The In Jolly Good Company Almanac 2020… what a year!
Well, it’s been quite a year! We thought it would be nice to take a little trip down memory lane and see just how many jolly things we did together despite the challenges, and how we stayed connected through our new venture, The Jolly Postal Service.
J is for January… and Jolly Days
• We kicked off the new year with our first ‘Jolly Day’ at Wimborne St Giles village hall. There was a Mindfulness Taster session and a ‘have a go’ art workshop and in the afternoon Kate played the piano for us. Another day we had a visit from Carol, an Assistant Ranger at Avon Heath Country Park, who gave us a fascinating nature talk, which brought back vivid memories of childhood countryside adventures for us all.
• We were delighted to hold our very first ‘Jolly Day’ in Shaftesbury where we celebrated an exciting new beginning with a game of Dog Bingo. Maisie, my dog, was reluctant to let us borrow it at first, but when I explained it was for a good cause she relented.
F is for February… and Fun. fun. fun
• Despite the chilly wind, the ‘Step Outside’ Allotment Team met to weed our plots. Some of our prize parsnips were tough to get out of the soil but teamwork paid off and our efforts were rewarded. One member of the group went home and made a parsnip, leek and celeriac gratin. Veg not taken home was donated to the Community Fridge project at the Allendale Centre.
• We thoroughly enjoyed our sing-a-long with local songstress Sue Old who entertained us with some old favourites at our ‘Jolly Day’ in Wimborne St Giles. The music was wonderful and some of us even got up and showed off our dance moves!
• We held our first ‘Jolly Good Quiz’ and it was a resounding success. The hall was packed to the rafters and we all enjoyed wine, chilli and fun and raised money for In Jolly Good Company.
M is for March… and magical moments
• We had a jolly time with the children from Wimborne St Giles School when they visited us at our Wimborne St Giles ‘Jolly Day’. They especially enjoyed taking turns on the old traditional typewriter and sewing machine and we loved demonstrating how to use them.
• Sadly the 16th March was our last magical ‘Jolly Day’ together for 2020 but we made the most of it. The sun shone so we took the opportunity to take our painting and games outside. Such wonderful memories!
A is for April… and all change!
• This was the month the ‘Jolly Postal Service’ was born and it was a huge success. The idea was to bring people together in our community through letter writing and to help and support the lonely and isolated. I was even invited on to Forest FM and Radio Solent to talk about our new venture!
• We received our first ‘Jolly Post’ from a lovely lady who wrote to little Henry, aged five, she even enclosed a gorgeous little Easter chick she’d knitted for him.
• The local school children who were now at home got busy being jolly creative and making beautiful cards to cheer people up over Easter and my lovely daughter Molly designed and printed some beautiful bluebell cards for us to send out with our ‘Jolly Post’.
M is for May… and marvellous makes and men
• Clapping for the NHS on a Thursday was such an uplifting way to show our gratitude. Rainbows were everywhere you looked, decorating every window of every house. We had a wonderful delivery to our Jolly Headquarters from the secret rainbow fairy… cute little hand-crocheted rainbow keyrings to send out in our ‘Jolly Post’. The children, parents and teachers of Sixpenny Handley School also made us beautiful rainbows. Each one had a special little secret pocket with a heart in, showing the recipient that they care.
• Graham, who lives in Wimborne St Giles, celebrated his 60th birthday by cycling 125 laps of the village and completing a total of 100 miles to raise money for In Jolly Good Company and the Salisbury Samaritans. Nigel, also from the village, kept him company on his long journey.
• We were over the moon to be back at our ‘Step Outside’ allotment at Kingston Lacy. We practiced safe distancing and only met in small groups of 6. But, oh how marvellous it was to see each other again. There was lots of weeding to be done, but we also planted sweet peas and stopped for tea, the only difference being we now had to bring our own flasks.
J is for June… and Jolly Post
• Rosie, a teacher at Leehurst Swan School in Salisbury and her pupils treated the recipients of our ‘Jolly Post’ to many beautiful handmade cards and personal letters over lockdown. This month we sent out some of Rosie’s own fabulous hand-drawn postcards, including a drawing of an ant, a colourful ladybird and these adorable tree frogs.
J is for July… and JOlly Japes
• Talented artist Ellie drew a kookaburra for us to send out in our ‘Jolly Post’. He was so expressive that we thought it would be fun to have a competition to guess what he was thinking. Ellie very generously agreed to do a portrait for the winner of their pet and we invited people to tell us what they thought he was saying.
• Our allotment was thriving. Every week we took home bunches of beautiful flowers from our raised beds.
A is for August… and amazing artists
• The results were in and we had 2 winners! Sue was our first lucky winner, she guessed the kookaburra was thinking “What do you mean, what sort of name is that?” The winner was delighted with her portrait of Holly the cat and will treasure it. More so because she lost her best friend Holly at the beginning of lockdown, so it was a wonderful keepsake. The portrait was done in charcoal, a medium Ellie felt lent itself perfectly to capturing the beautiful, sooty black cat. To quote the winner... “What a talented lady!”
• Maddie Rock joined us at the Step Outside allotment and held a fantastic watercolour workshop for us all on a very hot afternoon and brought out our inner budding artists!
S is for September… and seed saving and the south west coast path
• Harvest time and we had a plethora of wonky carrots! We love how our amazing allotment just keeps giving. We had a lovely time harvesting and saving seeds for next year.
• The hugely talented Lissie Ashton, an artist who lives in Wimborne St Giles, drew a beautiful owl for us to send out in our ‘Jolly Post’ for anyone who was feeling arty to colour in.
• The amazing Maddie Rock was walking the South West Coast Path from Minehead to Poole whilst raising over £1,000 for In Jolly Good Company. She sent us so many beautiful photos of her scenic walk and pics of the stunning sketches she made along the way.
• ‘Jolly Days’ are here again... although we could only meet outdoors, and in small numbers. We kept a safe distance and followed all government guidelines. We were delighted that Brian Holloway, a retired farmer, who’s a volunteer at Priest's House Museum in Wimborne came to talk to us and show us some great photos of the Farm School in Wimborne St Giles in the 1940's.
• With the help of my lovely husband Andy who lent his gardening expertise we planted leeks in our raised beds at Wimborne St Giles School. We look forward to nurturing them, watching them grow and harvesting them.
O is for October… and outstanding achievements
• What an incredible feat! Maddie completed her amazing 630 mile South West Coast Path walk. I went to Poole to meet her at the finish mark. I kept a safe distance of course, and gave Maddie a much deserved Dorset Apple Cake while her good friend Jo supplied the bubbles. We are in awe and also grateful for the money she raised for In Jolly Good Company on the way.
• Halloween fun was had carving pumpkins at the allotment. We also made up a brilliantly spooky story about a ghost horse together using Instant Theatre. Andy the ghost horse was in the First World War but died in a carriage accident in the Kingston Lacy Estate. His ghost was wandering for 100 years until he was met and finally soothed by seven year old Constance, a small girl in the kitchen garden at Kingston Lacy. She could see him, when others couldn't. Comforting her when she was crying allowed him to finally rest in peace.
N is for November… and not being beaten
• The Step Outside garden task force are a pretty hardy bunch. The afternoons were certainly crisper than before but that didn’t stop us! We wrapped up warm, gardened and chatted and helped weed a fellow plot holder’s allotment too. We do love our tea breaks though, and somehow that cuppa tastes even better when we’ve really earned it!
• We started going on Jolly Strolls together when we were at our ‘Step Outside’ allotment and this month we got new folding seats to take with us. Andy and Rob tested them out when we stopped for a tea break, and gave them their seal of approval.
D is for December… and decking the halls
• We got into the festive mood making Christmas decorations at our ‘Step Outside’ allotment.
• Talented local artist Jo Kear painted beautiful robin Christmas cards for us to send out in the Jolly Post. Each one was unique and had its own little personality.
• Our new hi-vis jackets arrived for our Jolly Strolls.
• The very talented pupils of Wimborne St Giles First School created beautiful artwork and words of comfort to be distributed to people facing Christmas alone in our village. They were delivered along with a home-cooked Christmas meal, generously prepared by the Friendly Food Club.
