Mayor Visit On Tuesday 9th March at 12.30, the mayors of Preston, South Ribble and Penwortham will be visiting the allotments to take part on a Tree Planting Ceremony, which will officially "open" the Heritage Orchard. Everyone is invited to join in, so if you are able, please come along and show your support. This day marks the end (or is it just the beginning?) of months of hard work by Jim Melrose, as project manager, Paul Pells, as fundraiser, committee members (past and present), Phil Rainford for grafting the trees, and all volunteers who helped out on the work days to turn a piece of waste land on the allotment site into an orchard of heritage apples and pears, which should continue to grow and bloom in the many years to come. The Heritage Orchard Tree Planting Ceremony was a roaring success. A big thank you must go to Sheila, Chairperson of the association for organising the event, and to everyone who came along. Please see the Associate...Heritage Orchard page for photos. Replacement Gate Work begins on replacing the main gate on the afternoon of Tuesday 9th March. There might be some disruption to access of the site during this time. Please be patient. The new gate will be worth it! Shed Alarms There are still a limited number of shed alarms available free of charge to association members. These are available from Clare on plot 29 or Val on plot 26. If you are able, a small donation to the association would be gratefully recieved. Help Wanted As you have read above, the mayors of Preston, South Ribble and Penwortham are visiting on the 9th March, so we need your help! If you are available on Saturday 5th or Sunday 6th March to help with a general clear up of the allotment site, we need you! We are planning to meet at 10am, but please come along at any time if you can. New Sign You may have already spotted the new sign that was recently erected by Dave and Clare Green (plot 29) on the Heritage Orchard. The heritage orchard now has an official name, The "Melrose-Pells Heritage Orchard" in honour of Jim Melrose and Paul Pells for all their hard work both in recent months and over the years.  Committee members Peter (left) and Dave with the new sign. Committee Reshuffle Following the re-elections in the AGM your committee and volunteers are as follows: Chairperson : Sheila Melrose (plot 58) Treasurer : Carole Johnstone Secretary : Clare Green (plot 29) Committee Members: David Green (more to be announced) Site Rep : David Green (plot 29) Heritage Orchard Project Manager : Jim Melrose (plot 53) Fund Raising Officer : Paul Pells (plots 123a and 125b) Web Site Co-ordinator : Clare Green Shop Bob Stanton has retired from running the shop. Thank you Bob for all your hardwork over the years. A rota of volunteers is being organised to ensure the shop continues. If you weren't at the AGM, or you didn't volunteer and you wish to now, please send an email here. AGM 2010 This years AGM was held on Monday 18th January, starting at 7pm, at St Mary's Church Hall, Cop Lane, Penwortham. Please see our dedicated page for more details. Dedicated or crazy? What where you doing on Sunday? Keeping snug in a warm house maybe? Not your site rep, not even a bit (or a lot) of snow could keep him away!