Hospice celebrates with flowers

From the Leigh Journal, first published Saturday 25th Aug 2007.

A BLOOMING good relationship that has lasted 15 years will be celebrated at a special charity event.

As part of Bolton Hospice's 15th anniversary events, a Crystal Flower Festival is being held in the hospice day unit on Saturday and Sunday, September 15 and 16.

Flowers have proved an important part of life at the hospice, and the three floral art groups involved - Bolton, Horwich and Harwood - are creating a variety of themed arrangements for the event.

Local gardening expert Bert Ellis, now 75, came up with the famous emblem for the hospice, the "Compassion" rose. which is still its logo. He said: "I grew 400 in my garden and in pots, and they were all soon sold."

When real ones ran out, 50,000 artificial buttonhole roses were made by volunteers, which raised £27,000 - vital cash to kickstart services.

Since then, the rose emblem helped raise many thousands more, while floral arrangements are also created each week by dedicated volunteers.

Volunteer Wendy Hibbert, said: "Everyone responds to flowers, and they brighten up the wards."

Unfortunately, a drop in the number of flowers donated from local funerals, to be stripped down and re-worked as arrangements, means volunteers sometimes have to buy flowers themselves.

The timing of the festival - 10 years after the death of Princess Diane, who opened the hospice - is a particularly poignant time for Bert Ellis. He created a bouquet for her and later provided arrangements for the Princess at Kensington House.

Recalling that Bolton visit, he said: "The Princess met one young woman in the hospice who had nine children. Princess Diane chatted to her, and the lady said that all she wanted was to be able to give a bouquet to her mother-in-law for Mothering Sunday that weekend, to thank her for looking after the children.

"Princess Diane just said well, wait no more', and gave the lady her own bouquet. She was so thrilled. The lady died that weekend and her family said that dried bouquet was their most precious possession." l The Festival runs from 10am to 4pm, with tickets at £3 each from the hospice.

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