The Road to Winchester by Pip Bensley

The talk detailed the creation and organisation of the Winchester Flower Festival for which Pip was named Creative Director in February 2019. The talk was accompanied by a series of slides. 

 The festival proceeds were to be in aid of the Winchester Cathedral Organ and the title of this particular festival was called ‘Resonance’. Initially there was a blitz of ideas. Then in 2020 covid arrived and with it came the ‘lockdowns’.  

 One of the top requirements of the project was that the OASIS product, known to many in the field of flower arranging, was to be superseded by AGRA WOOL which is a more biodegradable combination of basalt and a type of sugar. 

As Pip walked around the cathedral she realised how big the exhibits and installations would have to be to create an impact. Luckily permission was given to place most exhibits where Pip desired and one slide showed the crypt ankle deep in water which portended difficult decisions to cover that area especially the lighting. 

Three Design and Five Administration teams were formed. The computer application Zoom was used so remote video conferencing could ease the pressure. ‘Mood Boards’ which appeared to be images depicting the styles of the show were used to create inspiration for the project designers. People also bonded to create a sense of purpose and planning meetings were held. As time went by vulnerable people had to be covid tested. 

Workshops were held. Recycled materials were used. It was difficult to make things in ‘inside spaces’ because of covid ‘social distancing’ regulations. Health and Safety issues had to be addressed, and further teams defined. Previews were held and Pip had 2000 emails to deal with.   

Artifacts had to be made including the Tree of Life where the trunk was made of metal with a base made of oak blocks to stabilise it. Also, an artifact which consisted of cylinders stuck together along their straight sides which when viewed from a certain angle appeared to be like a honeycomb proved difficult to glue and which unexpectedly fell to pieces unless glued in a certain way.  It was difficult to obtain test tubes in which to put flowers from China because covid mask production was their priority.   

 In September 2021 quotes were obtained and were discussed with the authorities. Flowers were expensive and supply was limited. A presentation was given to the Dean, and the first budget was finalised.  The budget was small, and some things had to be borrowed.  

Invitations were sent out to teams in the area including The National Association of Flower Arranging Services ( NAFAS) but there wasn’t much response. 26 were defined leaving the project 31 teams short.  After the second part of the budget was released it was decided to decorate the centre of the cathedral with four thousand paper flowers. This paper was sourced from Italy and Britain exiting the European Union created difficulties importing it. In due course the final part of the budget was released and plans could be finalised.

A hoop 7 metres in diameter spanning the knave was constructed with flowers suspended at the end of wires secured to the hoop. A lady assembling part of it injured her eye with the wire but refused treatment. Happily, she recovered with no ill effect. Another suspended exhibit collapsed but the setback was overcome, the hoop was finally raised and a preview evening of the event was held with covid restrictions. 

No machine other than a portable scaffold was allowed so watering flowers that were high up in the cathedral was difficult, and some branches died. There were many exhibits each titled with an appropriate ’saying’ reminding visitors to meditate and there was a message tree with small messages on paper suspended from its branches. As part of the cleanup the messages were buried in the grounds of the cathedral.