20-year-old Linda Bennet examining the daffodils at the show.

The clouds might have been dark, and bitter winds might have been searing the town, but spring was filling the Sion Baptist Church with the perfume of flowers at the weekend. Burnley Horticultural Society staged its Spring Flower Show at the church and this year entries were up on previous shows and the standard was higher than ever.

Mr Albert Hartley, Burnley Express gardening correspondent and life president of the society, said: "We keep getting a gradual improvement, nothing spectacular but it's encouraging. Entries are slightly up and there is also a steady improvement in the standard." Mr Hartley should know. At the end of the first day of the show he had won several of the classes and became the joint holder of the Hartley Cup with Mr B. Stockley.

There was also a chance for the youngsters to get in on the act with displays like the decorated egg and the animated vegetable classes. Gardening prodigy Tony Butterworth again captured a number of firsts, including the vase of spring flowers class and the plants in a container class. But Mr Hartley said that the trophies and certificates had not been won by just a handful of entrants. "This year it seems that a fair number of people have come away with prizes and, of course, this is a good thing as it gives encouragement to a wider range of entrants."

On Sunday the Mayor, Coun. Mrs Margaret Tomlinson, and the Mayoress, Mrs Eunice Bacon, were at the church to present the trophies and prizes to the winners. Society treasurer Mr Leslie Hutchinson said that attendance at the two days of the show had fallen slightly. But it has been a good show and I think that we should still break even," he said.