I know that my allotments' AGM is coming up soon because the town council (which owns and runs two allotment sites where I live) sent me the minutes of the last meeting. I turned up at last year's AGMlate, hurrying in breathlessly to be met with a scenario I'd previously thought was limited to bad westerns: silence in which you could hear a pin drop, and an array of suspicious faces, because I was a new member, female, and under 35.
Things didn't get much better once the meeting started: every time I made suggestions I found myself being drowned out by other people who had decided to talk among themselves. My comments were mentioned in the minutes, but while everyone else's remarks were accompanied by "joe Bloggs said", mine just referred to an anonymous "plot holder". In fact there were distinctly frosty relations between myself and a few of the younger plot holders and the old guard, who kept reminding the meeting that "things weren't like this back in 1962" and balked at the idea of significantly boosting the allotment rent from less tahn six pounds (less than the price of a takeaway curry for one).
This isn't always the case. Many allotments manage to create a harmonious environment where younger and older gardeners swap advice, tips, and spare veg. I have chatted to quite a few of my neighbours of all ages, but my site is in many ways a victim of its own success: very few plots change hands from year to year so the number of newbies is very limited.
I'll be at the AGM again this year: not least because I have as much right to be there and have my opinions heard as anyone else, but also because I want to show the old guard that us mere striplings should have just as much of a say in how our little patch of green is run.
Anyway, enough moaning: I need to think about when I am going to squeeze some time on the plot into what promises to be a busy weekend. Top jobs on my to-do list are clearing some ground to make a compost trench for next year's nutrient hungry squash plants and checking my cabbages and leeks for pest damage.
Having plenty of experience of horticultural organisations (I founded and was chair of one for four years), AGMs are a fraught experience for the poor soul that has to keep the minutes. Invariably, the older folks (and it is always the older ones) chat amongst themselves throughout the meeting, regarding the occasion as a social one, not one wherein business must be transacted. The other problem faced by the minute-taker is that he/she will invariably only know the names of the committee members and a handful of old-guard members.
So, if you want to be heard - stand up and shout. And don't be afraid to scowl at the mutterers - better still, have a comment or two pre-prepared that you can address directly at them - a sure way to get their attention.
And always start by loudly saying your name, where you come from and what your interest is. That way, they might think you're important which, of course, you are.
Posted by: graybo | October 06, 2004 at 12:40 PM
You have my sympathies - well done for sticking things out! I wasn't fazed by the "chatters" (I'm a journalist, remember?) - I simply spoke loudly and kept stopping and glaring at them until they shut up. You're right about saying your name at the beginning though. I do feel sorry for the woman from the council who has to take minutes and organise the allotment committee: it must be like herding cats. As you probably know, most plot holders have set ways of doing things and change isn't always an attractive idea...
Posted by: Jane Perrone | October 07, 2004 at 09:34 PM