Mikron Theatre Company Presents ONE OF EACH Sunday 10th May 1PM

Harpers Lane Allotments Site

Off Church Road

Smithills

Bolton

BL1 6HU 

NO TICKET REQUIRED. A CASH COLLECTION WILL BE TAKEN AFTER THE SHOW

One of Each

Storms at sea, saucy secrets and sibling rivalry.

• Writer : Deborah McAndew
• Director : Chris Honer
• Composer and MD : Rebekah Hughes
• Designer : Kate Morton

Sir Caspian Delamere is a man on a mission, to find the finest Fish and Chips in Britain. He’s narrowed it down to two seaside vendors – finalists for his GOLDEN FISH-FORK award.
By coincidence The Pickled Egg and The Silver Darling are rival establishments run by twins, Roderick and Annette Whale. Unable to agree on the best way to cook this iconic dish, they went their separate ways years ago, and now they find their food and their philosophies in direct competition for the coveted GOLDEN FISH-FORK.
Which portion will prevail? Rod’s old fashioned, homely style? Or Nettie’s high-tech twist ontradition?
Their story is covered by unscrupulous journalist, Meriel Hacker, and she is after ascoop.
So what will she do when she hooks a much bigger fish than she ever expected…?
Set sail with Mikron for a savoury tale about the British National Dish.
Hot, salty and wrapped in newspaper!

Minutes from April meeting

Moss Lea Allotment Society

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on

Tuesday 28th April 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club

Present

Steve Barlow, Steve Cowell, Steve Watson, Andy Warburton, Gwen Kinloch, Phil Almond, Ray Hardcastle, Steve Richardson, Lesley Cryer, Pauline Oliver

1. Apologies

Joe Tarkowski.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes of the last meeting held were accepted as an accurate record.

3. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.

4. Secretary's Report

Steve reported on the last ABAS meeting, which included a talk on growing show onions. The next meeting will include a talk on showing all kinds of vegetables and is open to all members. The start time of the ABAS meetings has been put back to 8pm. There is also due to be a talk from the police about improving security on allotment sites. All plot holders can come along to ABAS meetings.

The introduction of combination lock across Bolton allotment sites has not met with great success and many sites have gone back to the old lock as the combination locks were found to be fiddly. In light of this it was decided that Moss Lea would continue with the existing lock.

ABAS have stressed that any problems with liaison with the Council should be communicated to them and they will provide the liaison with Malcolm Russell at the Council.

On 10th May 1pm at Harper Lane allotments there is going to be a free drama performance, more details will be posted on the Moss Lea website (a Google search for "Moss Lea Allotments Bolton" finds the site easily).

Steve reported that two plots do not seem to have seen any activity recently. One of these had recently been to stage 3 of the eviction procedure, so the process is likely to start at this stage. The other one will start at stage one if no cultivation takes place. Plotholders are reminded that plots should be kept in cultivated state as a condition of tenancy.

Most membership fees have been paid.

There has been no further progress with the Council re a decision on allowing greenhouses on plots.

5. Site Maintenance and Repairs

As the skip could not be booked for 25th April it will now be on site on 2nd May and will be picked up later in that week after the Bank Holiday.

The cold frame area has been cleared and three spaces are available. Anyone who wants a space should let Steve Barlow know and they will be allocated on a first come first served basis. The other existing cold frames are thought to be in use, anyone who is using these should make themselves known to Steve Barlow. More spaces could be made on the area lower down, behind the greenhouses.

A new bin has been constructed in the composting area and the existing bins covered. Plotholders are reminded to only put compostable material in the bins.

Flagging is underway in front of the amenity hut and the roof is to be put on the garage. This work will take a few weeks, as time allows.

The broken panes in the greenhouse have been reported to the Council, but there has been no response yet. The damage was done by a plastic table during high winds. Everyone should be mindful of this and ensure that items are secured to prevent them from being blown around the site in windy weather.

6. Annual Show and Competitions

All classes in the show are to remain the same as last year.

Details of competitions and shows will be posted on the Moss Lea website.

8. Any Other Business

Phil Almond brought along a card which had been passed on by Tommy, the show judge, thanking him for the donation of half of his judging fee to Marie Curie. He had received similar thanks from Shelter, the recipient of the other half of his fee.

9. Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 26th May 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club.

ABAS MEETING MINUTES AND COMPETITIONS

Latest meeting notes HERE
Onion and leak show show 2015 details HERE
Details of the scoring system are HERE

Allotment Competitions 2015

• The Fairhurst Trophy Competition
• The Fred Greenhalgh Memorial Trophy Competition
• The Best New Tenants Trophy
• The ABAS Rosebowl

This years allotment competitions are being managed by ABAS. The preliminary judging round is scheduled for Monday 9th June to Friday 18th July 2015.
 
If you wish to participate in this years competitions you should in the first instance inform your society secretary and he/she will advise you as to which section of the competitions you are eligible to be entered into. Societies may nominate up to six plots in each section.

It should be noted by any plotholder wishing to participate in the competitions that they may only enter one section of the competitions.

Competition sections:
The Fred Greenhalgh Memorial Trophy Competition
 Open to plotholders with allotments exceeding 167 sq metres (200 sq yards) in size.

 The Best New Tenants Trophy Competition
Open to tenants who have held an allotment for less than 12 months duration at the time of the final judging and who have not had an allotment previously. It is imperative that the tenant does not exceed 12 months duration by the time of the final judging date. If in doubt society secretaries should consult the plotholders tenancy agreement.

The Fairhurst Trophy Competition
Open to any plotholder who does not fall into either of the above categories.  

The ABAS Rosebowl
The Rosebowl is a competition for allotment SITES and will be awarded to the site which in the opinion of the judges provides the highest standards in the borough. The competition is open to those sites with a society which is a member of ABAS at the time of entry.

COMPETITION PARTICIPANTS WITH MORE THAN ONE PLOT SHOULD NOTE THAT EACH PLOT WILL BE JUDGED SEPERATELY.

CLOSING DATE FOR ALL ENTRIES IS FRIDAY 16TH MAY 2015

NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER NOON ON THE CLOSING DATE

Please note that only successful preliminary round competitors will be notified of their entry into the final round.

 

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 31st March 2015

Moss Lea Allotment Society

Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on

Tuesday 31st March 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club

Present

Steve Barlow, Steve Cowell, Steve Watson, Andy Warburton, Gwen Kinloch, Phil Almond, Ray Hardcastle, Steve Richardson, Barry.

1. Apologies

Mrs Slater.

2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes of the last meeting held were accepted as an accurate record.

3. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous minutes.

4. Secretary's Report

Steve reported on the last ABAS meeting, which are held on the second Monday of the month and are open to all members. Most plot holders in Bolton are now members of ABAS (502 members) and membership is 50p annually, which the Moss Lea Society pays on behalf of its members.

The Bolton Allotment Competition was discussed at the ABAS meeting. There are classes for plot of less than 200 square yards, larger plots and new tenants (those who have had plots for less than 12 months). The closing date for entries is 16th may and judging is in June and July. More details will be posted on the Moss Lea blog page.

Moss Lea will also be entering the Rose Bowl competition again for the best allotment site.

ABAS meetings will now start at 7:30pm instead of 8:00pm to allow time for a presentation at the start of the meeting. The next meeting on 13th April will have a presentation on exhibiting onions.

Steve has raised the issue of problems with the Council's efficiency in administration relating to allotments. Examples include the plot holder who was almost evicted because the Council could not find a record of rent payment and an individual who applied for the waiting list but did not appear on the list which was received by Steve. Other societies seem to be experiencing similar problems.

The Council is to make a change to its eviction procedure. Eviction notices will no longer be posted on the plot, instead they will be sent to the tenant by registered post.

The remaining half of the community plot has been taken on. There are two names on the waiting list, however all plots are occupied.

5. Greenhouses

Steve Barlow has been advised that the decision on a change in the site rules allowing greenhouses on individual plots cannot be made by Bolton Council staff and will have to be referred to elected members.

6. Site Maintenance and Repairs

The concrete garage which has been donated to the site has now been erected, but still requires a roof. Roofing with corrugated bitumen panels is proposed, however the best methods for supporting and fixing these needs to be looked into a little more. Cost of the roof will be approximately £200 and Ray Hardcastle (Treasurer) confirmed that this is available. Keys are also needed for the door. Several people have been involved in obtaining and erecting the garage and thanks are given for the effort and time put in.

Use of the garage was discussed and it is likely to be used for tool storage and to free up space in the other hut. It could also be of use during the annual show.

The skip is to be ordered for the weekend of 25 - 26 April. In the meantime waste for the skip can be put next to the amenity hut.

Some of the old cold frames need to be cleared and this can be done when the skip is on site. Cold frame space is available and people who want space for a cold frame should let Steve Barlow know.

Covers have been put on the communal composting bins. A third bin needs to be constructed.

There are some broken panels in one of the greenhouses. There are some spare panels which can be fitted.

Areas of the site for sowing wild flowers were considered. This will enhance the site and give a better chance of winning the Rose Bowl Competition.

The new combination lock will be fitted on the gate on Saturday 25th April.

8. Any Other Business

Steve Richardson demonstrated the Moss Lea Blog page, which contains minutes from the meetings and links and will also have details of shows and competitions posted on it. A Google search for 'Moss Lea Allotments Bolton' will find the site. There is potential to do more with the page in future and anything for posting on the page should go to Steve.

9. Date of Next Meeting

Tuesday 28th April 2015, 8pm at Astley Bridge Cricket Club.

Free wild flower seeds

Register below to receive a packet of wild flower seeds funded by the national lottery.

Free wild flower seeds