There is no formal meeting in August but an afternoon tea at Blue Diamond garden centre in Huntingdon was planned. Unfortunately it was cancelled by Blue Diamond because their restaurant was too hot and they have no air conditioning. So a new date was fixed which again was on an extremely hot day so that too was cancelled. We are hoping that our new date will take place as the weather is cooling down at the moment, a case of third time lucky!

We have done very little work in the Courtyard gardens as it has been too hot for our gardeners but, overall, things seem to be surviving quite well. It is an opportunity to see what survives and what doesn’t which will help with any future planting. It does seem that climate change is giving us some dry conditions so perhaps we need to include drought tolerant plants in any gaps although most of the planting is surviving quite well. The sunflowers are getting a regular watering, though, so that they can continue with their colourful flowers for months to come. We very much appreciate the voluntary help of Nigel, the gardener, for his excellent pruning of the two shrubs in the library garden which was beyond our strength and expertise. At last there has been a bit of rain and we can but hope more is to come. We will be trimming and pruning some of the shrubs in the coming days which will tidy up things a bit.

Our local Cambridge Federation, of which we are a part, support the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre and Women’s Aid and the Federation advises us on the varied donations that are always welcome. We are looking forward to the Federation Quiz Night where we have entered a team so it will be quite a new venture for us.

The heat hasn’t affected our pleasure in playing Scrabble at the library, the various Bingo evenings at the Printworks – the pizzas are lovely – and the monthly Quiz. We are giving important footfall support to the library by our twice monthly Scrabble sessions on their designated afternoons and there is plenty of room for more to join us.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday the 16th September when we will have a ‘catch up from summer holidays’ night along with a glass of wine or a cuppa, a great deal of chat and laughter, and maybe an opportunity to do some craft work we have been meaning to start! We meet at the Studio from 7.00 for a 7.30 pm start. If you would like to join us, you would be very welcome.Jenny has looked after the gardens around the Coop and library for many years under the WI name, she has roped in her friends to help as well! I'm sure you agree they all do an amazing job and VJF are very lucky to have had such an amazing team to volunteer to maintain their areas.

However, Jenny has decided that at 87, maybe now is the time to slow down and to start relinquishing some of the jobs she does around the village. She is therefore appealing to any gardeners and / or gardening clubs / voluntary groups to come forward so she can hand the reins to them. All of the plants were planted with minimal maintenance in mind and Jenny would be happy to mentor any newcomers.

Please drop an email to our email address (hello@papwortheverardwi.org.uk)