Fresh from celebrating a silver gilt award in this year's Wales in Bloom competition, Raglan is now waking up to news of an even more prestigious win - another silver gilt, this time in Britain In Bloom. News of Raglan's triumph was broken at an awards ceremony, hosted by Coventry-in-Bloom and held in Coventry Cathedral last week. After collecting the trophy on the village's behalf, Raglan In Bloom President Trevor Phillips said: "I was hoping we would do well - but I was highly delighted to get the Silver Gilt." Trevor was even more surprised when he learned he was one of five winners of the Shredded Wheat Community Champion Award, presented in recognition of his commitment and dedication to Raglan and the Britain in Bloom campaign. "It was completely out of the blue - I couldn't believe it," he said. Friends and colleagues of Trevor's were delighted to hear that his dedication to Raglan In Bloom in particular and the community in general had been recognised. Raglan In Bloom member Marjorie Chilcott said: "Trevor is a very worthy recipient of this award - Raglan In Bloom is practically half his life. He deserves to be recognised for the time and dedication he has put in over the years." Currently President of Raglan in Bloom, which he joined some 15 years ago, Trevor is also a stalwart member and past chairman of Raglan Community Council and, with his wife Marlene, a prolific winner at local agricultural shows. Speaking of Raglan's recent success, Trevor said the village had greatly improved since their first, luckless, entry in Britain in Bloom 10 years ago. "It's not just flowers they're looking for; they're looking for cleanliness, and the village was looking well when the judges visited in July. "I think we must thank Glyn Emunds and his team from Monmouthshire County Council who did an excellent job in cleaning the village not just for the day of the judging but throughout the year. "I would also like to thank businesses and residents in the main street for carrying out the colour scheme - it really did make a difference. We're going for gold next time!" "When we met the judges the morning after the awards ceremony they were very positive about our entry. " Raglan was one of 68 finalists battling it out for 14 Gold, 26 Silver Gilt, 24 Silver and four Bronze Achievements awards. RHS Britain in Bloom, supported by Shredded Wheat, is the largest horticultural campaign in Europe. It encourages people to actively improve their local environments through cleanliness, sustainability and creative planting. RHS Director-General Inga Grimsey added, "We are delighted to see the wonderful results this year and extend congratulations to all the award winners. Communities such as these really show how gardening can improve the environment for all and enrich people's lives." RHS Britain in Bloom Judge Mark Wasilewski said, "Residents and businesses are working in harmony to present a clean, colourful environment for villagers and visitors alike. We were impressed by the colourful, themed, well-maintained floral displays situated throughout the village and the great participation from traders in the village who had each planted and were maintaining their own baskets." Britain in Bloom communities will feature in a BBC2 series about the RHS, A Passion For Plants, Fridays on BBC2 at 8pm from 19 October.
