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The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter Summer 2015
From the committee Dear Member We hope you have been enjoying a productive summer despite the chilly dry spring. Hopefully some late summer sun will ripen the tomatoes and swell our squashes and pumpkins. An important development for the society has recently been put in place at our Goodmayes site, where we have been able to build some waist-high raised beds intended for use by older members. These beds have been constructed with the aid of a grant from the Olympic Legacy Fund, see page 3 for further details. There will be an official opening ceremony at the society’s allotment festival on 6th September. The festival is an important date for your diary, see pages 7 and 8. We hope that many members from all our sites will be able to help on the day or before, especially by donating produce or home made cakes for sale, and entering the vegetable competition (see page 4). Also at the Goodmayes site, where there is plenty of space for these events, on Sunday 27th September we will be holding our fourth Macmillan coffee morning. This is always an enjoyable and friendly social occasion for all members, raising funds for a cause that affects many of us. Sadly, we have recently lost a very popular member, Dennis Hurst, so the event will be all the more poignant this year. Dennis was always a friendly and helpful presence at Goodmayes, the type of member who, if he spotted something that needed a repair, would happily get on with mending it without waiting to be asked.
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Earlier in the year we lost a long-standing member, Pat House, who passed away suddenly. It was Pat who provided the inspiration for Sue Cunningham to apply for the funding to build the raised beds mentioned earlier, specifically to keep members like her active for as long as possible. Pat would have gardened one of the beds and with this in mind the committee has decided to name the raised bed area ‘The Pat House Garden’ in her memory. Elsewhere in this newsletter we are pleased to announce the results of the plot judging, thanks and well done to all those who entered. May we take this opportunity to remind members that it is your responsibility to make sure your plot is clearly marked with its plot number – this is a huge help when it comes to judging plots and particularly when re-letting vacant allotments. Looking forward, you will soon be receiving a rent renewal notice for 2015-16. Please help us by paying promptly, or letting us know if you no longer require your plot. Or, whatever site you are currently on, if you are considering giving up due to age, illness or infirmity, why not consider one of the new raised bed plots? You can come and have a look at the festival or on any Sunday morning. Contact a committee member if you are interested. It would be great to see a good turn out of members at both the festival and the Macmillan coffee morning! Best wishes for the rest of the growing season. The Committee, Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society
The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
AGM report The Society’s 87th Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 15th April 2015, 7.30pm at St Margaret’s Church Hall, Balfour Road, Ilford. Thirty-six members signed the attendance sheet, and once the formalities were over, enjoyed refreshments and a free raffle. The officers of the society presented their annual reports (minutes of the meeting are available on request from the Secretary e.s.oliver@hotmail.co.uk). Existing Committee members were prepared to stand for re-election as follows: Chairman: Padraig Floyd; Secretary: Ed Oliver; Treasurer: Mike Fitzmaurice; Membership Secretaries: Marian Hogg, Pete Southern; Trading Secretary: Paul Dye; Committee Member: Sue Cunningham; Ground Stewards: John Lang, Sheila Nisbet (Goodmayes), Chris Goreham, Padraig Floyd, Richard Maidwell (Benton Road/ Wards Road south) Peter Trimby (Vicarage Lane South) Rowland Lyons (Vicarage Lane North). Stefan Woodward and Josephine Pettersen volunteered to stand as site stewards for Wards Road North. All were elected nem. con., proposed by P. Dye, seconded by C. Hooker. Prizes and/or certificates were presented to the winners, runners-up and highly commended entrants in the 2104 competitions (see photos) as listed in the previous newsletter. It is notable that the Alderman Clark Cup (for the best allotment) has been awarded annually since 1933, with only a couple of missing years apart from the war years. Some previous AGMs have included a speaker to talk on an allotment related topic or relevant green issue. If any member knows somebody who could provide this at next year’s AGM please contact our Chairman, Secretary or any committee member. This may encourage more members to attend the meeting and get involved with the running of the society. Chris Goreham and Sheila Nisbet were presented with the mens’ and ladies’ service awards.
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Michael and Janina Zacharia with the Alderman Clark cup.
Swarn Doal was the first winner of the Alan Hooker trophy.
St Elmo Licorish won the Chatting cup for the best new starter.
The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
Raised bed project at the Goodmayes site Due to some hard work last year from Sue Cunningham and Mike Fitzmaurice, the society was awarded £10,000 from the Olympic Legacy Fund to build raised beds on some suitable space at the Goodmayes site.
The area will be know as ‘The Pat House Garden’ in memory of Pat House who would have gardened one of the beds. It will be officially opened at the festival on 6th September.
These are intended for use by older members (and those who become challenged by illness or other disability) so they may carry on gardening when they can no longer manage a traditional plot. After fruitless attempts to find voluntary labour, it was decided to scale the project down slightly and pay for construction by contractors. In April 2015 Centara Maintenance were appointed and they arrived on site with a digger to clear the area. The following photos record the progress of the project. The end result is very pleasing and will be a huge asset to the society. Volunteers from the society have spread woodchip around the beds. It is hoped to add a communal shelter, a water tank and other developments in future.
Building nears completion, 11th June.
There are ten waist high beds (half a large block each) and two lower beds available in the first instance to society members who meet the criteria mentioned above.
All beds filled, 18th June.
Site cleared, 27th April.
Weed control fabric laid, 23rd June.
Building well on the way, 20th May.
Woodchip spreading complete, July.
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The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
Competition results 2015
Alderman Clark Cup 2015 (best allotment)
Score (0ut of 100) 1st: Karnail Banwait (Benton Road) 92 2nd: Harvinder Singh Toor (Benton Road) 88 2nd: Swarn Doal (Benton Road) 88 Highly Commended: Oscar Marvel (Goodmayes) 86 Bernard and Joan Crowe (Vicarage Lane South) 86 John Mackin (Goodmayes) 85 Peter Southern (Vicarage Lane South) 84 Avtar Heer (Vicarage Lane North) 80 Herbert Persue (Vicarage Lane South) 78 Jed Lee (Goodmayes) 77 Lisa Hearson (Vicarage Lane South) 76
Chatting Cup 2015 (new starter) 1st: 2nd: 3rd: 4th:
Elena Vintila (Goodmayes) Mita and Anant Patel (Goodmayes) Kiptiatu Nicol and Peter Gulliver (Benton Road) Mahbubul Alam (Benton Road)
70 67 57 53
Alan Hooker Trophy 2015 1st:
tba
Vegetable competition at the Festival, 6th September There will be a vegetable competition as one of the attractions at our allotment festival this year. This should be a good display so our visitors may see what can be achieved, but its success depends on enough members making the effort to enter the competition. To make this as easy as possible, there will be two simple categories for judging: • (1) a display of vegetables (and/or fruit) in a basket, box or bowl, or on a plate, tray or board. The quality and variety of produce and the attractiveness of the display will be taken into account.
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• (2) a group of three of the same fruit or vegetable. You may enter this category with as many different types of fruit or vegetable as you like - the key is to find three examples as near identical (and perfect) as possible. Please label your entries with your name and plot number. You can bring your entry any time before 2pm, when judging will take place. Lets have lots of entries and make this a great competition display. In the light of this recent news story, only home or allotment-grown produce is allowed!
The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
Society business Viewing the newsletter online
This newsletter, along with the previous nine editions, is available to view on-screen in colour at www.issuu.com/skgas We would like as many members as possible to view future newsletters online to save printing and postage costs. If we do not have your email, or if you have recently changed your email address, please send your details to e.s.oliver@hotmail.co.uk
Fires
In common with council-run allotment sites, fires are not allowed between 1st June and 30th September. This is chiefly due to the nuisance that smoke can cause to our neighbours - we do get complaints about this that have to be dealt with by the committee - and also the risk of grass fires spreading out of control. This also applies to fires within metal containers, which can still produce plenty of smoke. If plotholders ignore this ban their future membership of the society is at risk. Please respect the rules.
Paths
Across all our sites, the condition of some paths is giving cause for concern. Plotholders are responsible for the upkeep of the paths around their plot, so please make an effort to trim the grass and level any uneven areas with soil (not stones as these may fly up during mowing or strimming). Extracted weeds and long grass should not be left heaped on paths and are best composted once dried in the sun.
Children
Children are welcome on our sites - they are the allotmenters of the future - but parents should be aware that allotment sites can be dangerous places. Byelaw 17 states that ‘Children must be accompanied
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at all times by adults who are members and who must be held responsible for their conduct.’ Please do not allow children to step on other members’ plots or pick other members’ crops without permission.
Thanks
The society is once again grateful to Malcolm Kennedy and Chris Goreham for giving up a day to judge our competitions. We also owe thanks to all the site stewards and other volunteers who carry out many different tasks for the good of the society and its members, from arranging delivery of woodchip and manure, to strimming and mowing communal areas, laying hardcore on worn driveways, volunteering in the trading huts and opening the hut and making tea for committee meetings. There are too many to mention individually but your contributions are much appreciated. Byelaw 5 states that ‘Members are expected to take part in the maintenance of sites and the running of the Society wherever possible’ - at the very least please collect up a bag of litter and take it home to your dustbin.
Trading huts
The past couple of years has seen a noticeable fall in the amount of seeds, onion sets and seed potatoes sold through our trading huts. This may partly reflect changing growing habits but these sales do make an important contribution to our income and help to keep rents low. Please make an effort to use the shops open at Goodmayes and Vicarage Lane, on Sunday mornings. Most items are cheaper and better quality than those found in the shops (particularly seed potatoes). Our bamboo canes are top quality and very popular! We are always on the lookout for volunteers to staff the trading huts on a rota basis once every few weeks - feel free to pop in and offer.
The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
Macmillan Coffee Morning - come and eat cake for charity! Sunday 27 September 2015 – 11.30am. to 1.30pm. At Goodmayes Allotments, Goodmayes Lane, behind Pooles Court Flats (IG3 9PN for Satnavs). Just along from the Library, past the shops, through the metal gate with bunting and balloons on, then follow the bunting into the allotment site until you spot the cake! You are invited to come along, bring a cake to donate if you wish and help us eat cake together to raise funds for a wonderful cancer charity that not only supports the patient and their family, but supports local services by increasing the size of hospital cancer care teams and supporting projects to improve patients access to help and assistance. This is our 4th annual coffee morning and we will be selling a slice of homemade cake with tea, coffee or juice for a donation of £2 per
person. Of course you can donate more if you wish (please)!! • Raffle • Sweepstake Competition • Blind tasting – What Veggie is in the cake? Please come along, bring a cake to sell and invite friends or family for a great couple of hours, enjoying cake and a chat knowing your donation will help others through a very difficult time in their lives. For example your donation can contribute to:£27 could pay for a Macmillan Nurse to spend an hour with someone who has just been told they have cancer. £175 could enable a person living with cancer to heat their home when they really need to. Thank you for your attention and hope to see you there! Marian Hogg
Recipe from the plot: Courgette and potato gratin This recipe is from my friend Kathy who has an allotment in Boston, USA. It is great on its own or with fish or meat. She concocted it to use up the huge quantities of courgettes she had one year. The quantity of ingredients is adaptable depending on how many potatoes and squash you have, the size of your dish and how many you want to feed. You need a baking dish, whatever size you have or need • Potatoes, any variety, washed (peeled if needed) sliced thinly • Courgettes or other Summer Squash, sliced about ¼ to ½ inch thick • Butter, Salt & Pepper • Grated mild melting cheese, e.g. Gouda, Gruyere, • Fresh bread crumbs • Grated Parmesan Cheese
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• Milk (I use skimmed but all milk is o.k.) Layer into your baking dish:Potato slices, followed by courgette slices, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dab on dots of butter and repeat the layers until your veggies are used or the dish is full! Top the veggies with a good layer of the grated melting cheese, sprinkle over a good covering of breadcrumbs, top with some grated Parmesan, add a little more salt and pepper if you wish. Now gently pour the milk into the side of the baking dish until it reaches half way up the side. Heat the oven to 375/190/Gas 5, put the gratin in and cook for 45 to 50 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when tested with the point of a knife. Enjoy! Marian Hogg
The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
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The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter
Allotment Society Festival Sunday 6th September 2015 Festival planning has been ongoing since the start of 2015. It will be held on the Goodmayes Lane site, which has space for marquees, tents and stalls but it must be stressed that it is a SOCIETY event. We have had an encouraging response to our call for volunteers from all sites – but it is not too late to let us know if you can help in any way, either before the event or on the day. Please complete the form below and return it to either trading hut or send/hand it to me, Paul Dye, 2 Airthrie Road, Goodmayes IG3 9QU. Thank you. Tick box(es) where you/ your wife, husband or partner are willing to help. 1 Before the event - site preparation
Grass mowing / strimming paths
Clearing woodchip
2 Advance promotion Newsletter, website and email plus stallholders/supporters websites, Ilford Recorder, Advertiser will be used but you can help in the delivery of some 10,000 flyers through the borough. We need forty volunteers to cover the Seven Kings/Goodmayes area.
Delivery of flyers
3 Donation of produce In past Festivals, several hundred pounds have been raised by members donating vegetables, home-made chutneys & jams, honey. Vegetables
Jams etc
It will be helpful at this stage if you could indicate if you propose to enter the vegetable competition, produce auctioned afterwards unless you want to keep it.
Competition entry planned
4 Manning stall, tents and gate on the day With the event taking place over 4 hours – 1pm to 5pm – we need a good number of helpers particularly on the catering marquee, but also covering the produce stall, trading hut, society stall and gate.
Catering marquee
Produce stall
Trading hut/SKGAS stall
Gate 5 Setting up and closing down Help is required in setting up marquees etc on the Saturday 5th September and again in packing up on Sunday after the Festival closes.
Available Saturday 5th
After 5pm Sunday
Name: email Tel (home) (mobile)
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