Henley Allotments Awards 2009
A number of awards are given out in October every year; these include Best Plot, Best Newcomer and Best Site. Awards are also given to children for the Tallest Sunflower, Largest Pumpkin and Best Scarecrow.
Best Plot/Best Newcomer and Best Site
Judging takes place in the middle of July. This year Andrew Hawkins and Liz Cope walked both sites and gave each plot a mark out of 5:
| 1 | No sign of cultivation at all |
| 2 | Only a few crops |
| 3 | Reasonably tidy with some crop |
| 4 | Quite tidy with a good selection of crops |
| 5 | Very tidy and weed-free with lots of crops |
They also looked at the number and variety of crops growing, how weed-free the plot was and whether the grass paths were cut. The total points are then calculated and an average score for each site is arrived at. A few uncultivated plots bring down the average so it's very much a team effort: every plot counts! This year the number of plots that were awarded top marks of '5' was the best for years. The plots that got a 5 are listed below. Congratulations to everyone!
| Greencroft: | 8, 8A, 15, 15A, 16, 17, 23, 26A, 31A, 32, 39, 42, 47, 49, 50A, 60A. |
| Watermans: | 2, 6, 14, 15, 26A, 40, 46, 52, 53 |
Best Plot
Winner of Best Plot by a whisker was Watermans plot 15 - Tony Robinson!
Best Site
Best Site was also very close, with Watermans getting a score of 3.3, but Greencroft getting a score of 3.4! So Greencroft was awarded Best Site 2009!
Best Newcomer
Winner of Best Newcomer was Josh Trindall AGE 14 also at Watermans - plot 35B. Andrew Hawkins said: "The Henley in Bloom judges had been most impressed by Josh's allotment."
Childrens'Awards
Biggest Pumpkin
| 1st | 125 lbs grown by Finlay Reid at Greencroft |
| 2nd | 63 lbs grown by Jennifer Latimer at Watermans |
| 3rd | 51 lbs grown by Costas Kyriakides at Watermans |
Jack Lambourne, age 8, was in the running to win this event but his pumpkin, last weighed at 264lb and predicted to hit the 300lb mark, was smashed by vandals at Watermans several weeks before the competition. Commiserations go to Jack.
Tallest Sunflower
| 1st | 114 ins grown by Josh Trendall at Watermans |
| 2nd | 112 ins grown by Doug Richards at Watermans - Doug is Site Manager at Watermans |
| 3rd | 111 ins grown by Jack Lambourne, age 8, grown at Watermans |
The sunflowers are measured during the summer months.
Best Scarecrow
Jennifer Latimer's 'lovely lady' scarecrow beat Costas Kyriakides 'fit bloke' scarecrow to first place (as described by Andrew Hawkins!)
Presentation of Prizes
The prizes were awarded by the Mayor, Elizabeth Hodgkin who said to the allotment holders, "Thank you for continuing the tradition - it's a great hobby. We've got to get back to basics, to feeding ourselves and knowing where our food comes from."
The sun came out for the prize giving and it was a friendly family affair with all generations represented from tiny tots to their grandparents enjoying the gathering. Rather than the traditional floral bouquet, site manager Doug Richard presented the Mayor with a very big leek and a posy of allotment grown herbs.