Last Wednesday Barry Bothamley and Mac Mitchell met with Councillor Tina Funnell to show her the work that had been carried out by members of the gardening club and the work that had not been carried out by the council last year e.g. hedge cutting, grass cutting and general tidying around the site. The question of getting plot 46 on a rent free basis was raised and will be taken up with the appripiate department of the council.

Since the letter from the council to Mac Mitchell on the 18th December Mac has withdrawn his support and that of his firm Mitchel Landscapes of York And Malton from all future social events and voluntary works associated with the allotment site.

My own feelings are that this is a loss to the site and many will miss the availability of materials that were available through him at very advantageous prices along with machinery that was made available at low or no cost to plotholders for general site maintenance work that is NOT done by the council or was done on a very irregular basis. So, I would like to offer my personal thanks to Mac for the great contribution to Glen Allotments that he has made since he first arrived on the scene a couple of years ago.

Over recent weeks many plots have been under water, perhaps the worst of them was Duane's plot where the raised beds stuck up above the water like barges on the river with quantities of bark mulch floating around on the deep water where the paths should be. Flooding has been a frequent occurence over the last year for many plotholders and if weather predictions are to be believed we probably need to be getting our heads together and thinking of ways that we can help those on plots that are worst affected by this problem.

Plot 46 Thanks Sponsors

Plot 46 would like to thank sponsors and volunteers for the help in arranging the Halloween evening on Friday 26th October for children under 12 years of age.

Thanks to Jaison Martin of Martins Skip Hire, Roy Hanley of A1 Haulage, Elvington Plant Hire and Mitchell's Landscapes of York and Malton for all their help over the past few years.

Any donations for the Tombola or anyone wanting to help on Friday 26th October should contact Barry Bothamley on 01904 425640.

Coming soon the Christmas Fair on 8 December at Heworth Church Hall.

Halloween Will Soon Be Upon Us

Autumn has arrived with odd foggy mornings and the trees turning colour and dropping their leaves. It being October it is also the Hallowen month and will be celebrated on Glen Allotments with a Halloween evening on Friday 26 October. A similar format to last year will see the gates open at 6 p.m. for various attractions like Raffles, Tombola and refreshments. From requests from last year's event the refreshments will include the usual Tea and Coffee with Hot Dogs, Spicy Spare Ribs, Bacon Banjos and Jacket Potatoes. Events for the children include the Ghost Walk at 6:45 p.m. for which there will be a modest charge of 20p per child. At 7:45 p.m. is the Carved Pumpkin Competition. So get busy selecting your pumpkin and carving it to produce something interesting that is going to catch the judges eye. Please note that, this event is aimed at children under the age of twelve and is not suitable for older children.

Sadly, Ann and I are going to be away in the Far East and will miss this event but we'll be back for the Christmas Fair that will be held in the Heworth Church Hall on Melrosegate. More on that later.

Trimming and cleaning the Hedgrow

Last week a bit of time was spent on trimming the hedges and raking out all the rubbish in hedgrows. The new boy's toys came in very useful hauling the trimmings and rubbish away for a bonfire. A very kind sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous kindly provided the mini tractor and trailer for use on plot 46 for special needs children and by the gardening club.

Clean Up of Compost Bins And Levelling of Car Park

Some effort is going into getting the allotment site ready for the table top sale which will be upon us a week on Saturday (21st July). Our latest efforts this morning went into cleaning up the bulk compost bin that had been used as a dumping ground for rubble and soil and levelling the bumps and hollows in the car park that have appeared through compaction of the surface. Three of the sponsors of the table top sale get a hearty thank you for the invaluable help they have given us in our efforts this morning. Jason Martin of Martin's Skip Hire kindly provided an empty skip for us to fill with the material from the compost bin. Ken Garland and staff at Elvington Plant Hire provided a mini digger with bucket scoop that was used to clean out the bin, load the skip and scrape off and level the surface of the car park. Mac Mitchell of Mitchell's Landscapes gave up a morning from his business to drive the mini digger.

Emptying the bin and filling the skip

Levelling the car park

Car Park Levelled, Pallets Stacked to Make Tables Skip Waiting for Collection

Preparing Plants For Table Top Sale

The past few days have been spent potting up seedlings, cuttings and divisions ready for the table top sale in a couple of weeks time. Above is the section of greenhouse with three types of mint plants; Apple mint ( Mentha suaveolens;), Old English Mint (Mentha piperita) and Garden Mint (Mentha sachalinensis).
Below in the other half of the greenhouse are the Gallardia goblin plants, hollyhocks, dwarf dahlias, Cayenne peppers, Verbascum, to name but a few.

Outside the greenhouse are all the Lily and Iris plants in larger pots.

Table Top Sale for Plot 46 21 July

A table top sale in aid of Plot 46 for children with special needs is planned for 21 July from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. several sponsors for the event have made donations whilst more are sought. I'll give a hon. mention to all the donors later. You the readers can also make a donation in the form of any unwanted bris a brac, books, tools, plants or clothing, even furniture. Contact Mac Mitchell on his Mobile 07970 851417 if you have anything to be picked up or you want to make a donation of any other sort e.g. items for raffle prizes.

Association disbanded, Gardening club started

A while since I posted anything, but that does not mean that nothing has been going on. The association fell apart with grumbles from some members that they felt too much time was being spent on plot 46 and not enough on the rest of the site. There were also other grumblings of a nastier scurilous nature that I'll not repeat here. So, with the demise of the Glen Allotment Association a group got together to form a gardening that would continue to look after plot 46 and raise funds for it whilst arranging for bulk materials like compost, top soil and wood shreddings on a similar basis to the materials provided under the association.

December Activities

Much of the hard work of the year is behind us and crops safely gathered in. However, that does not mean that everything has ground to a standstill and several activities took place during the month.

On December 10th we ran a Christmas Fair (or Fayre if you prefer the more pretentious spelling) at the Heworth Church Hall. In addition to the usual Bric-a-Brac, Books,Cakes, refreshment and Tombola and Raffle stalls there was also a stall selling Christmas ornaments and Christmas table decorations and bunches of holly. The ornaments were made by Mac Mitchell using conifer logs, decorated with spray on snow and model Robins which proved very popular. The table decorations did not prove as popular on the day, perhaps a touch too early on the 10th? A week later at Murton however, Barry took what was left over and Ann Harper managed to sell a lot more holly and table decorations,raising more money in aid of  the association and plot 46. In addition to committee members manning the stalls were also some ordinary members of the Association who helped out, a special thanks to Diane Bothamley who despite not being a member of the committee always helps out on such occasions.

December 20th saw a bit more cleaning and tidying up around the site. Mac Mitchell brought in a digger for the cleaning up and put in a base for a new Association shed. You might have noticed that the sheds area is now fenced off. Mac Barry and Phil have cleaned up the sheds and removed rubbish and some rodents from the site.

Mitchell landscapes kindly provided free bark mulch brought in several trailer loads to replenish the path running down from the reduced mobility plots beside plot 46 which should raise that path above the winter water level.

A meeting has been arranged for the evening of 20th January at the Conservative Club with Judith Ward in attendance to discuss some points that have been raised by Bill Callaghan. All plot holders are welcome to attend this meeting to air their views on these or any other matter connected with Glen Allotments.

A lot has been achieved in the last two years turning the site from an eyesore into what we have today. But, (there is always a "but") there is always more that can be achieved and this does depend on input and suggestions from plot holders in the Association.

Fiendish Goings On At The Allotment

Autumn is upon us, the crops are mostly in and the winter digging is well under way. Halloween is upon us, last Friday saw a day of preparation for a Halloween evening.

A ghost trail was set up around the plots starting with the black tarry shed becoming the resting place of Tarry Jack.

The evening call was " who dares to knock on the door of Tarry Jack, who dares to look inside the door?" As it happened several small boys dared and becam a bit pestilential, suppose you can't win them all!  Then on through the speiders web tunnel with rats and things ghoulish.

Having survived the tunnel it was on to the witch's garden with the three graves and skeltons climbing out.

Mac's plot was set up with gravestones in the mint bed and glowing spiders under skull and crossbones.

On now to witches house number two, for small explosions and getting sprayed with silly string. A bit more mysterious in the dark than it looks in daylight.

As dusk fell the entrants for pumpkin carving competition started to roll up with their entries.

A mainly fun evening and we hope that everyone enjoyed the event.

Mac And His Grandchildren Work Together On Special Needs Plot 46

During August some of Mac's family were over from the USA and found out what an allotment is. They worked with Mac and Will (Mac's grandson in the UK) on the special needs plot. Seen here taking a break are (from L to R) Madelene, Mac, Harrison, Madison and Will.

Following are some shots of them busy working on the plot.

Will, has become so keen on gardening at the allotment that he bought a lot of plants at the table top sale and a couple of half whiskey barrel planters to plant them in. Here we see him with a Brussel Sprout plant heading off to get it planted so he'll have some sprouts ready for Christmas dinner!

Nearly all the children who visit the allotment like to go and have a look at Nev's chickens, Mac's grandchildren were no exception to this rule so here is a picture of Nev's Chickens strutting about behind the wire cage.

Well, the rain came down!

Having got the table top sale set up on Friday in glorious sunshine it was most frustarting to arrive at 07:30 on Saturday morning (6 Aug) to find everyone huddled under the gazebos praying for the rain to stop. The prayers went unheeded except for brief respites from the rain and not to be downhearted we went ahead and loaded up the stall with goods for sale on the basis that we had advertised it and someone would turn up. We got down and dug up potatoes, cut cabbages and caulis and pulled beetroot for the plant and vegetable stall. Was it going to be worth it or would we be taking home a lot of extra veg?

It got to 10:00 and the advertised opening time was 10:30, there was a crowd at the gate so somebody let the public in early. The refreshment tent was popular as it provided shelter from the rain, but the other stalls were also popular with a greta deal of interest in the produce stall.

By about 3:30 in the afternoon we had all had enough of the rain and there seemed to be no more customers coming, who can blame them, the rain had really set in and we were all rather wet. So we decided to pack up a half hour early and tidied everything away and counted up the money. First indications are that we made about £300 after deduction of expenses so it turned out a worthwhile day after all.

Plot 46 Looking Splendid For Table Top Sale 6 Aug 2011

The entranceway to the allotments is looking wonderful, in readiness for the Table Top Sale on Saturday 6 August. Flower beds have been weeded, pallets and scaffold boards are coming tomorrow to build the table tops. Grass has been mown and the sheds are almost full to the brim with items donated for the sale. Everybody is now praying hard for good weather on Saturday.

Table Top Sale Planned for 6 August 2011

6 August is the date for the next planned table top sale to raise some more money for the special needs plot and the allotment association. Here are 17 pots of Iris sibirica from a clump of plants kindly donated by Sarah Robinson a couple of weeks ago. You can see the new growth starting below where I chopped off the long straggly excess foliage. The pots should be looking quite nice by the time of the sale. If you can help with donations of bric a brac or books for the sale contact Mac Mitchell of Mitchell landscapes, see advert to the top left of this article for a phone number or contact me via the comments section to arrange for items to be picked up. If you have any plants you are splitting, contact me via the comments section to arrange for me to pick them up and get them potted up. The plant stall will be a little smaller than the spring sale but we are hoping to have a produce from the plots available on the stall as many people asked after produce at the last two sales.

Plot 46 For Children With Special Needs - Sponsor List

• Mr and Mrs Ian Parker   -   Parker developments Malton Road, York
• Debbie Reed                  -   Saxon House, Fishergate, York
• Dave Robinson               -  Robinson Properties, York
• Stuart Rapson                -   Simpson Builders, York
• Nip Judson                    -   Club Salvation, York
• Chris & The Lads          -   CSL Scaffolding, York
• Ken Garland                  -   Elvington Plant Hire, York
• Mark Mennel & Lads     -   Fulford Golf Club, York
• Roy Hanlay                   -   A1 Haulage
• Jason Martin                 -   Martin's Skip Hire, York
• Mick Ross                    -   Bishops Wharf, York
• Nev Lowes                   -   Moor Lane Construction, York
• Jason Brown                 -   Tree Surgeon, Bolton Percy, York
• Chris Ross                    -   B&Q, York
• Kirsty                          -   The Range, York
• Jim                              -   The Nags Head, Heworth, York
• Dave Peacock              -    Plumbing & Property Services

 

Plot 46 Open Day and Fundraising

 

Joanne adds the finishing touches to the refreshement area and it looks like we are nearly ready for opening up. A crowd has gathered at the gate and Dwayne is doing his best to keep them at bay.

Remploy have set up a stall loadded with garden furniture that has been made in their local workshop. During the day there was a great deal of interest in their stall.

Amazingly, all the lawnmowers in the picture plus the clapped out out one in the manure bay all sold along with allsorts of tools and garden implements on the tool stall. I even bought a bright flourescent orange kagool with a padded lining.

 

Dianne and Elaine at the tombola stall, every ticket a winner!

To perform the opening of the plot Gregg Scott from Minster FM local radio station came along and helped young Simon our newest plot holder to plant some broad bean plants before going on to cut one of the ribbons on the gateways to the plot.

For any opening you have to have a speech from the Chairman and this was no exception as Barry Bothamley chairman of the allotment association gave his speech preparations were made for the cutting of the ribbons. Behind Barry you can see some of the tools and the junior sized wheelbarrows for the plot holders of the special needs plot use that were part of the sponsorship from many kind donors that made this plot a reality.

Gregg Scott from Minster Fm watches as young William cuts the tape at the first entrance, then it's a quick walk to the second tape where young Simon is waiting with scissors in hand to open the second entrance.

So once the tape had been cut the sun continued to shine for the rest of the day and people were dropping in throughout the day until the close at 4.00 in the afternoon. The whole day was amazingly good but was marred only by the poor quality write up in the York Press which completely failed to grasp that the day was about the opening of the "Youngsters special needs plot" and the fund raising through sponsors and the tabletop sale for the Special Needs plot and the work the association plans to do in future on the site. The Press in their usual inimitable way focussed on the previously opened raised beds for adults with mobility issues which had been funded by the local ward committee and seemed to be more like an election plug for the Labour Party for the upcoming local elections

All in all it was a wonderful day that achieved much. A lot of what was achieved was done so through the hard work of various people in the allotment association (and some who were not in the association) putting in time and effort to obtain and then utilise the backing of the local sponsors who helped enormously in making this possible. I'll be doing a follow up posting to thank the sponsors and all those who helped in this enterprise.

For a photgraphic review of the activities leading up to and more photos of the Open Day visit this link.  

One Week to go to The Open Day and Table Top Sale

 

The daffodils are looking splendid if somewhat wind blown. Will they still be flowering in a weeks time, hope so. They really do make an impressive show at the entrance to Plot 46 for Special Needs Children.

 

Is Mac really helping to sort items for the table top sale or just gazing at himself in the antique mirror? Inside the shed out of sight, sorting and categorising is Ann, whilst in the foreground is Norah lugging around a circular table with folding legs. Somehow or other everything will be ready for Saturday 9th and the plot can be handed over to it's new tenants.

Donation towards seeds and plants

Many thanks to Mr Ian Brindle of Illingworth's Insurance Brokers for his donation of money towards seeds and plants for the special needs plot. This project has seen much generosity that has helped in the creation from a scruffy corner at the entrance to Glen Allotments into what we hope is going to be a wonderful resource that will give much pleasure for years to come.

Final Meeting Before Open Day & Table Top

Just a little reminder to all volunteers for 9 April, that there will be a meeting in the Heworth Conservative Club, East Parade at 8.00 p.m. next Wednesday 30 March for final planning and allocation of tasks.

Further Tidying

 

 Levelling off roadway next to plot 46 for the special needs children. The mini digger was kindly loaned by Elvington Plant Hire.

Martin's Skip Hire come up trumps again with a free load of topsoil to be used in levelling out the roadway next to plot 46.

 

Reg with another barrowload (just one of several loads) for the levelling job.

Untidy area by the Scrope plots cleaned up and levelled, possibly for creation of some starter beds for new plot holders whilst they wait for a larger plot.

So once again it is many thanks to Elvington Plant Hire, Martin's Skips and Mitchell Landscapes for their generosity in donating equipment, materials and time.