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Open Gardens 11th May and 20th July 2008
There was a certain amount of apprehension as we worked towards the date of our first Open Garden event for the year despite our promises not to allow the weather to make us nervous. However, after both days being wet the previous year, it was a huge relief to wake up to sunshine on May 11th for the first Open garden of the year.
At 11am we actually had a queue at the gates! That gave us very positive feelings about the day before we’d even opened! And during the day lots of people came- 168 to be precise. We were very busy on all of the stalls during the day and the time just flew by.
When we closed the gates at 5pm our dedicated helpers as usual pack everything away as quickly as they can and then there is tea on the lawn (weather permitting of course!) During tea Audrey, who is the treasurer for the day, announces our total takings before the money is banked safely overnight. It is traditional now for there to be some friendly rivalry between the helpers as they all try to beat last year’s total. And the totals for the day were a stunning £1260.43 (£870.79 in May 2007) WOW!
Now this is where we feel humbled. We both work hard throughout the year to keep the garden at its best, trying to avoid letting things slip as there is so much else to organise for the event itself. However we are blessed with having a great team of supporters who, over the years have given freely of their time in order to make the Open Garden events the success they have become. Now all of these people work hard during the day without a break from their pitches (although we do make sure that they have regular supplies of tea, coffee etc!) and they do it because they are dedicated to raising much-needed funds for Woodside. We are indebted to them for helping us to run these events with continued enthusiasm and charm. What’s incredible is that there are many more people who regularly support us by donating us plants, co-ordinating the delivery of all the items from Woodside, advertising the event, leafleting houses and helping us to set up on the day at 8am and are still there or come back to pack away at the end of a long day.
However there is one person who we must mention and that’s because she gets more comments than anyone else in the visitors book! This person is popular as she is also spoken about by many at the event itself even though most visitors wouldn’t know her by face. This is Su who cooks the cakes! To date, her lemon drizzle, chocolate gateaux and coffee and walnut cakes have received the most favourable comments.
After such a successful day it’s always somewhat daunting to try to follow it with another successful day. However the weather was perfect again for the July opening and we had a total of 150 visitors. The Open Garden team all turned out as usual and we were joined by 2 new faces who we hope to keep with us as they fitted in well and the events are now getting very big and the days are extremely busy so we need their extra input. We ended up with smiles all round as the total takings on the day were £1247.85 and with after sales and donations has risen to £1318.35. This brings the total for both events this year up to a whopping £2578.78. By the way, Su’s Victoria sandwich was by far the most talked about cake on this particular afternoon!
A huge thank you to everyone who is involved with helping us to put on this event in whatever capacity. We really do value your support. For our regular garden visitors and if there is anyone out there who has not been to an Open Garden event before, here are the dates for your diary for 2009!
- · Sunday 10th May
- · Sunday 19th July
We do hope to see you then!
Ruth and Sue
Trustees of Woodside
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