2001 THE GARDEN CLUB
"The kiss of the sun for pardon/The Song of the birds for Mirth/One is nearer God's Heart in a garden/than anywhere else on earth". [Gods Garden] Dorothy Gurney.
John Weaver has for many years, very happily and with good humour, tended the gardens at Christ Church. He is an unsung hero of the Parish in many people's opinion. Without his skill, energy and commitment the gardens would soon lose their charming appearance.
John has tended the gardens almost single handedly. He has on occasion, perhaps five times per year, had some support from the congregation when called for by the Church Warden Bill Challoner.
It is only when you get involved to help him, as I have with others, that you realise what an enormous undertaking he has taken on so unstintingly. Apart from maintaining the lawns and flowerbeds, there is the considerable perimeter fence, hedges and trees that need maintaining.
The concept of the "garden club", was loosely considered on a day that Bill had organised for volunteers to tidy the gardens at Christ Church, in preparation for Father Robert's induction. (July 2001).
This proved to be an exceptional mornings work, with help from many volunteers. The weather was excellent. We had a magnificent bonfire, (local mutterings), and apart from the camaraderie of gardening, there were two popular innovations. The first was the delicious bacon butty, (Cordon Bleu), that John Garlick grilled on a disposable BBQ, and the second, was at the end of the long productive mornings work, when we retired to the George to be treated to two pints of excellent ale from Bill Challoner's and John Eyre's hospitality fund.
Bill recognised the power of alcohol to induce the community spirit within the congregations, and suggested that a gardening club should be formed, and we naturally enough, heartily agreed. Cheers.
At my inaugural PCC meeting on the 12th July, after one or two glasses of inducement, (red), I unwittingly spoke in favour of such a club becoming more formalised and meeting regularly, to support John. In a flash it seemed, Bill proposed and someone seconded, that I should be elected to chair the Gardening Club. Before I could speak I was rousingly elected by the committee. Cheers.
The committee felt
that we, (the Gardening Club to be formed) might be able to assist John in his
work maintaining the gardens at both churches, whist recognising his outstanding
and continuing contribution.
The Gardening Club is proving to be very successful. The membership is still
open, and is not exclusive by any means; its those that turn up and get on with
it. The mild weather has been kind to us so far and we have not lost any time
through rain, (I know, I know, I'm tempting fate).
We now have families turning up on occasions. We have small people pushing and occasionally riding in real and toy wheelbarrows, and wielding large rakes through the piles of autumn leaves, often taller than themselves. Young people are also joining in and learning the rudiments of gardening, 'hey Dad, look at this slug/hedgehog/worm/beetle/beer can/rat/leaf', and 'hey Dad, look at this blister, mud on my trainers, mud on my face, mud,mud,mud, yeah great fun' - Shut up Scarlett, can't you see I'm up ladder!!!'
We had generated so much to burn that the bonfire we anticipated for the 5 November became dangerously large, so we decided against a party this year. Even so we managed a magnificent day of burning on 3 November when a large part of the membership spent the morning reducing the huge accumulation of logs and prunings to smouldering ash. The ashes from this fire had smouldered for two weeks we discovered when we started to build the new bonfire.
Considerable energy so far has been focused on clearing the undergrowth on the western edge of the perimeter fence. John Eyre has had planning permission to remove the many self-seeded saplings of Sycamore that have been threatening the mature trees, particularly the large Plane tree. By removing them we are letting in light and opening the views of the green and the church. The weekend of the 17 November was an excellent day with a good turn out of regular faces and a sprinkling of new. We rebuilt the bonfire in preparation for the New Year and we planned that January 5 would be the first Gardening Club of the New Year. We celebrated it with another bonfire supported by mulled wine and a BBQ of Bangers. We felt that this would be an incentive for new members to be introduced to the particular art of gardening that is Wanstead.
Alcoholic inducement aside, the club is proving for many to be a rewarding, positive, sociable club, with an energetic and satisfying feel-good factor. We are concentrating on the hard work of clearing the perimeter and making sure that the trees are safe. We have an obligation, as a parish to ensure this is the case.
There are considerable parameters laid down by the diocese which we have to abide by, and any significant work regarding trees has to go through a thorough vetting process. Great care is being taken under the watchful eye of John Eyre that we stay within the guidelines.
As we discover the flowerbeds we realise even more clearly the scale of our ambitions. Many of them have been neglected since the devastation of the hurricane in October 1988.
At the moment the challenge ranges from brute force to delicate pruning to raking leaves. We are beginning to work as an effective and efficient team.
If you haven't tried it yet come along, many of the members seem to develop an almost unquenchable thirst, which necessitates a visit to the George. Here we ruminate on our past gardening triumphs.
The Garden Club meets every 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month.
Geoff Brunell
