MATURE MANURE

For anyone familiar with Bexley, we have recently discovered an alternative source of free mature horse manure at Shannon Leigh Stables. The website

 http://www.shannonleighstables.com

has lots of photos of their excellent facilities, and very good maps too, but no photos of the manure, so we have done our best to capture something of the extent of this wonderful pile. As can be seen in our photos the mature manure is five foot deep in places, many years old, its crust  overgrown with nettles and other plants, and has the colour and texture and springiness of peat bog.

On turning into Stable Lane drive on past Bexley Stables and Mount Mascal Stables. The road eventually becomes an uneven dirt track. Shannon Leigh Stables is right at the end (see map) and the mature manure is right at the end of the heap. They clearly want to shift as much as they can so take lots of bags and a big shovel or, preferably, a dump truck. If you feel unsure of the way after Mount Mascal just ask. There are lots of helpful people around. As we left after our second visit we were urged to "Keep up the good work."

Margaret & Nick PLOT 41

Rules

Association Rules (updated at 2008 A.G.M.)

1. The name of the Association shall be the Barriedale Allotment Association.

2. An initial membership fee of £2, or other such sum as agreed by the Association, shall be charged.

3. Allotment rent will be agreed at the A.G.M. and charged per rod or fraction thereof (0.1 of a rod or less will not be charged for). Rent unpaid from 30 days after this time will be deemed resignation and membership of the Association will be terminated forthwith. Any plot let after October 1st will be rent-free until the A.G.M.

4. Plots must be kept clean and in a good state of cultivation and fertility and must not be sub-let. Each lot must bear its distinctive number.

5. Paths surrounding plots are the responsibility of the adjoining allotment holders and must be kept in a satisfactory condition. Main paths must be three foot wide and dividing paths between plots two foot wide.

6. No member may trespass on another member’s allotment.

7. Sheds may not be erected without the permission of the Committee and must not be situated within three feet of a perimeter fence. Metal stakes within one metre of the path, or within two metres of the path where there is a drop of one foot or more, must bear sturdy protection.

8. Each member must hold his or her key, which is not transferable without the consent of the Committee. A deposit of £5 per key is made which will be refunded when a key is returned on termination of membership.

9. The site is the responsibility of the Association and only members have the right of access. Each member is required to work at least one hour per year on general site work on a Site Day.

10. All children under 14 years must be accompanied by an adult.

11. Pets must be kept under control.

12. Bonfires may be lit during daylight hours up to one hour before sunset. They may not be left unattended. Wind direction is of the utmost importance and fires must not cause disturbance to the residents of Barriedale. No rubbish whatsoever, domestic or else, can be brought onto the allotment site from outside. Burning toxic material, plastic or synthetic material is forbidden. No rubbish may be left on site.

13. Any member who wishes to make an official complaint or appeal within the business of the Association shall do so in writing to the Association Secretary, who is required to bring the matter before the Committee.

14. Vacant plots are to be let to the next person on the waiting list.

15. All members shall observe and perform all the conditions as laid down in the Association’s agreement with Network Rail.

16. Complaints and Evictions.

Any complaint regarding a members conduct (such as a trespass or smoke incident) should be made to the Secretary in writing, who will bring the matter to the attention of the Committee which may authorise the issue of a written warning to the member concerned. If a written report is received that the behaviour is repeated a second written warning may be issued by the Secretary without reference to the Committee. Any further written report to the Secretary of a repetition of the breach of the rules will be reported to the Committee who may expel the member and evict them from their plot.

If the Letting Secretary considers a plot to be in breach of the rules, he will issue a first written warning. The plotholder will then have 4 weeks from the date of the letter to remedy the situation. If the Letting Secretary considers that at the end of the 4 weeks the plot is still deficient, he will issue a second written warning.
If the Letting Secretary considers that at the end of the second 4-week period the plot is still deficient, then 3 committee members consisting of the Letting Secretary and 2 randomly selected members will inspect the plot and report back to the committee. The plotholder will be informed that this is happening but at this point, it will be too late for the plotholder to remedy the situation any further. The committee will convene urgently for a special hearing. The quorum will be 5 committee members. Thus, there will by definition be an officer of the committee present. The majority vote of that committee will be the final decision.

Well Rotted

A lot of people stop me and ask. "Where did you get your manure?"
I usually confidently reply "Well it's in Bromley er round the back of... well go past the Glades and follow the road round ... Ithink it's Staplehurst Road... Tell you what I'll post a link on the site.."
So in a complete break with the tradition here is a link maps thing and details

Contact
Mr and Mrs M. K. Jackson (Kate is usually there)

Ask to speak to Kate and be nice! I usually give her a few quid if I take a load.

312A Southborough Lane
Bromley
BR2 8BG
Telephone:
020 8467 5237


View The Stables in a larger map

Site Day - Spring 2009

This year's first site day was on Saturday 25th April and it was a pretty good day. Attendance wasn't bad but I'm afraid that it consisted of the usual faces that turn out time after time. Thanks to all of you who did turn out - we got a lot of work done and a had bit of a laugh. This year we tried a new approach of organising what we were doing beforehand. This mainly consisted of having a meeting in the pub the Thursday before. Everything fell into place after a few pints of Dragons Den and we arrived on site day knowing everything would be ready. Mike had got plentiful supplies of scaffolding poles and planks, Clare was delivering paving slabs (picked up for free on Freecycle) and laid on the food and post work beers, Geoff had the strimmer setup and Tom and I assumed er supervisory roles.
Everyone was given tasks to the work quickly moved ahead. The main thing was shoring up the far steps so Mike cut poles and other cut planks and creosoted them while the chaps got stuck in with spades. It was a big job but everyone stuck at it, norished by the rolls that Jane's girls made up, and did a bang up job.
Meanwhile Lucy and Kirsty strimmed like mad and Jackie was busy with the tennis balls on spiky sticks! Loads of other did more than their fair share and the committee's thanks go out to all who turned up to make it an enjoyable and productive
day.

Here's a slide show of the usual pics

Spring Time for Barriedale - Site Day

Well it seems Spring has sprung after a false start or two and the growing year is now well underway. Everyone is in agreement that the site in general and the plots in particular are looking very good and well cultivated. The recent rain followed by a few days of beautiful sun has really greened the site with onions and potatoes puting out green shoots. Lots of people have been down over the last few weekends and there has been a profusion of planting and digging. The bees in the wood at the end of the site are now very active. Jacqueline (Spelling??) is our resident apiarist and was attending to the hives yesterday complete with smoke pot and other tools of the trade. Please see pics below.

Site day is Saturday 25th April. Mike Faith is compiling a list of jobs but there shouldn't be too much heavy work - we will be concentrating on clearing paths, steps and boarders. Remember that all members are comitted to attending one site day a year so if you can't make this one you will have to attend the Autumn day. However there is the option of taking on some tasks in your own time - Tracy is painting the steps and someone else is creosoting the scaffold planks. Contact Mike or anyone on the committee if you would like a job to do.

Lastly the AGM has come and gone with no major incidents. Tanya has left the committee and we welcome Kieth Chambers as a replacement. Keith has been a plot holder for years so I'm sure he will be a valuble addition. Just a reminder that those who haven't paid their fees for the year have to do so within 30 days of the AGM so if you haven't done so already get your money to Claire as soon as you can.

Autumn down the plot

It's cold and wet and generally fairly unpleasant down Barriedale at the moment but there is still a bit of colour around. If you have a look around (keeping to the paths obviously!) you will see that there are some flowers out atracting the last of the bees and some autumnal veg holding on in there. It's not all doom and gloom and if we get some winter sun there are still things to get on with down there and some company to enjoy so don't let the short days get you down!

Here are some more pic - hope you like them.