Meeting Reports:
July meeting: Kathy’s Garden.
On Friday 13th July we visited Kathy's lovely garden in Stevington. In spite of the fact that the heat wave had been with us for several weeks, there were still plenty of flowers in the borders and every-where the clematis was in full bloom and happily scrambling over pergolas, walls, trees and shrubs. There were more of these dainty and colourful plants growing over obelisks surrounding the sunken garden, which has an impressive display of containers with black Aeoniums, Agaves, Begonias and Dasylirions. Kathy took us to the wildflower meadow where butterflies were feasting on the abundant nectar. The garden is full of lovely trees, providing much needed shade. At the end of our tour we enjoyed tea and Kathy's delicious homemade cakes. The ManorHouse itself is a beautiful building which dates back to the mid-1200s when a hospitium, or Guest House, was erected to house pilgrims who came to visit the nearby holy well beneath the church. A full histon- of Stevington -Manor can be found on the web site, www.kathybrownsgarden.com/History-of-The- Manor-House.html and it is well worth a look. I was surprised by the size of the garden and that it is managed only by Kathy, her husband Simon and just one other gardener. Puts mv occasional worries about my own small plot into perspective! The next -NTU meeting will be on Thursday, September 13th and new members are very welcome. May 2018 Meeting: Good Neighbours Scheme We were delighted to welcome Anthony Winton OBE who is the coordinator of the Sharnbrook Good Neighbours Scheme. For those of you who may not know about the help available, there are at present 38 volunteers. These will provide all kinds of assistance such as lifts to the surgery or hospital, or for appointments to opticians and dentists when we can no longer drive, also practical assistance with all kinds of jobs which are often too small to interest a tradesman. I have personal experience of this, having had a washing pole repaired and excellent advice about a flat roof. If the job cannot be done by a volunteer, there is also a scheme called Village Agents which is based in Harrold and employed by the Bedfordshire Rural Communities charity. The service is free of charge and will put you in touch with someone who can help you with things like security, pensions and filling in difficult forms, etc. The website is www.bedsrcc.org.uk and the phone number is 0800 039 1234. These are excellent schemes and the volunteers who give their time so generously are indeed `good neighbours’. All they ask is a small contribution for car journeys, and this money is used for donations to Christian Aid. If you would like to become a volunteer please ring Anthony on 782376 - I'm sure he will be pleased to hear from you. Contacting the Mothers' Union The Ouse Valley Deanery Group of the Mothers' Union extends a warm welcome to members and non- members alike. If you would like information about joining the group or future meetings, please contact Hazel Scott on 01234 781 559 or Jackie Biggs on 01234 782 517.
