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Activities:- ► Talks
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Friends Plant Sale on 27th May 2019
This, for the Friends, is one of the critical funding events of the year. We are always scanning the weather forecast well in advance hoping for a fine, warm and calm day. Unfortunately the forecasts became rather less good as the day neared. However, on the morning of the sale the weather was holding up. Mike Hughes and his team did some great last minute reinforcement work on the gazebos and with a number of helping hands they were erected even though on occasions they did try to make an escape over the Yew hedge. Now all we needed were plants to sell and to set up the accompanying tombola and book stall. The plants were brought round from their storage area and set up as attractively as possible on the trestle tables having been priced the day before. Tombola tickets were torn and scrunched, books were competitively priced and set out in a very artistic manner. We also cleared a small area of trestle so that a charity which supports the preservation of chimpanzees and their environment, could sell plants they had. More volunteers arrived to man the plants’ area and the tombola. It was now just the wait for the gates to open and the sales to begin. Also worth mentioning that having held the plant sale near the polytunnels for the last couple of years we were now back in our traditional place on the front lawn along with our friends from the cactus society. So, fingers crossed. Would the weather hold and would the customers turn up with money burning a hole in their pockets? Well, the weather did hold until very late on, the customers did arrive and they did have money to spend. We raised the grand sum of £840 and, in addition, over £130 was donated to the Chimp Charities funds. Further money was received from the surplus plants which were later sold in the Botanic Garden. So the move to the lawn does seem to have been a success and thanks to Mike Hughes and his team and all the volunteers who gave up their time, without whom we could not hold such events. David Spence Membership Secretary
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