Volunteer!

As you may know, Becca has left for pastures new (no pun intended!) and I have stepped in as blogger,  making posters etc. I have been a SWA member for 2 years and  have run Stokes Wood Primary school plot for about 5 years now.
I hope to be able to keep you informed with what's going on at our site.

So...... we still would appreciate ANY help whatsoever and if you would like to become a committee member, read on!

As a member of the committee you would be asked to join us at our monthly Monday evening meetings where we discuss site maintenance, plan events such as the Open Day, Horticultural Show and craft fairs, and go through the general day-to-day business of running the site. In addition to this, committee members also try to help out at our events.

 If you would like to sit in on a meeting, to test the waters before you make a commitment, we are more than happy for you to do so (we promise we won't be offended if you decide you don't like it!). We meet at 6:45pm in the Pavilion, on the first Monday of every month. Meetings tend to last about 1-1/12 hours.

We're also in need of the following, whether as committee members or just willing helpers:

• anyone with useful maintenance skills, and/or a willingness to help Derek and the site maintenance team,
• anyone who knows anything about security, to help us combat break-ins
• anyone with a hygiene certificate (or who would be interested in getting one), and/or can help out in the kitchen at weekend events,
• people to help out at our events; manning stalls, BBQ, kitchen, distributing posters or other publicising, gathering tombola prizes, organizing extra tables/gazebos etc where necessary
• anyone who knows they can be available and on-site during shop opening hours, to help Maureen.

If you think you would like to help out, please speak to a member of the committee - Adrian, Bob, Derek, Maureen, Sally, Tony or Veronica (you can find our respective plot numbers on the notice board at the end of the entrance drive) or email stokeswoodallotments@gmail.com

OPEN DAY - SATURDAY 9TH AUGUST

Come and see us at our open day on Saturday 9th August

 

There will be plenty to buy , drink and eat, including:

 

Hot sausage sizzle

 

Home-made cakes (Naughty but VERY nice!)

 

Tea and coffee

 

Selection of refreshing cold drinks

 

 

STALLS

 

Bric-a-Brac

 

Fantastic allotment grown vegetables and fruit for sale

 

Various craft stalls

 

 

FREE ADMISSION

 

 

 

2013 West Leicester Horticultural Show

Thanks to everyone who helped out with, and entered, this year's Horticultural Show, which was a great success. The storm clouds kept threatening, but they didn't last and stall holders and visitors got plenty of sunshine in which to enjoy their tea and cake and sizzling sausage cobs.

We had lots of wonderful entries and plenty of visitors, though one or two classes went un-entered, so if you couldn't decide whether to exhibit your produce this year, it's definitely worth a try next time!

This year's Best In Show, and prize of a £5 gift voucher for Brookside Nurseries, went to Patrick Hughes for his delicious-looking basket of assorted fruit, which was packed full of perfect, ripe plums, apples, blackberries, raspberries and pears, all of which he kindly donated to the auction to raise vital funds for SWAS, so we can continue hosting the show.

Our new category, the Heaviest Onion, was won by Andy Nutting's enormous 1.3kg entry. The prize was a bottle of Bell's whisky donated by our secretary, Barry Claricoates, in honour of his late brother-in-law.

 Special mention should be given to Carole Saunder's fold-out sewing box, which won the Handicrafts section. It was beautifully hand sewn from cotton reel-printed fabric and featured a fun, fat-tomato pin cushion in the lid, as well as handy leaves for all the essentials.

But the talk of the day was Ray Singh's enormous pumpkin, which he somehow managed to keep a secret until the morning of the show. Ray's strong son and a wheelbarrow were recruited to transport it to the hall.

The judges had to chose edibility over size, so sadly it didn't win anything, but we'd love to see more fun and unexpected entries in the future, alongside all the other beautiful produce!

Full list of 2013 West Leicester Horticultural Show winners:
Best In Show - Patrick Hughes, Basket of Assorted Fruit
Flowers - Liz McMillan, Specimen Dahlia
Vegetables - Chris Hughes, Basket of Assorted Vegetables
Homecrafts - Kelly Reilly, Victoria Sponge Cake
Fruits - Patrick Hughes, Basket of Assorted Fruit
Handicrafts - Carole Saunders, An Item of Other Craft
Children's - Thomas Reilly-Seddon, Fairy Cakes Decorated in 'Bugs' Theme
Heaviest Onion - Andy Nutting, 1.3kg