MY hat! Hardingham is not just a pretty village but a busy one.Lots of groups and clubs flourish there, among them the cricket team, a book club, youth club, one of the oldest-established Women's Institutes in Norfolk and a textiles group.

MY hat! Hardingham is not just a pretty village but a busy one.

Lots of groups and clubs flourish there, among them the cricket team, a book club, youth club, one of the oldest-established Women's Institutes in Norfolk and a textiles group.

And over this bank holiday weekend these bastions of community life will be celebrated collectively at Hats Off to Hardingham, a flower festival at St George's Church.

Alison Gibb, one of the organisers, said the aim was to reflect all the things that took place in what was a very active village. And the dozen or so floral displays being assembled for the festival would each contain some form of headgear to reflect the particular activity.

Some organisations had used their ingenuity to come up with ways to incorporate an appropriate hat, she said. The book club arrangement, for example, should incorporate a first world war helmet in a display themed on the novel, Birdsong, and linked to the war memorial.

“I think some of the groups have been terribly innovative,” said Alison.

The festival will be open from Saturday to Monday between 11am and 5pm and will feature occasional accompanied singing. On Sunday at 6pm there is a short recital for organ and voice in the church, followed by wine and canap�s; admission is �5 on the door.

Proceeds of the festival will be shared between the church - which is situated out of the main village towards Reymerston - and Hardingham Memorial Hall, where there are plans for a new kitchen, extra storage space and maybe an extra room.