I recently contacted a handful of fellow bloggers in the UK suggesting we might organize some sort of event and get together. There was enough interest to make it seem like it would be worth trying to organize something, so I’m posing the idea to everyone else. Since I am not from the UK, and don’t live there, my ability to plan something like this is very limited. Please help me out here with any suggestions or corrections!
As far as I’m concerned anyone with an affinity for food growing gardening or allotmenteering would be welcome, together with friends and family. I’m going to include some links below of UK food growing garden blogs I am aware of so their owners will notice this post, but if there are any others please let them know too. It’s not the intention to exclude or forget anyone. Visitors from other countries are welcome too!
I was thinking about the following:
It seemed like Oxford would be a good location. It’s central to bloggers in London and Cheltenham, as well as some other places. It’s also a nice area, with lots of things to do. Possibilities I’m aware of include visiting the botanical gardens, as well as some boating. I’m sure there are lots of other things, and I hope others have suggestions.
Since I’m coming from Amsterdam, it’s better if I stay a few days. I’ll probably come for a long weekend, with Friday and Monday as travel days. I expect most people in the UK will come only for one day, so we should designate either Saturday or Sunday for the main event. On the other day, if anyone is around, we might make informal plans for other activities. Does anyone have a preference between Saturday or Sunday for the main event?
A couple of people have expressed some concerns about spending a lot of money, so I suggest we try to do the main event for little or no cost. Perhaps on the other day we might do something a little more expensive.
Is anyone interested in doing a ‘pot luck’ lunch or dinner? This is where we all bring a dish and share food with each other. This might give us a chance to taste what other people are growing in their gardens. Coming from Amsterdam I might be limited on what I can personally bring. No one should feel like they need to bring anything special, and supermarket food is fine too. It would be a chance to show off if you want to.
A pot luck might be a lot of extra work to plan, because we might need to make use of kitchen facilities to store food in a refrigerator or some way to heat up food. We could try to do this as a picnic somewhere, or maybe rent a narrow boat or boats which each hold 10 people and come with a small kitchen. Does anyone living in the area want to volunteer the use of their house or kitchen for a pot luck? Does anyone have any other ideas for a venue?
What about dates? Since we might visit each other’s gardens, and we might share some of our fruit and veg, perhaps it would be good to do it at a time like September? How does this suit everyone else? What does everyone think about the weekend of 6/7 September or the weekend 20/21 September?
Please let me know if you’re interested in coming, and how many other people might come with you, either in a comment or email. I don’t honestly know if I should be expecting 3 or 300 people.
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Hi Patrick
It’s not a bad idea. My preference would be for a symposium with a few talks on various aspects of food growing (allotments, organics, community farms, etc) with a bar-b-que after. There’s potential to host it at my allotment site in Newbury, Berkshire, though I think better sites could be found.
I’d be interested to see other suggestions.
Simon
You have been busy! All that linking! I could host but you’ve seen the space! My poor seedlings would get trampled. Nice idea. How practical is it? We could all meet at some gardens somewhere. Heligan maybe and negotiate a cheap rate. If it was a nice day we could all have a massive picnic!
Me and my ideas eh
Great to have a blogmeet … a huge picnic in the University parks in Oxford, everyone bringing something …. or Simon’s allotment – why not? …. or at the RHS garden at Wisley (cheap cafes, posh restaurant, places to picnic, the new exotic glasshouse, lovely flowers – model veg gardens and productive greenhouses)
What if it rains?
Joanna
I think it’s a great idea Patrick and as you know I’m a supporter of garden blog meets.
I like the idea of it being in the university park idea as well as the RHS garden.
I would hope to travel up from SW France but timing will be critical for me – summer visitors go well into September.
If it rains do RHS Gardens have conference facilities they’d let us use?
I’m so jealous. I can’t wait to hear how this event goes.
Why is next year so far away?
Sounds like a fun plan. 🙂
All the ideas so far sound good to me, although a mass picnic or outing to a garden of some kind is obviously a bit dependant on the weather which could be a pain.
I guess we’d need to know rough numbers before any more plans were made but you can more than likely put us down for two places… 🙂
Could be a good happening, I would be interested, but couldn’t say categorically. It will depend on my finances, work etc. at the time. BUT I would like to be pencilled in (poss. with a +1) for sure.
“Plus one” and I would possibly consider it if we could find time away from the garden for a day!
From a safety point of view, given that people don’t know each other perhaps somewhere like a good pub, near to a good garden would be ideal?
Down to specifics, other options to add to the above could be Kew/Chelsea Physic/Audley End in the South East, HDRA’s Ryton and Vegetable Kingdom in the Midlands.
Saturday might be the best day as both public transport and cars are a bit easier to deal with than on a Sunday.
Oxford, picnic in the park and close proximity to pub – all sound like fine ideas. Partner & I would endeavor to get there. We’ll be the ones with turnip leaves in our lapels.
Hi Patrick,
Found out about your idea via Simon over at The Plot Thickens – brilliant!!!!! I can make both the suggested dates. Totally agree with Saturday being the better day – anyone travelling by train on a Sunday tends to get a trip around the rest of England thrown in!
Cheap and cheerful sounds good. I might be able to get hold of the University Field Centre in Wightam Woods near Oxford (research there led to the term Ecology being coined) for accomodation. It’s extremely basic though and I haven’t seen my contact for there for 10 years. Probably best to forget it for this year then – perhaps a better bet for next year, so I’ve got more time to follow the contact trail? Another possibility for another time is to hire a youth hostel – this would have to be outside the main season though. Once the venue is fixed and if you keep to your suggested dates, university halls of residence accomodation could be explored as a possibility. I’m happy to help out with researching these and any other ideas that people may have if you want.
If the Midlands was used as a venue, there’s also Birmingham Botanic Gardens to visit as well as HDRA.
Like the idea of talks, demos etc. We could have a ‘problem shared is a problem halved’ clinic, where we bring along questions about our plot disasters, requests for advice etc for the others to have a go at.
Have lots more ideas re activities etc. etc., but will hold back for now 🙂
Patrick hi
Great idea. Would love to come. Both those dates are fine for me. I’d be on my own (the wife would DIE of boredom talking about gardening all day…)
mtp is in. Lovely idea. Looking forward to meeting everyone.
And a great excuse for a trip to Oxford.
Hey All! Just found the link! I’ll be in although may get a nose bleed going that far south! :o) be wonderful to meet everyone! Cat x
Hi there
I would be very interested in coming to this, and maybe even writing a piece about it for the paper. My suggestion for meeting would be the Oxford Botanic garden – and they have indoor meeting rooms they might let us use.