Spoke-tacular show of community spirit in Alford

Richard Quantrell, Mayor of Alford with staff at Alford Primary School and one of the school's decorated bikes.

The wheeled wonderland has been orchestrated by Alford in Bloom, a group of volunteers who each year give the town a floral makeover.

The effort forms part of the East Midlands in Bloom competition, though this year, due to Covid-19, the town is not putting itself forward for consideration.

Members are supported by garden designer Christina Melaugh, who is contracted by Alford Town Council to supply and maintain the displays.

Each year, a different theme is chosen for the effort, and typically, there is no missing it – in previous years, for instance, hundreds of handmade mice have go on show around the village to complement the floral arrangements; in 2019, red ruled under the theme Paint The Town Red.

This year’s theme is ‘On Ya Bike ... and Come to Alford’.

It began with 20 scrapped bicycles, donated by Lincolnshire County Council, being distributed among volunteers who had taken up the challenge of decorating them.

However, the tally of bicycles on show now stands at more then double that figure as others get on board with the theme.

Alford in Bloom member Glynis Docker said: “At the present time, we have more than 50 bicycles dotted around the town, all decorated with flowers and bunting, and we expect more in the coming weeks over the summer.”

Among those to lend their support to the effort has been Alford Primary School. There, pupils from the After School Club and the Ladybirds and Butterflies reception classes decorated bicycles with the support of staff.

Alford in Bloom paid the school a visit before its break for the summer holidays with Mayor Richard Quantrell to see its decorated bicycles and present certificates to the children to acknowledge the time and effort taken to support the challenge.