BOLLINGTON WELL DRESSING FESTIVAL 2011

On 29th June we started to make the decorated panels for this year's Well Dressing Event.

Petalling was done in the Cricket Pavilion in Bollington Recreation Ground, and by the time the doors opened on Wednesday 29th June all the boards were filled with clay and the designs drawn on them. The next three days saw the clay covered with petals and the pictures took shape.

There was a table laden with boxes of seeds, nuts, maize, peppercorns, beans etc. and there were tubs and jugs of fresh flowers and leaves, so the petallers had plenty of choice to find the most appropriate colour or texture to make the designs look right.

This year the theme is 'Science', the exception being the dressing in the Memorial Gardens which has been made to mark the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal British Legion. The Mayor, Cllr. Graham Hibbert, accompanied by representatives of the Legion, the A.T.C, the Sea Scouts and the C.C.F.were present at a short service of dedication and 1 minute's silence at 11.00am on Saturday 2nd July.

We knew what most of the well dressing pictures would be, but we had to wait until the start of the festival to see what the children of Bollington Cross school had designed. Their panel can be found in the NatWest Bank gardens on the corner of Ashbrook Road. The children also entertained us at the Opening Ceremony when the Mayor declared the Festival 'open'.

Everyone was invited to follow the trail to visit the five decorated sites and support our Well Dressing Festival.

The small dressing on the wall beside the Greg Fountain was made by the residents and staff of nearby Mount Hall Nursing Home.

Chris Gosling