The Gardener's Arms

Harvest time is all about reaping the benefits of commitment, effort and hard work. the same can be said of Pershore Allotment Association, whose members dedicate much time to building a community within the allotments, providing for the needs of members and working with the Town Council to improve the quality of the site.

To give yourself a voice in the way the Association is run and the celebrations and events it holds, join the Association - membership is free for 2008.

Whilst we appreciate non-members have views too, we must give weight to the voices of our members as they are the ones who actively forge our direction and to whose needs we must be responsive.

It is all too easy for those not involved to complain about the way in which the Association is run, but if you are not prepared to become a member, you cannot expect to have great influence over the direction of the Association.

Read all about our successful Open Day on its own page - click here!

Charles (Chas) Perrett is a local artist and retired art teacher of some reknown. In 2006, Number 8 Community Arts Centre in Pershore housed Chas's large-scale mixed media exhibition 'Art at a Walking Pace', based on eight images that caught his eye on a walk from Pershore Railway Station in Pinvin, to Number 8.

For a new exhibition currently scheduled to be on display during 2009 at Number 8, Chas has decided upon 'Alloted - Art at a Growing Place'. He will be visiting the allotment site between now and 2009 to gather ideas, take photographs and make sketches of images. Chas also hopes to talk to a number of allotment holders and is particularly keen to make sketches of the older and longer-standing allotmenteers (with their prior permission, of course!).

On why he has chosen the subject of allotments, Chas says, "I like the fact that the word 'Allotment' means not only an allocation of space but also of time and a sharing of knowledge, of ideas, and experience related to growth and the passing seasons."

Photos in this article are reproduced by kind permission of Chas Perrett (© Chas Perrett 2008).

So if you see a Chas wandering around, camera or sketch book in hand, do say hello and make him feel welcome!

Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to support the shop sale and plant swap. Your support and interest are vital to us, and we hope the other events we are planning for the year ahead will prove as popular.

The day started well, with people turning up with plants long before the official start time of 11.00 am. By half past ten the sale was well underway, despite the promise of miserable weather. There was much interest in a number of Howard's tools, kindly donated to the Association by his family after Howard passed away last year. The majority of these have now found good homes and, with a little love and attention, should serve their owners well for many years to come.

Among the plants being swapped were a number of types of lettuces, courgettes of all colours, three different types of tomatoes, strawberries, parsley, chives, purple sprouting, patty pans, butternut squash, pumpkins and chilli peppers. There were several flowers available throughout the morning, though were snapped up very quickly!

The sale of the perishable and flood-damaged goods from the Gardener's Arms shop also proved very popular, with all but one tub of chicken manure being sold before eleven. The various fertilisers and nutrients, sold at bargain prices, also found good homes very quickly. By one o'clock we decided to call it a day simply because we had nothing left to sell!

All that remains to be said is a massive thank you to Shirley Jones, Ged Witts and Maurice Hiden, who dedicated so much time and effort into making this a wonderful and productive day.

Following last month's Annual General Meeting, many of the Committee Members who had steered Pershore Allotment Association through 2007's rocky course took the sad decision to stand down. New members were elected with the hope that this could revive the spirit of the Association and the first meeting of the new Committee took place yesterday, Thursday 24th April.

Despite a sombre start, when it was considered almost inevitable that the meeting would be the winding up of the Association, it was agreed that the Committee would run on tick-over for 2008 whilst actively raising the profile and community spirit of the Association in the hope of renewing interest by 2009's AGM.

Former Committee members have worked hard with the Town Council to ensure that at least one skip per year has been available. They have also campaigned (and are continuing to do so) against the restricted access at one of the site's entrances. Solutions to water provision difficulties have been explored. Paths have been maintained. The Town Council has been petitioned to repair the poor road surfaces and the Gardener's Arms Shop has been staffed by volunteers.

To see what you can do to help keep the Association alive, click the 'I want to help' link to the left. It's easier than you think!