Saturday 16 March 2013

Whickham Bulb Show

Whickham is the small town down the road from my village of Sunniside and today it hosted its annual spring bulb show run by Whickham in Bloom. The chairman, Rae Beckwith, has an allotment next to mine so our paths cross regularly. I bumped into him at the show when the mayor was there so Rae told him about the good work done by my bees for his flowers and about how he is visited by my hens the moment he starts digging. As of this weekend however the hens have been confined to the allotment until the autumn so they can't damage other people's crops.

I mentioned to Rae a few days ago that I have an idea for a summer garden show in Marley Hill, the next village up from Sunniside. I am a trustee of the Marley Hill Community Centre and I'm keen to expand the role of the building in the local community. We are losing the Gateshead Summer Flower Show as Gateshead Council can no longer afford the £120,000 subsidy. My plan is that we have a mini version of the show in Marley Hill and I asked Rae for his thoughts on the idea. He liked it and said that he was sure Whickham in Bloom would be willing to lend a hand, for example supplying judges for the competitions. Today he said he had mentioned it to colleagues at the Whickham Show and again, it was well received.

My next job is to take it to the Marley Hill Community Centre management committee this week (I am a member). My guess is that they will be interested in exploring the idea further. So perhaps summer 2013 will see the first Marley Hill Summer Garden Show.

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