Alice Holden – the Society’s January speaker

DATE Wednesday January 28th at 7.30pm
TALK Grown in Dagenham: Growing Food in the City
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

Alice Holden’s two-acre Dagenham Farm was a neglected local authority nursery only a couple of years ago. She and her team have since turned the gravel and plastic-strewn wasteland into a thriving market garden, growing organic food for local people.

This plot of prime, urban land is part of Growing Communities – a not-for-profit social enterprise providing fruit and vegetables to farmers’ markets and local box schemes from their urban food-production sites. Of her small-scale, community-led farm Alice says, ‘Everyone involved seems to take ownership of the place. Volunteers and salaried staff are equally involved. And every week we’re humbled by how much customers and children love coming here.’

Alice’s route to digging in Dagenham was via the Soil Association’s two-year organic-farming apprenticeship scheme and her work on commercial farms and kitchen gardens around the country, including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage. Last year she published her first book, Do Grow – Start  with 10 Simple Vegetables, with the aim of encouraging beginners to have a go at growing their own veg by optimising space and time available – even if it’s a window box and 10 minutes a week.

The pioneering Alice will talk to us about Dagenham Farm’s trials and successes on January 28th at 7.30pm.

RENEWING YOUR MEMBERSHIP or joining the society for the first time? Jane Godfrey, membership secretary, will be delighted to accept your £6 subscription for 2015 at the meetings on November 26th and January 28th. If you can bring along a completed application form, so much the better – forms are available from Uplyme Post Office, Hunters Lodge Post Office and Ginger Beer in Lyme Regis or DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

If you are not planning to come to the November or January meetings, please send your completed form and subscription to:

Jane Godfrey
Membership Secretary
Dashwood
Lyme Road
Uplyme DT7 3UY

DATE Wednesday October 22nd at 7.30pm
TALK ‘The Botany of Witchcraft’ by Edward Wells
COMPETITION ‘The Best Carved Pumpkin’
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

October’s speaker, Edward Wells, looks at the history of those plants thought of as sinister – as well as the more bizarre uses of some apparently innocuous ones. After hearing his talk about the deadly and disgusting, you’ll never see your garden in quite the same way again.

Edward is a dedicated naturalist and conservationist, serving for over 30 years on the council of the Somerset Wildlife Trust, as well as shorter stints on the councils of The Mammal Society and The Bat Conservation Trust.

Enjoy refreshments before and after the talk – including pumpkin-themed biscuits and cake.

AND… in the spirit of all things Hallowe’en, bring along your carved pumpkins and enter our competition. Entries are in two classes, adults and children. There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in each section. The pumpkins will be lit during the evening and the audience will be invited to vote for their favourites to decide the winners.

The talk is suitable for children, probably of eight years upwards, depending on attention span! Admission for the evening is free to children and members, £3 non-members.

DATE Wednesday November 26th 2014
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING at 7.30pm
GARDENERS’ QUESTION TIME at 8pm
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

Annual General Meeting at 7.30pm, please SEE AGENDA HERE

Gardeners Question Time at 8pm with a panel of three local experts – Mary Benger (Burrow Farm Gardens), Phil Gamble (gardens advisor) and Will Livingstone (Head Gardener at River Cottage) – who will answer questions from the audience.

Enjoy tea or coffee and home-made cake before and after the events. Admission is free to members, £3 non-members.

GARDENERS QUESTION TIME PANEL

Mary Benger and husband John moved to Burrow Farm in 1959.  John built up a dairy herd, and in 1966 Mary began her garden on that land deemed unsuitable for farming. She studied at Bicton and has been an active member of the region’s horticultural societies – Axminster Horticultural Society and Devon Hardy Plants Society. Her show gardens at The Axe Vale Festival have won several Large Gold and Best in Show awards. Mary frequently gives talks to garden groups.

Phil Gamble trained at Cannington College. He worked as Head Gardener to the Lord Lt. of Somerset and the Pecorama Millennium Garden. Following 10 years lecturing with Kingston Maurward Horticulture Department he now develops gardens for private clients. An established speaker and gardens advisor.

Will Livingstone Head Gardener at River Cottage has an impressive knowledge of organic vegetable growing, as demonstrated in his talk to the Society in August. Will is in charge of the vegetable garden at Park Farm which supplies River Cottage’s kitchens. He teaches courses on the wide range of skills and techniques necessary for making the most of organic garden space year round. And he is an expert in the non-chemical control of pests in the veg patch – the worst of which he claims are chefs and TV film crews!

Rob Harvey’s breadmaking is first class. His pear tarts and sausage rolls are also worthy of prizes, as Rob proved on Saturday when he became the first man to win the Horticultural Society’s Cup for home produce at the Autumn Show. He is pictured receiving it from society president Beryl Denham.

Rob began cooking for himself three years ago ‘out of necessity’ and earlier this year attended a bread baking masterclass. His winning ‘plaited loaf decorated with seeds’ was only the second loaf he has ever baked.

Coming a close second to Rob was yet another male contestant, Hugh Corbin.

You can taste Rob’s baking at the next Horticultural Society talk on Wednesday October 22nd when his lemon drizzle cake will be available with tea and coffee before and after the evening’s talk.

A £700 cheque was handed over to Mrs Ethelston’s School Building Fund by Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society chairman Jenny Harding at their Autumn Show on Saturday, October 11th. Accepting the donation were headteacher Mary-Anne Crafter and pupils, chairman of trustees Neil Pullinger and treasurer Martin Whitehead.

VENUE: Uplyme Village Hall
DATE: Saturday October 11th – 2 to 4pm

                                             Apples dessert and culinary at last year’s Autumn Show

Just days to go to the Autumn Show so please take a look through the show schedule  (there’s one attached, click here) and enter as many classes as you can to help make this an Autumn Show to remember and so complete another fantastic year for the Society.

Do you grow flowers and veg? – there are lots of classes to choose from (58 in total) with something for all growers or those who arrange flowers.

Like cooking? – then have a go at our own Great British Bake Off by entering as many of the six cookery classes as you please.

And don’t forget the eight fun classes – including a photographic competition for a depiction of a ‘Local Storm Scene’. After the storms of last winter there must be dozens of photos in your computer just waiting to be displayed.

Closing date for your entry forms is 9pm on Wednesday October 8th.

We will as usual welcome your donations of plants and produce for our sales tables at the show and these can be delivered to the hall on the morning of the 11th from 8am.

We look forward to seeing you at the show where you can view the judges decisions and enjoy a cup of tea and delicious light refreshments provided by Pam and her team.

To conclude the afternoon we’ll be presenting the Cups and Prizes to the winning entries. We will also be presenting a cheque to the Uplyme School Building Fund from money the Society raised at this year’s Summer Show.

Hope to see you there!
Regards
Brian
Show Secretary

Is there anyone willing to volunteer gardening help to an elderly gentleman in Lyme? It is a small garden, once his pride and joy but now overgrown and untidy. This gentleman can no longer look after it and has little money to spare to pay a gardener.

This request came to us from Caroline Uwins, Dorset Partnership for Older People Programme, Wayfinder for Bridport and Lyme Regis. If you can help, please get in touch with her at:
Mobile No: 07971338686
Gateway Helpline: 01305 548111
caroline.uwins@helpandcare.org.uk

For more information about Help and Care visit http://www.helpandcare.org.uk
For more information about Dorset Partnership for Older People Programme (POPP) visit http://www.dorsetforyou.com/popp

DATE Wednesday September 24 at 7.30pm
TALK ‘The Perfect Partnership: Lutyens and Jekyll’ by Paul Atterbury
VENUE Uplyme Village Hall

                                                           Paul Atterbury

The look of our houses and gardens today owes much to Sir Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. Paul Atterbury explores their dynamic and influential partnership and their work together between the 1890s and the 1930s, from the Arts and Crafts Movement to Art Deco. Included is their powerful work for the War Graves Commission in the aftermath of the First World War.

Paul Atterbury is a historian, writer, lecturer, broadcaster and curator who specialises in the art, architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries. He has written many books, on art and antiques, sculpture, design, canals, railways and the First World War, and for 24 years has been a member of the BBC Antiques Roadshow team of experts. He lives in Weymouth with his wife who is a great gardener, and so enjoys the fruits of her labours.

Tickets, £3, are available from Uplyme Post Office, or telephone Brian Cursley 01297 443642 or 07831 533580. This is an all-ticket event.

Hilary and Michael Pritchard who opened their garden, Socks Orchard at Smallridge, on August 10th (see our post ‘Garden Open’) wish to thank all their helpers and visitors for enabling them to raise £1,948 for the MSA Trust.