Heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make my first Open Day a resounding success. It was a team effort supported by wonderful weather. We had just about finished setting up at 11am when Sunnyside Church service finished, and it felt as though the whole of the congregation descended upon us. Visitors continued to arrive in a steady stream until about 3pm.
Once again Cynthia and Jamie did an excellent job on A Road, greeting visitors as they arrived, talking to them about the site and explaining what was on offer, as well as selling old tools and gardening books. Lin and Jane, assisted by Sam, managed the running of the plant stall. Thanks to Lin’s kind offer to look after donated plants in the lead-up to the Open Day, we had a huge number of plants for sale, most of which sold. As usual, the produce stall up on B Road had a large number of jams and chutneys for sale. Very little produce had been donated by opening time (I was starting to panic), but our members came up trumps by providing us with a steady stream of produce throughout the day. B Road looked like a garden party, with visitors and members alike enjoying the tea and cakes in the sunshine; at times there was nowhere left to sit! Accounts are still being finalised, but we raised about £900 for our funds.
Thanks to Mayor Councillor Mrs Carol Green who kindly attended. Following a tour of the site, she drew the raffle. We raised £88 for the Hospice. In addition, this year’s event was attended by PCSO Katy Braham, who is part of the Safer Neighbourhood Team. She spent her time marking and registering tools and offering security advice. Also, we were joined by Andrea and her team from the Sunnyside Rural Trust, who appreciated being part of the event and the opportunity to explain the role of the Trust. We hope to see Katy and Andrea at next year’s Open Day.
Thanks again to all of you who helped out, donating produce, cakes and plants, or preparing the site; the gazebo and furniture team; the refreshment team; and everyone else who gave their time to making the day a success, including those who came and spent some money!
It takes a team effort to make the day work, but this year we had fewer volunteers, and it is thanks to a small group of people (some of whom did not get a break all day) that the day was so successful. If you had a great time, please consider volunteering next year.
