IT has been on our bucket list for several years to visit the Chelsea Flower Show, which we able to do last weekend.

It was an amazing show. The displays were outstanding in art and beauty, it must have taken the participants hundreds of hours to produce their work.

We did the afternoon visit taking about 15 minutes to get in and fourand-a-half hours to get around, which really was not enough time as there are so many exhibits; the outstanding one being the 300,000 knitted poppies in front of the Chelsea home.

We saw lots of Chelsea pensioners, some in wheelchairs and others just strolling around in their immaculate uniform and badges pinned to their chest.

My wife asked one if she could take his photograph and he was okay about it.

After a short chat he asked us about our dialect and where we were from. Telling him from Bishop Auckland, in County Durham, his face lit up to tell us he was from Spennymoor.

He went on to tell us that he had moved from Spennymoor 11 years ago.

He had been in the DLI since the beginning of the Second World War and was extremely proud of being in the regiment and serving his country. He was being very well looked after with a very happy smile on his face all of the time, his only problem being that his hearing was getting a little worse.

He was delighted about the DLI statue in Durham but not about the museum being closed down.

His name was Tommy Bamford 95-years-old, 96 in November, he sends his very best wishes to everyone in Spennymoor.

Talking to Tommy was one of the highlights of the flower show.

David Johnson, Bishop Auckland