Warren Carter

A few days before Christmas, the roof went up on the temporary structure while the council put up a new fence. In 75 work hours, we cleared the site, the old fence line and put up our tin shelter. Hey, they should make a Changing Rooms programme about us.

In an amazing short space of time our temporary shed now has a tin roof! Well half of one. Don’t know how much it will protect us from the elements tomorrow at our Christmas party but everyone has been working their butts off to get it sorted. Tomorrow we say thank you to everyone with a three course meal at the garden and plenty of mulled wine. Cheers!

At the end of the winter term we fire up the clay oven and serve up Christmas dinner for pupils that work with us, a few that used to and some of the teachers/teaching assistants. Sticky Fingers Simon with help from some of the pupils dished up chicken, roast potatoes (pink fur apples from the garden – everyone should grow these), kale, parsnips, carrots with a big dollop of gravy. Very quiet round the table as everyone devoured the lot,… Read More »SCHOOL CHRISTMAS LUNCH

Temporary structure really taking shape, old fence line gone.

The chalk floor on the temporary structure is finished thanks to hard labour and a pounder. The A frame is being built and the support struts will be up soon. The council are going to put up a new fence at the back and to save the council money we are moving along the back line, bashing out old concrete posts, removing tangled fencing, tree stumps, rubbish, old shoes, glass and cow bones. The weather continues to be kind to… Read More »FLATTENING AND BASHING

Week two after the Great Fire of Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and the base of the temporary shed is almost ready thanks to hardcore volunteers, school pupils and help last Sunday from Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue . Thank God or climate change or just sheer luck but the weathers been so mild we’re still picking salad and raspberries and working in t-shirts, so we wouldn’t have had to hide in our shed yet from the rain, cold and snow. But… Read More »FLOOR TAKES SHAPE

The clear up is over and people have started work on our temporary structure. We need to put something up quick to have somewhere dry and warm before the weather turns cold. Unfortunately our half built rammed chalk food larder (see top picture) has had to be buried alive while people pick axed and flattened a large area of chalk next to the old shed. We laid down scaff board for supporting walls while we try to even up the… Read More »SLOWLY RISING FROM THE ASHES

On a drizzly November day we set about clearing up what was left of our shed. Burnt timber, twisted metal roofing, melted plastic, cracked cups…it had to be sorted to be burnt, recycled, sold to the scrappy and taken to the tip. But what a response! All the pupils and teachers from Springboard , pupils and staff from ACE, regular and new volunteers, pupils from the past, all got stuck in to make light of the work. Daisy dished up… Read More »CLEAN UP FRENZY

Thanks to all the messages of support; moral, financial and physical. Here’s a list of some of the things that we need replacing. Plates, knifes, forks, spoons, bowls, mugs, big pans, frying pans, cast iron pans, tins for storing tea, coffee, sugar and biscuits, cafeteria, teapot, baking trays, serving spoons and ladle, cheese grater, colander, measuring jugs, potato masher. Kettle for fire, wood burning stove, mirror.

On Thursday night our allotment shed was burnt to the ground. The fire was so fierce that neighbours called the fire brigade who had to stumble through woodland to put out the blaze and stop our Saxon roundhouse from also catching fire. You might get the wrong impression, when you think of a garden shed storing a few tools and a couple of old flowerpots. This was a lot more than a shed, it was what some youngsters called our… Read More »BURNT TO THE GROUND