Welcome to the first newsletter of the Tugmutton Allotments Association. When, and whether, we produce a second one depends partly on you.

Work party

The next work party is this Saturday 6 July, from 1000 to 1200. Tasks will be mowing, strimming, a bit of hedge trimming and other, currently secret challenges. As ever, health and safety is everyone’s responsibility. Strimming in flip flops might look good on Instagram, but mangled toes probably don’t.

Thefts from plots

We have had reports of recent thefts from plots on both sites, including from sheds. Although intruders could be to blame for this, we believe that at least some of the thefts could be by fellow plotholders, which is really disturbing for the vast majority of us who just want to grow produce in a supportive, friendly environment. We are looking into the practicalities of security cameras, and consulting local police, but in the meantime our advice is:
-    Do not leave items of value in your sheds or on your plots;
-    Do not take anything from other plots, even scrap wood or the odd raspberry, unless the plotholder invites you specifically to do so.
-    Do report any suspicious activity to the Committee.

TAA annual show 2019

(Imagine the sound of a trumpet fanfare…)

We are pleased to announce that the TAA annual show will be held on Saturday 31 August at 2pm on the Willow Walk site. See "Latest Info" pages for a copy of the poster for the event and further details of it, but your main action for now is to save the date in your diary. Bring your family and friends!

In the absence of the usual competition organised by Bromley Allotment and Leisure Gardens Federation (BALGF), we will be holding our own version. The competition will seek to identify the three best plots on each site, and an overall TAA plot champion. In a touching show of faith in democracy, we will be inviting you all to vote for the first, second and third best plots on your site. The overall TAA champion will be the plot with the most votes.

Voting will take place in August, in advance of the show, so that the King or Queen can be crowned at the event. We’ll let you know how to vote nearer the time.
 
So….

What do you think? Is the newsletter a good idea? If so, what would you like to see included in it? What else should we do to encourage communication between us all and to improve our Association? Email your thoughts to committee@tugmuttonallotments.co.uk. We don’t promise to take action on all suggestions, but we’ll look at all of them with interest. Non-responses will be taken to mean that you couldn’t give a monkey’s either way…