehow assumed she would go on and on as she seemed to have acquired the secret of eternal youth. It's a measure of what a kind and generous person she was that we'll feel her loss so keenly.
Judy Deveson
Chair, Stony in Bloom
Mary Sarre 1945 – 2021
Stony in Bloom volunteers were deeply saddened by the death of Mary Sarre on November 20th 2021. A trained garden designer, she had been SSIB’s horticultural advisor since SSIB first began, and we relied on her horticultural wisdom for all that we did.
On Feb 11th 2022, to commemorate Mary’s crucial contribution to the success of Stony Stratford in Bloom, SSIB volunteers, joined by members of the Natural History Society, planted a Paperbark Maple tree in the 4 Seasons Garden on Calverton/Augustus Rd – one of the many beautiful flower beds in the town which she designed. When we approached Acorn Nurseries to buy the Paperbark Maple, they insisted on donating the tree and the labour as they held her in such high esteem.
The donations that poured in also from volunteers will therefore be used to make sure that the 4 Seasons Garden will always look as lovely as Mary would have wanted it to be. Her husband, Phil, and Ray Cobley, dug the hole for the tree; and when it was placed, all those gathered scooped in a little compost to complete the planting - and raised a glass in Mary’s memory.
We all learned so much from Mary: she will be sorely missed.
Yvette Dalal
On June 4th 2023 we learnt the very sad news of the death of our oldest Stony in Bloom volunteer - the remarkable Yvette Dalal, aged 88. Ever since she came to live in Stony Stratford to be closer to her daughter, she has been at the heart of Stony in Bloom – coming to both Saturday morning and Wednesday afternoon work parties in rain and shine. Everyone who knew her was immensely fond of her and full of admiration.
She was a meticulous weeder, always the first to arrive, and she’d be sitting elegantly on her kneeler, trowel in hand, despatching weeds. Yvette combined a warmth of character and sense of fun with a commitment to high standards – both of gardening and grammar! We’ll miss her very much. Stony Stratford and Stony in Bloom won’t be the same without her.