Sneak preview to Autumn Fest!

The glorious Bank Holiday weekend that we always hope for turned out to be what we normally receive instead, didn't it?  But even though we're in that 'end of the holidays' frame of mind, there are exciting things to look forward to coming from the Gardeners. 

You will remember that the committee decided to not hold the Autumn show in its normal format this year, because of the uncertainty over Covid.  Instead, we are running Autumn Fest between the 15th and 17th October.  We are very pleased with the offering we've put together for you, building on the events that were especially well received from Spring Fest, but also adding in something new.  Following the huge popularity of the birdwatching walks in the spring, Richard Tomlin has kindly offered to run two more, this time in Little Marlow.  Rachel Gibson has also very kindly agreed to run another flower arranging session, this time with an autumn theme.  We had to run this via Zoom in the Spring, but this time it will be in real life!  One of the very popular speakers at Spring Fest was Timothy Walker.  His two talks were extremely well attended, and we are delighted that he has agreed to give another talk which touches on what plants can do for us, but also very importantly (in light of the recent report on global warming), what we can do for plants.  This will be by Zoom, and will start with the now traditional cocktail making to get us into the spirit of the festival.

But we have brand new offerings for you too!  Having spent a morning on a foraging course a year ago, I was very keen that the Gardeners were able to bring this to you as part of Autumn Fest.  I'm delighted to say that Jesper Launder, a resident of Jordans, has agreed to run three foraging walks in Hodgemoor as part of the Festival.  And we will be building on the success of the Bring and Take plant sale by widening it to garden and domestic produce of all sorts to raise money for the One Can charity that supports those who need food in our area.  We are hoping that you might put aside a spare jar of jam, perhaps some squashes or courgettes that are still going strong, perhaps bake a cake, or create something else lovely, and bring it along to the Baptist Church to form the produce for a village sale.  Hopefully there will be some appetising produce on sale that you can then buy and enjoy at home whilst helping those who are not as lucky.   

You might be thinking that perhaps you won't be able to remember all the detail of this email by the 15th October!  But fear not, if you live in the village then you will receive a flyer with all the information you need at some point over the next couple of weeks.  Keep it somewhere visible, as a reminder of the activities we've been designing for the village.  All of the events apart from the produce sale will need to be booked in advance, with most activities having limited numbers available, and all information will be on the website.  We will open the bookings once the flyers have been delivered.

And as you will remember from my previous posts, the Spud in a Bucket competition is now on Sunday 12th September at 5pm in the Jolly Cricketers.  If you entered, you should have had an email about this already.  We look forward to seeing you there to see if your entry is award winning, or just small fries.....

Jane