WAGS NEWS
April 2005
|
WAGS NEWS April 2005 |
|
|
New in This Issue
|
Regular Items
|
Chairman's Piece
As I sit down to write a few words for the editor we are in the throes of a real winter snap. North winds, snow, sleet, rain and night time temperatures well below zero! Perhaps if you have a nice heated greenhouse you will be busy on the gardening front, otherwise a good book before a good warm fire will be much more inviting. However to all those members who have been into the store for their Spring supplies I wish you a good gardening year and every success with your crops.
Looking back to this time last year we were wondering if we could keep the association and the store going. Thanks to a number of committee members and several members who rallied round and helped, and are still helping on a rota basis, we are thriving and ‘going great guns’. Gareth Roberts has taken up the position of Store Manager, and will I am sure make a great success of the task. All we need now is an Assistant Store Manager who will become familiar with the ordering and running of things so that, if and when Gareth wishes to hang up his tools, we shall not be in a similar position again. Please give this some serious thought, it is a very rewarding task and an excellent way of getting to know lots of very pleasant people.
Those people who were unable to attend this meeting missed a very pleasant evening and some delicious cheese and other eats, not to mention the raffle in which the prizes were endless. A big vote of thanks must go to all the members who helped to prepare the food and the many people who rolled up their sleeves and washed and cleared up afterwards. Barbara Caistor is going to take over the catering. I sincerely hope and feel sure, that you will give her as much help and backing as you have given me in the past. The next event will be the Band concert on August 14th, when we shall be asking for cakes etc.
While on the subject of fund raising the committee have decided that it would be a good idea to have one or two local charities for each year. If you have a suggestion do contact us. Ideas so far are the Defibrillator for the Town and the Air Ambulance which like so many others has lost a lot of income due to the Tsunami appeal. I’m sure that you all know that we have already given £1,000 to this and that it went direct and has been put to good use. (See "From the President’s Pen" for more details. - Ed)
Iris Novell
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
The planning for the Autumn Show is a continuous cycle.
There are no major changes to the Show Schedule this year.
The time has come to let you all know the subjects for the Art & Photographic sections so that you have enough time to produce the very best artistic materials to give our judges as much difficulty as possible to choose a winner.
SECTION ‘I’ - Art and Craft - Open
Class
68. "Nature’s Delights" Any media painting, i.e. oil , water colour, pencil drawing, pen & ink etc., or mixed media.
SECTION ‘J’ - Photography - Members Only Maximum size of print 18 cm x 13 cm (7" x 5"), un-framed, unmounted.
Class
70. Colour Print "A Garden I have Visited"
71. Colour Print "Tranquillity"
SECTION ‘L’ - Children Only - Aged 7 to 11 years
Child must be under 12 on the day of the show.
Age to be clearly stated on entry form.
Class
79. A Photograph entitled "The Weather"
There may be some minor alterations to the other Children's class titles. These will be published, along with the Floral Art titles, in the July Newsletter
Bernard Novell
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
Autumn show draws 250 entries
"The Wallingford Allotments and Gardens Society autumn show - its first - attracted about 250 entries to Centre 70.
The society's chairman, Mr C. F. Hovard, spoke of the rapid strides made by the society during its first year. It now has almost 300 members and is in a healthy financial state.
He thanked all who had given prizes for the show and the raffle.
The President's Cup for vegetables on Saturday was won by Mr W. T. Bolton. Mr Hovard won the Slade Memorial Bowl for flowers, while the Dolphin Trophy for the novelties section was shared by four competitors, W. F. Willmott, D. Polly, B. Kerry and W. S. Stickley.
On display was a rotovator bought by the society to rent to its members.
Results were:
Vegetables
Onions: 1 C Timmins, 2 P R Hutchings, 3 Mrs P H Newport. Potatoes: 1 R S Wells, 2 Mrs C Polley. 3 W T Bolton. Carrots: 1 R W Burrell, 2 B Kerry, 3 C Timmins. Marrows: 1 W T Bolton, 2 R S Wells. 3 R P Hutchings. shallots: 1 W T Bolton, 2 R S Wells, 3 C F Hovard. Runner beans: 1 W T Bolton. 2 B Kerry. 3 R W Burrell. dwarf: 1 Mrs E Lester, 2 D Polley, 3 R Moore. Tomatoes: 1 R Moore, 2 Mrs E Lester, 3 W Stickley. Peas: 2 R Rance. Cabbages: 1 W F Willmott, 2 R W Burrell. Lettuce: 1 R S Wells, 2 W F Willmott. Beetroot: 1 W Stickley, 2 J Page, 3 J Brewerton. Sweet corn: 1 Mrs E Lester, 2 P R Hutchings, 3 W T Bolton. Other vegetables: 1 W T Bolton. 2 W T Bolton, 3 C Timmins. Collection of vegetables: 1 Mrs E Lester, 2 W T Bolton. 3 R W Burrell.
Flowers
One rose: 1 D Polley, 2 Mrs H M Payne, 3 R W Burrell. roses: 1 J Page, 2 R W Burrell. 3 R Rance. Dahlias: 1 C F Howard, 2 Mrs H M Payne, 3 P R Hutchings. Chrysanthemums: 1 C F Hovard, 2 C F Hovard. Vase of chrysanthemums: 1 T Glassey. 2 C F Hovard. Gladioli: 1 W T Bolton. Vase of other garden flowers: 1 Mrs P H Newport, 2 R Rance, 3 Mrs P H Newport. Potted plant: 1 C F Hovard, 2 C F Hovard.
Fruit
Apples: 1 Mrs E Lester, 2 P R Kiff, 3 Mrs E Kiddie. Pears: 1 Mrs E Lester, 2 P R Kiff. Other fruit: 1 W T Bolton, 2 Mrs E Kiddie.
Domestic
Cake: 1 Mrs P E Kiff, 2 K M Glassey, 3 Mrs A Maitland. Jams and marmalades: 1 S Rance. 2 Mrs R Boorne, 3 J Moore. Preserved fruit: 1 Mrs J Blackmore. Decorative flower arrangement: 1 Mrs P H Newport, 2 Mrs J Blackmore, 3 Mrs E Kiddie.
Children's section
Vase of garden flowers: 1 Dana Phillips, 2 Kathryn Pike. 3 Diana Rance. Miniature garden: 1 Alexis Kiff, 2 Rachel Evans, 3 Alastair Moore. Figure made of vegetable produce: 1 Matthew Robbins. 2 Simon Blackmore. 3 Alastair Moore.
Novelties
Heaviest marrow: 1 W F Willmott, 2 Mrs C Polley, 3 R S Wells. Longest runner bean: 1 D Polley, 2 W T' Bolton, 3 R Rance. Longest carrot: 1 B Kerry, 2 R Rance. Oddest shaped potato: 1 W S Stickley."
Wines
White dry: 1 A J Dean. 2 Mrs E Lester, 3 Mrs E Kiddie; sweet: 1 Mrs E Kiddie. 2 K Vincent, 3 R Moore. Red dry: 1 Mrs E Lester, 2 Mrs Kiddie: sweet: 1 Mrs E Kiddie, 2 N Southern.
Reproduced with the kind permission of the Editor of the Wallingford Herald
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
Trips & Catering
Trips
You will see from the list of events that there are several trips in the pipeline for this year. The first to Kew gardens on Sunday April 24th is now well under way. It is fully booked and there is a small waiting list. All we shall now need is a safe journey there and back and good weather on the day.
The second is to Longstock Water Gardens near Stockbridge Hants. This is reputed to be one of the leading water gardens in Europe and is a beautiful and peaceful venue. It is a midweek trip with a later start than usual, and will incorporate a visit to their nursery where we shall have tea and cakes before we return home. Cost will be around the £15 mark depending on numbers and coach size. Bookings can be made from now.
There is also the usual trip to the Ball Colegrave Trial Grounds in August.
In September there is an Amateur Gardening Show at the Royal West Showground at Shepton Mallet which I thought would be interesting and a change from a garden visit. This will be on a Friday and I am told by members who have visited that it is a very good show and well worth a visit.
One last bit of information Godfrey and Emma Broad are going to work with me on the trips this year and will take full responsibility next year. So watch this space and I am sure they will come up with some different and interesting venues for us all to enjoy. If you have any places you would like to be included please talk to us and we will be only too pleased to try and use your ideas.
Iris Novell
Catering
With the A.G.M. looming large, I am always looking for volunteers to help in the kitchen and in the hall on the night. The more the merrier and less to do for everyone. Please let me know if you are willing to help.
Iris Novell
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
Misguided Tours
Earlyin 2004 we resolved to make more use of our collection of plastic cards - National Trust, English Heritage, RHS, RSPB, and for places not covered by these, MasterCard. Inspired by a visit to spectacular Exbury the previous May, there would be particular emphasis on gardens.
First up was Exbury again - free entry to RHS members in March to enjoy daffodils and camellias. Friends we arranged to meet there said there wouldn’t be anything to see, but if the RHS said it was worth going, we would not be dissuaded. Well, it was a cold and miserable day, and apart from half a dozen well spaced and somewhat past it camellia bushes, plus the odd clump of daffodils not really out yet, our friends proved right. The one good thing was no queue in the restaurant for lunch.
Undeterred, we arranged to meet up again, six weeks later, at Compton Acres. Another dismal day (we had a lot in 2004) with few people about. Too early for the rhododendrons and water lilies, too late for the heathers, the animals stayed indoors because of the cold, but the koi carp in the Japanese garden were pretty impressive. 1st July it was Mottisfont Abbey for the roses. Unfortunately, being mainly old fashioned, they were mostly past their best. Plus 1.5 gardeners looking after all that area didn’t seem to be coping with the weeds - or maybe it was naturalistic gardening. Then it poured with rain. We bought umbrellas in the shop and enjoyed the Whistler room in the house. The sun came out as we returned to the car park, so unanimous decision to pop down the road to the Harold Hillier garden (a joint promotion with Mottisfont meant half price entry). They were suffering a power cut due to a careless JCB driver, and didn’t seem to function well without their computers. So we set off down a path with rather vague directions and eventually found some excellent herbaceous borders - highlight of the day. Further on some fascinating closely clipped evergreen mounds in various shapes turned out to be a new slant on Astroturf!
Avoiding school holidays, our next outing was early September to Kingston Lacy. At last, a cloudless sky and warm sunshine - this one is going to be good. And it was - apart from the fact that they were restructuring a good deal of the woodland garden, should be good next year they said . . .
Moral: Sign up for the WAGS tours!
Ginny Walton
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
From the President's Pen
At the AGM I informed our members that we had made a donation of £1000 to the Tsunami appeal which was a purely Wallingford initiative.
I heard of the appeal by churchgoers at St. Mary and St. Leonard churches to give immediate aid and to help rebuild the shattered lives of the coastal communities in Sri Lanka.
Our donation went direct to Reverend Sam Karunairaj in Sri Lanka.
Sam, already a Methodist Minister with a parish on the island, had been sent to The Spastics Society’s Staff Training College in Castle Priory for fifteen months to gain experience in the care and education of handicapped children and adults. That was fifteen years ago, hence the connection.
Here are extracts from Sam faxes detailing where Wallingford money is going to help and this includes our donation.
"Although there are a lot of restrictions, because of the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil groups, we were able to get through and distributed to every family bags of rice, flour, tea, sugar, milk powder, jams and soaps, plates, tumblers and basic kitchen utensils. For the children we gave exercise books, scrap books, pencils, pens, and other material so that they could quickly resume their school work in our church hall. For young children we gave baby soaps, gripe water, dried milk foods, baby cloths, bedding and other necessary things.
Since then, as we have received further transfers of money from you, I have been able to help in various communities. Near Galle there were 69 children all with ‘special needs’ - Downs Syndrome, deaf/non communicating and mentally handicapped. They have special classes in a normal school administered by Buddhist monks with a trained teacher and two volunteer helpers. Here we gave coloured chalks, scrap books, outdoor play materials educational toys for all children.
In another camp there are young people, stonemasons, carpenters, and others with practical skills that will be able to help with rebuilding. I bought new tools for them and for ten of them some bicycles so that they may get to work in areas cleared of debris. I have also bought for everyone a kit bag in which to keep their personal belongings and anything which they are given by other relief services as they have nowhere to use as wardrobes or cupboards in the tents and shelters."
I am certain that you will all agree with me that our money has been well spent and not a penny wasted, also that our committee has to be congratulated on making this donation to a worthy cause.
Peter Atkins
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
PLANT SALE SATURDAY MAY 21st
Please remember this date! We do rely on you to make it a success especially now that there are so many organisations doing the same thing. We run it as a sort of ‘Bring and Buy’. Bedding plants are always popular so if you have a spare tray they sell well but any surplus that you may have i.e. tomato, marrow, squash, runner beans, etc. will be most welcome as well as herbaceous plants shrubs etc. etc. will all sell. You may bring your offerings early on the morning of the sale from 8a.m. or on the Friday evening between 6p.m. and 8p.m. Do please remember W.A.G.S. and help us to make it a bumper event this year.
WAGS HOME PAGE NEWS ARCHIVE BACK TO TOP
Editorial
The Last Word
must apologise for not attending the AGM as I promised in the last newsletter. I had been rather foolish in the way I picked up a lawn mower to take for its annual service and my back gave up the day before the AGM.
The winners of the first Autumn Show back in September 1975 are on page 7. The cutting has been kept by Joyce Stickley all these years - many thanks Joyce for sharing this gem with us. Also a thank you to the Wallingford Herald for letting us reproduce the article.
Some of the winners from 1975 are still participating and even carrying off prizes. The Autumn Show is the highlight of the WAGS calendar so we look forward to seeing them, their children and grand children participating this year. We also welcome all those who have just taken the plunge and all the regulars who make the show such a success. Please enter in as many classes as possible and give our judges a hard time. They look forward to coming to WAGS because the standard of
We are once again looking for a willing volunteer to become our Assistant Store Manager. Gareth would very much like to talk to any one who feels that they would be able to help in this post.
An article with a moral - Misguided Tours. What people have to endure to enjoy themselves. I am sure WAGS trips have had their fair share of bad weather but not the unfortunate experiences in the gardens.
More articles, photos, recipes (we haven’t had one for some time), newspaper cuttings, or experiences please. Leave them at the Store or email them. They will reach me.
Tim King