Keeping Busy

Lots of interesting stuff happening recently. Here's a broad overview.

• CleanUp Day. As you may have read in the minutes of last week's meeting, we are making progress with CleanUp Day steadily and surely. I put up posters all over the town in various establishments and have registered the event with CleanKent. Now have to do all the risk assessments and get the requisite numbers of gloves, hi-vis jackets, litter pickers, sacks etc. Need to work on a press release and get more people involved.  While at Tentertainment I talked both with Richard Parsons of Tenterden Lions Club and Alan Bates of the Residents' Association and they are both keen to get involved.
• Bike To Work Wednesday #1 came and went, both Justin and I arrived on our bikes, and Chris, Christine and Carolyn were all present, though none of them actually ride bikes. Still - it's a start. Little acorns, etc.
• We are moving quickly on our Highbury Hall Community Garden project. Highbury Hall is under threat. It is a much under-used resource and is in poor shape. It needs lots of TLC, so Hall committee members teamed up with T3 on June 26 to do a bit of weeding and sprucing up of the exterior. In doing so we thought "Wouldn't it be great if these empty plant beds were full of lovely flowers and perhaps veggies?". Someone else then suggested making it a community project. Alan Sugden, who is in charge of the committee, told us to put together a plan and submit it to him so that he could present it to the members at the next committee meeting. Carolyn and I recently met with Marie Ball, head of the playgroup that is based at the hall, and she was all for a plan to beautify the outside of the building and involve the children at the playgroup in various ways. Alan's concern was 'who would look after the garden?' so we agreed that T3 members and Playgroup would assume responsibility for its care. We currently have a proposal ready and are about to submit it to Alan.
• We are possibly going to hold our next meeting at Number 75 restaurant (coincidentally right next to Highbury Hall) as they have a large outdoor veranda under cover of large umbrellas. The owner and head chef Tyrone and his wife Lizzie are keen to be involved with T3 and we have a few ideas for another community project (too early to disclose as it is still in the 'ideas' phase) and we will be working on developing it with Lizzie and Tyrone in the week and months to come.
• We're planning to have a stall at Tenterden Folk Festival's weekend craft and arts fair. We have banners and posters and other materials ready to decorate our booth, we just need to raise the cash for the cost of the stall. It has been mooted that we might sell homemade preserves and such like at the stall in order to raise a little T3 petty cash. Need to start saving jars! The Folk Festival takes place at the end of September, so we've got time...