Drainage works on Fordhall Farmhouse

This week important works have begun on the 18th century farmhouse at Fordhall. Over the years the ground level has risen and as a result the house has got damp and been retaining moisture. With repairs due to start on the roof in the Autumn, it was important to stop wate coming in from the bottom as well as the top.

John Heaney (and Tes or rather Tez!) have been working on inserting land drains around the house this week, but as part of the project we will also be removing the ivy.
The ivy has been on the house for over 100 years and it has really formed part of its character. Many visitors will remember staying in the four poster bedroom, or drinking in the bar room, both with ivy growing in through the walls!
It has seen the farm through many changes and through them even held the house together... Now it must be removed so that complete repairs can be made to ensure its structural integrity. We are all sorry to see it go, but we understand that the house must come first in this instance - plus we may replace it with wisteria or roses in the future :-)

Fordhall in the Daily Express

Pick up a paper this Saturday and you will see (hopefully) a feature on community-owned enterprises, with Fordhall Farm being one of them! It is great to see that Social Entperprise and community ownership principles are being spread across the country and becoming ever more popular, especially within the economic climate we find ourselves in.

If you have a project you are working on, or have succeeded in then please do let us know. We would love to hear the stories of others across the country :-)

Charlotte
project@fordhallfarm.com

The Adventures of George

Baaah! Me again!
It's been so busy at Fordhall at the moment - it doesn't seem to have stopped after the Summer Fair! Phew! And guess what...Fordhall have even more exciting things coming up on the Summer that I want to get involved with too! Fordhall held some really successful Farm and Forest Fun activity days at the beginning of the year for children aged up to 12. These are really cool and exciting and get to get up to lots of fun in the forest including, tree climbing, den building, , blindfold trails, bug hunts and much much more. (Does that include sheep up to the age of twelve too?!)

These are always really popular and of course the added bonus is that you get to meet me!

The dates for these are as follows (All Tuesdays 10- 12.30am) July 28th, August 4th, August the 11th (fully booked) and August the 18th. These are normally really popular so please book on asap. To book please just call the office on 01630 638696. Each day costs just £6.50 per child.

BAAH!! From George and Hannah

P.S Do you like the pictures of me and my mates?!

Permaculture Introduction Course THIS WEEKEND!

We have a few places left on our fantastic and topical Permaculture course this weekend.

Whether your interest is gardening, farming, planning, building homes, community work, economic regeneration, business or just green issues in general, the application of Permaculture principles empowers you to make a positive contribution towards a sustainable future.

You will learn about the earths cycles, sustainability, growing, energy, peak oil and more in a fun and informative way.


Permaculture Introductory Course
At Fordhall Organic Farm (community-owned),
Market Drayton, TF9 3PS
Sat and Sun 18 - 19th July 2009

All places must be booked in advance.
Cost: £120 including camping facilities and all food (with concessions for the
unemployed /people on benefits/low incomes).
Please contact us for more information as soon as possible on
01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com

Hope to see you there!

Fordhall's Sunny Success!

Everyone was busy at Fordhall Farm last weekend with our Summer Fair on the Sunday and our hard work certainly paid off as we had such a fantastic day....and the sun shone! We had over 2,000 people attend throughout the course of the day and raised a lot of vital funds for the Fordhall Community Land Initiative. The money will be put towards our ongoing projects. People came from all over the country and stayed in local B&B's too!

Activities on the day included tree climbing, theatre, fishing, face painting, donkey rides and even a surprise visit from the local fire engine!And of course George was out in force ready to great all the people (some of which had come especially to see him!)

Taste of the Town sponsored the Fishing on the River Tern, Tree Climbing & Instant Theatre through a generous grant from Local Joint Committee of the Shropshire Council so a great big thank you must go to them.

A massive thank you must also go to all the people that volunteered their time and effort to help us to make this day the massive success that it was! Also all of the people that came a ran activities!

Thank you for all your support - see you next year!!!!!


Hannah