On Tuesday we hosted a fantastic bonfire night party! It was made special as it brought together the simple pleasures of a great fire, hotdogs, soup and bread, toffee apples, sparklers.. and a lovely group of people. The ' guy ' was our Freddie Kruger scarecrow, made back in the summer by the children of London Fields Primary School in Hackney, and he came to a fitting end creating a magnificent glow in our fire.
A big thank you to everyone who was able to come along and to those who made soup, manned the bbq, tackled the sticky task of the toffee apples and helped to set the event up. We'll certainly be doing it again next year!
The other major event this week was the start of our Cookery Club. This has been started in response to the closure of the cookery courses run under Surestart centres and we had a full house for the first class. We have only been able to get this up and running because of the generosity of Care Farnham, who responded quickly to our request for financial assistance. It was uplifting to see eight local children cook a cottage pie each with a parent/guardian working alongside them.
We also had numerous visitors to the acre this week, including a group from ' Bloomin Marvellous' in Aldershot. They garden an allotment and came along to get inspiration from the acre as one of their leaders is also an RHS judge and had been to visit us in that capacity during the 'In Bloom' judging days. It was lovely to see them so enthused with fresh ideas to take back to their own garden and we very much look forward to having them with us again.
It's always a treat to see Beverley as she was the first true sponsor of the acre through her 'Tree of Hope' charity in Chiddingfold. We will benefit from her charity again this year and it's a big hug of gratitude from all of us. Thank you.
Someone visiting for the first time was Ian Curtis from the Dempster Trust. The Trust were instrumental in helping fund our cabin and Ian was given a quick tour before handing me a cheque which will ensure that all of the hardworking volunteers can enjoy a Christmas dinner together. Just fantastic. A big thank you from all of us.
The trustees continue to work hard, often doing unseen administration and fundraising - an essential part of running the acre as it's popularity and footfall have increased significantly. Presentations were made to the Women's Institute ( The Bourne) and also to the Farnham Parochial Charity. We’re pleased to announce that the WI have chosen us to be their charity of the year! Great news! We are looking at ways that the Farnham Parochial Charity might help next year, with a focus on the possibility of funding a schools activity day on the acre, and that's just tremendous!