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16th June 201716th June 2017

Pooh Corner is famous!

Pooh Corner – the story of a toilet block

One of the things that makes Dorset Road Allotments special is Pooh Corner. For those in the know, that’s the name of our toilet block. We were one of the first allotment sites to have a proper flushing toilet and we certainly appreciate it! And it looks like we are not the only one. Our Secretary Donna came across this fascinating blog which features Pooh Corner (scroll down to the ‘not pubs’ section).

We’ve been lucky enough to have our ‘proper toilet’ since the 1990s. Some of you may remember the newsletter article I wrote back in 2011. I had been talking to Phil (who I’m sure many of you will remember) about what the allotment site used to be like and we got talking about toilets. I was curious to know what people did before ‘Pooh Corner’ was built, so Phil told me about the little-used chemical toilet, the difficulties getting permission from the council for ‘proper’ toilets and the hard work digging the drainage and plumbing them in. But the real gem was the original diagrams he still had in his note book.

Phil (pictured below with his mobility buggy) played a major part in Dorset Road Allotments over the years, including holding elected roles on the committee. We have him (and the other committee members) to thank for our wonderful facilities including the clubhouse and the toilets. Unfortunately Phil is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on. Thank you Phil!

Phil

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18th May 2017

Thank you for an amazing Open Day!

On Sunday 14 May we held our Annual Open Day – and what an amazing day it was. The sun shone, music was played and a lot of tea was drunk!

We would like to thank everybody who made it such an wonderful event, including the North Wood Morris Men, Old Palace Clog, Churchfields Choir, 19th Bromley Scouts, Healthwatch Bromley, Bromley Beekeepers, Woodcraft Folk, and all the other stall holders and members who gave their time to bake cakes, serve tea, cook burgers and hotdogs, grow and sell plants, blow up balloons, put out tables and chairs, put up signs, tidy up the site, build gardens and just generally help to make our Open Day a success.

In particular we would like to thank all the members of the local community who visited our Open Day – you are what makes the day so special!

Visit Dorset Road Allotments

We are open for members of the public to visit on Sunday mornings between 10am – 1pm and at other times on request. Alternatively visit our next open day – the dates and times will be posted on the website.

9th May 2017

The Secret Garden is taking shape

Our Secret Garden is taking shape. Thanks to our local community we won a community grant from Tesco Bags of Help scheme. Since then we have planned and built our new Secret Garden. The garden, designed by two of our members, will be a calming space for members and visitors to relax in.

The Garden Design

The theme for the garden was ‘secret’ and ‘woodland’ and the aim was to create the garden using as much recycled material as possible.

Creating the garden

The main structural elements were put in place by contractors in March to ensure the garden is safe and accessible. Since then volunteers have been bringing the garden to life. They have planted a willow tunnel and a fedge, recycled donated plants and built features such as the hazel pole fences, hanging picture frames and windows to peek through.

Thanks

We would like to thank everybody who has helped to create the garden so far, but especially our members Jane and Damien for all the hard work. We would also like to thank the 19th Bromley Scouts who built the two bug hotels

Next steps

We hope to have a formal launch party for the garden in the summer when the plants have grown. Before then there’s still a lot more work to be done ranging from weeding to woodworking.

If you would like to be part of the team creating and maintaining this wonderful new community garden please speak to a committee member.

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