Water. A beautiful spring and very hot summer lead to water problems as usual, which is reflected in our water charges which are higher than last year. Many people are still using hosepipes to water the ground, something which is not recommended. Lin has provided us with a display on water conservation and we continue to stress to members the need to take responsibility for sensible water usage, collecting as much as possible from guttering and limiting the use of hosepipes to fill waterbutts and not using them to water crops directly. As usual a lot of Committee time was spent discussing solutions to the water problems and the Committee reserve the right to introduce a hosepipe ban if necessary.

Rents. The rent increase last year keeps us in line with inflation and also brings our rents in line with other sites in Warwickshire. We have started to set aside some of our funds to pay for the inevitable cost of repair and replacement of our water system as it is now very old. We will be looking into the costs of completely re-piping the site, which, with modern techniques, should cause little disruption to members' plots,. This however will not happen for some time.

Borrowing Equipment. It was decided that, due to misuse, it was no longer appropriate to allow members to use the mower and strimmers and that they should be kept for Committee and work party use only for maintaining the site.

Thefts. Over the Summer we had a lot of complaints about crops disappearing, shed doors being found open and petty thefts. The Committee take all reports of thefts very seriously, and if anyone is found removing produce or property from another's plot, their membership will be immediately withdrawn and further action may be taken. We ask everyone to be on the look out for anything suspicious. Members have the right to challenge anyone they do not recognise around their own or neighbouring plots, and any information they bring to the Committee will be treated in strictest confidence.

Membership. We had 27 new members this year and all plots are let. We sometimes receive complaints about plots being uncultivated. As this is often due to a members illness or particular problems, it would be useful if volunteers could make time available to help others through difficult times. It is unfair to evict someone from their garden because of ill health, and I would like to attempt to get work parties going more frequently this year to help.

Personal. As you may know, this year started very badly for me when in March we were broken into and several sheds were attacked which resulted in a fire that totally destroyed my Summerhouse, sheds and possessions. From a personal point of view I was left feeling completely devastated by this and I considered giving up. However, I believe a lot of good came out of this, members rallied around with offers of help and a collection was made which enabled me to re-build the Summerhouse. It also re-built my faith in humanity and revealed what a wonderful community we have here at the allotments. I promised that I would hold a 'grand party' to thank everyone, but work commitments have left no time this year. I hope that by next summer I will have the time to organise an event to which everyone will be invited.

Community Spirit. Finally I would like to thank

• Gordon Simms, for being available and sorting out water repairs and maintenance,
• Pete Betts, for running the National society seed scheme
• Alan Griffin, for producing the Newsletter, and
• everyone else who have helped fill skips, built lay-bys and turned up for work parties.

Jak Sheridan
Chairman/Letting Officer