Challock & Molash Gardening Society

A cautious hello to 2021.

We will be dipping our toes in the waters of hope on Saturday 7th August.

Our beautiful Summer Show and scrumptious BBQ will make a very welcome, if belated, return to our calendar of events.  The Show will be pared-down compared to previous years but should still be a sight to behold with wonderful entries of flowers, fruit and vegetables! And of course the BBQ will be supplying tantalising food for your delectation. Plus some alcohol to ease into the festivities. Can’t wait!!

It is hoped that the rules around Covid will allow us to plan more events to take us up to Christmas. Watch this space, or your inbox if I have your email address.

Ray

July 2021.

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Whatever happened to 2020?

Answer; it got lost thanks to Covid 19 taking hold and keeping people isolated and at home. Gardening Society wise it was a fruitless year with all the planned events not taking place. A miserable time for all.

But watch out 2021, we will be making a comeback!

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Bye bye 2019 and welcome to 2020

2020 started in February with our Big Curry Night. It was the usual successful night with diners enjoying lovely curries and extra dishes, all beautifully cooked by the Spice of Bengal in Charing.

Events throughout the year have been planned and sent to members BUT at this time (14 March) the Coronavirus epidemic is having a major impact. This means that events may have to be postponed/cancelled.

2019 

On Saturday 12th October we held our Autumn Show in Molash village hall which was well attended with 34 members entering 32 exhibits across the 6 classes. Fabulous exhibits of flowers, fauna, vegetables and fruit with 2 delicious tarts of Autumn fruits entered in the baking class. Karen Mudge won the Best In Show cup for her wonderful, colourful flower arrangement.

Our own local artist, John Harvey, gave an excellent talk on how he got into becoming a commercial artist and provided many examples of his watercolours for the audience to view. Beautiful pictures of the Kent countryside much admired by us all.

A delicious buffet and glass of wine was, as usual, well received by all. The terrific raffle was well supported.

Thanks to all who attended. See you at the next event.

The new year started with a bang on Saturday 16th February with our famous Curry Night!

Yes, we got off to a cracking start with enough curries, rice, naan breads, samosas and chicken tikka to sink a small ship! The Spice of Bengal restaurant cooked the fabulous food and earned many compliments from our diners.

Another ship could have been sunk by the weight of magnificent desserts lovingly made by our committee and some members. Fantastic fare, thank you all.

Some silly quizzes and Dingbats kept the diners scratching their heads and trying to scribble answers. It proved a bit much for some and they had to cheat a bit! Well, no one was looking. Of course the raffle was as popular as ever with diners giving generously.

Our 3 Shows have been diarised and will announced in the Events section of this website along with other events etc. Have a shufti from time to time this year.

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Well that year went quick!! Goodbye 2018

We said a fond and rousing farewell to the year by holding a fantastic Christmas Social Night on the 1st of December. Carols were sung with gusto – drink was drunk aplenty – fabulous food was devoured – a canny raffle was held with terrific wrapped prizes – a game of bingo was met with glee and silly quizzes proved to be baffling for most members! All attendees left late in the evening full of Chrissy spirit.

3rd February once again saw 42 members enjoying the Big Curry Night in Molash village hall. Cracking curries, naan bread, samosas, chicken tikka legs and pilau rice cooked with care by our friends at the Spice of Bengal in Charing were memorable. Delicious desserts made by our committee members filled tummies.

Quizzes, silly and sort of serious, helped the night zing along. Thanks to all who made it a great night.

A schedule of events for the year has been written. Look in the “Events” part of the website for details. It will be updated throughout the year.

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A very sad occasion occurred in November 2017 when our Chairman, Fred Beadle, passed away after suffering with great pain for many months. Fred handled his illness with great stoicism and a smile. He will be greatly missed but remembered with much love by his friends in the Society.

Well, 2017 was a busy year for us with three shows which were all well attended and full of beautiful exhibits. Well done all.

We also had a full coach for our visit to RHS Wisley in early Summer and enjoyed a wonderful day in the sunshine.

Probably the highlight of the year was the Molash Open Gardens Day held in June when the weather was the hottest day of the year. Five local members worked very hard to make their gardens beautiful and interesting for the visitors to enjoy. Amateurs all, but what a fantastic day with all gardens offering something unique and authentic. More than eighty visitors paid £2.50 each to visit all the gardens and, along with cakes and refreshments to enjoy, contributed to a marvellous sum of more than £600.00 donated to Ellenor Hospices Charity.

The year ended with a Christmas Social evening held in Molash village hall on 2nd December. It was a great success with the hall bedecked  with decorations, candles burning and more food than could be ate. Delicious cakes, sandwiches, mince pies etc. were scoffed with delight. Never-ending supplies of delicious hot, mulled wine complemented the feast. Humorous readings and carol singing by all added to the fun and a ghost story read by Martin made the hairs stand up on people’s necks. A great night made by all and enjoyed by all.

Challock & Molash Gardening Society.

The Society is made up of members living in Challock or Molash and is run in an informal manner. We hold shows in Spring & Summer & Autumn in Molash village hall where members and friends enter their flowers, shrubs, herbs etc. that have been grown in their gardens. Entries are judged by the attendees and certificates/cups awarded. The evenings are designed to be fun and sociable and helped along by our famous raffle, yummy food and the obligatory glass of wine!

During the Autumn & Winter months we organise illustrated talks usually on a Saturday night that cover a range of subjects. The talks are always well attended and well received. Some subjects covered recently include: The Secret Gardens of Venice – Dungeness, Flora & Fauna – Gardens in British Columbia – Birds, Bees & Bugs – Big Cats in Kent – Walking by the Stour – Setting up an English Vineyard (Chartham Vineyard).

Coach trips are also offered to visit RHS gardens and some National Trust properties. Wisley in Surrey, Hyde Hall in Essex and Churchill’s home at Chartwell are favourites. Private gardens local to Challock and Molash are also visited. 2012 saw the Society go International for the first time with a day trip to the Jardins de Valloires in the Somme area of France plus dinner in Boulogne and in 2013 we ventured to Holland to visit the wonderful gardens at Keukenhof and included an overnight stay in Holland. In 2016 we visited Holland again but this time for a 3 day, 2 night stay.

As you can see, the Society attempts to be active and offer a variety of events. Recently we even stepped off the garden path and hosted a Curry Night for members where three different curries provided by the Spice of Bengal at Charing were enjoyed. Rice, breads and side dishes plus beer completed the feast!

The Society is always keen to boost its membership numbers so please join and help to keep the Society alive. Membership costs a paltry £4.00 per year ……… less than a pint of beer or glass of wine! Society Chairman is Fred Beadle. Secretary is Ray Loftus and he can be contacted on 01233 740592. He’s waiting for your call.

Gardening events/shows are always shown on this website under Events so pay a visit to see what’s coming up. Look forward to seeing you.

2017promises to be a busy and interesting year. It kicks off with our Big Curry Night on 4th February and continues with an event each month. Visit the Events tab to see what’s planned.

Saturday 4th February found 45 hungry diners munching their way through a range of curries with all the usual accompaniments. Yes, it was the Big Curry Night enchanting our folk! Delicious desserts made by members ensured that all diners had to loosen their belts or dresses! Some alcohol was even seen to pass lips. Let’s not even mention the silly quizzes that tested the grey cells of our merry band. Some were tested more than others ……. A good time was had by all.

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2016 has been a busy year so far. Another very popular Curry Night was held in February when Molash village hall was packed to the rafters with diners once again enjoying a feast and being traumatised by the different quizzes!

April saw a successful Spring Show and a marvellous 3 day/2 night visit to Holland to include a free day in Amsterdam and a visit to the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens. More than 40 people filled the coach.

May found 20 members visiting the Tram Hatch Garden at Charing Heath. Lovely garden and nice and local.

June was special as we visited the exclusive John Lewis Partnership Water Garden at Stockbridge, Hants. Fabulous, different and magical.

July, Saturday 23rd will see the Summer Show being held at Molash village hall. BBQ included to enhance the evening.

(15 June update)

Twenty members enjoyed a visit to the Bladbean Old Stud garden near Elham on the evening of 10th September. The gardens were inspirational despite the Summer season fading into Autumn and some plants past their best. Note to visit again in Spring’Summer next year!

On Saturday 25th October Heather Silk gave a wonderful illustrated talk on Fungi, Flora & Fauna based around the Halloween season. Heather is a regular presenter for us and always very good value! Photographs and content of a very high standard. You missed the talk? Well make sure you get to the next one!!!

Richard Goodenough drew our Gardening calendar to a close on Saturday 22nd November with a magical illustrated talk on the subject of “Gardens of the Impressionists.” Richard is a man for all seasons with a marvellous presentation style and an eye for detail. Great and unusual talk enjoyed by all.

Watch this space for news of good stuff happening in 2015.

A Curry Night was well supported on 7th February with 39 diners enjoying a flavoursome range of curries and side dishes. Curries supplied by our friends at The Spice of Bengal at Charing. A few silly quizzes followed and were found to be entertaining and silly!

The Spring Show held on the 18th April was a success with many entries adding some colour to the event.

Saturday 6th June will see the Society heading to Wisley RHS garden by coach to be overcome by the beauty and range of plants at this beautiful gardens.

Saturday 11th July is when the Society will hold its Summer Show at Molash village hall. A BBQ is planned for the refreshments when it is hoped the weather will actually be summery and allow us to eat outside! Watch the Events page for details.

Well, the Summer Show was cracking! Members exhibited 50 entries across a wide class including; roses, shrubs, fruit, vegetables and baking. Some beautiful exhibits made the hall come alive with colour and perfume! There was also the perfume of BBQ burgers, sausages, chicken and exotic vegetables filling the air. A range of tasty salads completed the feast. Members enjoyed chatting and socialising with new friends being made. You should have been there! Oh, you were! Then you know what I mean.

Check out the “Events” page for a schedule of good things happening for the rest of this year.