A hardy group of carol singers braved the wind and rain on Sunday to attend an end of year celebration of Farnham in Bloom.

Around 140 people gathered around the Christmas tree at Gostrey Meadow to sing along to carols played by Farnham Brass Band.

The event began with an introduction by the Mayor of Farnham, Councillor Mrs Pat Frost. She spoke about the highlights of Farnham in Bloom 2015, which included the involvement of even more volunteers and groups and ‘In Bloom’ related initiatives such as the ‘Blooming Art’ competition, the ‘Farnham Blooming’ dance project and gardening schemes at local schools.

Speaking after the event Councillor Mrs Pat Frost, Mayor of Farnham said: “Despite the weather we still enjoyed a lovely end of year celebration. It is thanks to the collective efforts of the community that 2015 saw us achieving gold for the fifth consecutive year for our entry into the Town Centre category, gold for the fourth year running in the Large Town category and that we were crowned winner of the Large Town Regional category for the third year running. This was a marvellous and impressive achievement that was certainly worthy of celebration.

“I would like to thank Farnham Brass Band for freely volunteering their time to play on Sunday and to Martin Billett who is the Chairman of the Farnham in Bloom Community Group and kindly compered the event. The crowd was in good voice and sang some lovely Christmas classics such as ‘Silent Night’, ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ and ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. The celebration concluded with a performance by children from The Dance Movement, which was themed around Christmas lights and was quite beautiful.”

It was thanks to donations of mince pies from Lidl Farnham and contributions of mulled wine and apple juice from Sainsbury’s at Water Lane and South Street that The Hale Chapels Trust was able to make nearly £300 from the sale of refreshments. The Trust is aiming to raise a total of £150,000 to restore Hale Chapels into a space that can be used by the community and serve as a home for the Hale History Project.

See more information about Farnham in Bloom and how to get involved in 2016 and information about the Hale History Project.