Tales from the plot

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July is the time when we start to see the fruits of our labours; the first raspberries, first of the runner beans and my favourite the first new potatoes - boiled with fresh mint and with a knob of butter, just fantastic! There’s nothing like harvesting your homegrown produce and enjoying it that same day, I do understand that today’s lifestyle for the majority of the population means this pleasure is rarely experienced, however I promise you that there is quite a difference.

Hopefully the sun is now shining, this doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to be done as the weeds continue to grow so regular hoeing is still essential. July is normally quite dry so watering shallow rooted plants is also still necessary plus it’s the time to start thinking of winter produce. So many people have an allotmentand tend it really well but come the end of October there is not a lot left to harvest and July is the time to plant winter crops that will see you into the next year. I remember last year my runner bean crop failed and I re-plantedseeds in July. This was very successful and I picked runner beans right until the beginning of November when it got too cold for them to survive, the beans that were left over were allowed to dry and kept for seed for this year. Now is also a good time to plant carrots with the hope of dodging the dreadful carrot fly, it’s the time if you wish to have new potatoes for Christmas to get them planted. By the end of this month peas and broad beans are normally finished so there’s normally a little ground free to plant half a dozen seed potatoes, my experience with this is that the crop is not as successful as a spring planting, however what I did get were still lovely and the minimum amount of effort involved to have fresh new potatoes on Christmas Day is worth the effort.

Everyone is welcome to view the allotments if you have any interest in what goes on, a great time to do this will be on The Syston Allotments

2023 Open Day - this will take place on Saturday 12th August 10.00am till 3.00pm. All are welcome to pop along, have a cuppa and there’s usually cake, tombola, produce sale and a chance to have a chat to plot holders old and new.

We all look forward to seeing you there, regards to all Richard Thorpe 15b Syston allotments

Pretzels for Dinner

Your editor had the pleasure of booking to see the above play being performed by our local theatre group QT on Thursday 25th May.

We featured Jude Latham’s summary of the play in the May issue, which I will reprise here:

‘Pretzels for Dinner’, written by Janet Shaw, is a bitter-sweet comedy set in the present day which explores what happens when a woman loses her identity and becomes lost in domesticity. Ann Johnson knows exactly what happens, because it happened to her. One day she was a young woman with hopes, dreams and expectations. In the blink of an eye, she’s middle-aged with two grown-up children and her dreams lost somewhere between Asda and Iceland. Fate takes a hand and suddenly she’s on her own, lost in the unfamiliar world of high-tech gadgets and unpaid bills. Somehow, she has to act before she disappears into a quagmire of self-loathing and insecurity. With the help (or hindrance) from her somewhat interfering next-door neighbour Hilary, Ann starts to re-build her life. Can she find a way to start learning to love herself again and to re-kindle the life she once envisaged? Her husband Bill, although gone, is not going to let her achieve her goals without trying to interfere for one last time. A poignant, and sometimes hilarious, look at life, love, marriage and unfulfilled ambitions, this play will have you laughing, wincing, and lamenting in equal measure. Well, this didn’t disappoint - my reaction was Wow! I haven’t been to a QT performance for a while and after my visit, thought that it has been too long!

Carpenters during the set changes was also a great way to keep the audience engaged with the play, and enhanced what we had just seen. This bitter-sweet comedy by Janet Shaw follows a wife and friend, with stay at home mum, Ann played by Gillian Bowler, horse racing mad Dad, Bill played by Jules Richard who takes his wife for granted and two teenagers; daughter Kara played by Kay Seddon and son played by Tobias Garner being typical teenagers taking their mother for granted, until Dad suddenly passes away due to the excitement while watching TV when his bet on the horses actually win!

The whole production is set in the Johnson’s sitting room and follows the family after the death of Bill, who appears as a ghost throughout the rest of the play.

The seven cast members shown in the picture above was taken after the performance on Friday 26th May with the writer of the play, Janet Shaw, she is the lady dressed in black behind the chair. The cast L-R: Keiron O’Brien, Jack Coulton, Tobias Garner, Jules Richard (seated), Gillian Bowler, Kat Seddon and Donna Gunn.

The cast were amazing and made the audience laugh from the beginning. The use of music by the

Ann begins to talk to her now deceased husband whom only she can see and hear! Ann’s friend and nosy neighbour, Hilary played by Jack Coulton, turns up to help Ann to restore her to the person she once was, Hilary has apparently done a course for every eventuality but pronounces them wrong, a very difficult thing to do intentionally. As they all wonder if Ann is going mad, Hilary encourages her to follow her dream and she meets Tom a friend of many lines to remember! her son and a fellow student on the trip to Egypt, which will fulfil Ann’s dream.

Ann found in what could be misconstrued as a compromising situation with Tom after he had a hot drink spilled over him!

As in any comedy, timing is essential and these seven actors got it spot on! Considering that Jack, Tobias and Keiron are all new to acting and this being their first performance they were all amazing, so whole cast as it isn’t easy trying not to see someone on stage with you, but these made it look easy. It ends with Hilary being left to look after the cat and the two teenagers as Ann goes on her travels to find Tutinkamasutra as Hilary calls it with Tom.

Bill now a ghost, watching and listening to his children, Kara left and Sam as they reminisce about their Dad.

Bill’s sister, Irene trying to find out if Bill left her anything - while Kara just wants someone to iron her clothes!!

Well done to all involved, from the director, Jude Latham, the cast, stage crew, set designers and builders, to box office and publicity.

Bill finally leaves after his ashes have been sprinkled somewhere appropriate!

It is a difficult thing to play a ghost and Jules as Bill excelled and the rapport with Gillian as Ann was brilliant. As was the

The Saric Theatre on Chapel Street is a small and intimate theatre with close proximity the audience so nowhere for the actors to hide. The pictures, taken by Jo Gallagher, show just give a glimpse of the play and I hope it gives you a flavour of the very talented people we have here in Syston. This won’t be my last visit to see the group, as I really enjoyed it and commend them all for putting on such a great show!

Fiona Henry Editor Stn