Abbey Gardens Harvest Festival 2011: What will the Harvest be?

Yesterday afternoon I was judging the "best vegetable sculpture" and the "best sport themed cake competition" with my fellow West Ham Ward Councillor, Freda Bourne.  We were at the Abbey Gardens Harvest Festival.

In the best traditions of any British outdoor event, it of course poured down with rain, then cleared up with sunshine, before pouring down with rain again. No one seemed that bothered. The children seemed to relish the weather.

Check out the remarkable history of Abbey Gardens "a community garden in West Ham surrounding part of the ruins of a 12th century abbey" and the "Plaistow Landgrabbers" here, here and photo here.

(double click photo to bring up details)

taking pictures of me..taking pictures

I posted about my visit last month to the Friends of Abbey Garden summer fair and a photo collage here.

Later I found that on one of their websites there was by co-incidence a webcam picture (bottom) of me taking one of the photos I used in the collage of my fellow ward Councillor Ron Manley (in white on right top).

Well.. I thought this was a little bit interesting anyway.

“What will the Harvest be?” Abbey Gardens Fair & the “Plaistow Landgrabbers”

Pictures are from a really enjoyable afternoon I spent a few weeks ago at the summer fair of the “Friends of Abbey Garden”. This is on the actual site of what was once the medieval Langthorn Abbey. For many years this 2000 sq feet plot of land was a waste ground but it is now a community led park and very attractive communal garden in my ward.

The original Abbey was actually “sacked” during the Peasant’s revolt but became one of the richest Abbeys in England before it was closed during the dissolution of monasteries in 1538.

The garden also celebrates the “Plaistow Landgrabbers” (see black and white picture). In 1906 unemployed workers squattered on land nearby to prove that the unemployed did want to work. The Council eventually reprocessed the land and local Councillor Ben Cunningham (see on left wearing white hat) spent 5 weeks in prison for contempt of court for supporting the protest. If you look again to the left of the original back and white picture you see the “What will the Harvest be?” slogan which has been adopted by the Abbey garden.  Double click collage to bring up detail.

As well as a tour - I was able to enjoy some freshly baked homemade cakes and take back some garden grown organic veg via the “honesty stall" (bottom left).