By Ian Morris
It's a new record!
£4,220
Being the amount of profit generated
by the recent Open Gardens Weekend on Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June. (The previous record was £3,808 in 2013).
Over the 17 years of this event, the
OG has raised nearly £42,000, for the benefit of our 13th Century
church, the Village Hall, the village and a variety of good causes.
A very BIG thank you to everyone who
contributed in whatever way to ensure the event was such a success, especially
those from outside the village who willingly gave up their weekend to help.
We received nearly 200 feedback
sheets from the two days, out of 543 paying visitors (an increase of 11% on
2013); which is a very high proportion (36%) when one considers that many of the
individual sheets were from couples. A quick scan of the sheets reveals overwhelmingly
positive delight, enjoyment and praise for such a great weekend – here are some
of the quotes:
“Very good
event, the weather helped. Quintessential English village. Nice tea, good
service. Pretty church – thank you to the organist and to the bell ringers.
Thank you to the gardeners!”
“Super
tea!! And sunshine too!! A very, very pleasant experience. Beautiful gardens –
lovely people too – will come again tomorrow and next year!!”
“Fantastic,
lovely village – how good old England should be. Please keep it this way – a
welcome oasis compared to where I live.”
“Wonderful
afternoon – excellent silver band. Lovely to spend time in a traditional
English village – the villagers were very welcoming.”
“Very nice
and yet a strange experience – we do not have this type of event where we live
in Denmark. The afternoon tea and cake were very nice.”
“I enjoyed
it very much indeed. Well- organised with facilities and entertainment and
refreshments. A warm welcome received from the gardeners. Well-maintained
gardens and the opportunity to purchase plants.”
“The
highlight, as every year, is indulging in a cream tea!”
When I have had time to collate the
data and analyse, I will share with everyone .
I will also put together a report
reviewing the event and identifying opportunities for next year.
If YOU have any views, feedback or
suggestions, PLEASE let us know. Similarly, if you have any photographs, please
send them to us at OpenGardens@outlook.com
Meanwhile, thank you once again on
behalf of all of the OG team!
