For the last decade, on the first Sunday of February, the clans gather to celebrate our seediness with an amazing 1,700 people in Hove Town Hall. We all know the place The concrete jungle: looking like a poor man’s version of Basil Spence’s Sussex University, while it is more hidden but more prickly than the Thistle Hotel.

Coming out

It’s a great day meeting friends who have come out of hibernation to enjoy a great green environmental experience of Seed Swapping, topical talks, an array of plant producers from wonderful walled gardens, potatoes for chitting and chipping, fresh local food cooked and eaten there and then, an amazing knitted allotment, a beautiful bug hotel, BHOGGs brilliant banner and community group after community group.Everything is undertaken with weeks of voluntarily work and all of it is on a shoe string and not for profit.

Swap til you Drop

For much more on the event see my post last year on Savouring Seedy Sunday and my next posts on the Get Knitted Allotment and the Brighton Bug Hotel Exposé!

Well, you may ask, what does the government locally or nationally do for this event. Does it provide a grant? No… thank goodness it cannot be cut. Seedy Sunday has a grant for some of its costs from the Infinity Foods Cooperative who have been good friends and constant supporters. Most funding comes from £2 paid on the door

Is the town hall provided free? No… but the good thing is that there are no favours to lose. Half of all the income earned has to pay for the large rental of the building.

Was this community event featured by Brighton and Hove City Council?

I doubt it - although Lewes’s Seedy Saturday is promoted by the council, our event will be on Gardeners’ Question Time.

Seedy Support and Beautiful BHOGG

Some shops and some libraries (so important for the big society!) have stood by Seedy Sunday for the last decade and publicised BHOGG. People came from Cambridge, from Coventry and Cornwall to celebrate Seedy Sunday. They heard it on the grapevine and saw it on the internet. for Seedy Sunday.

Do the traffic wardens exercise discretion, as vehicles unload on at 9am on a quiet Sunday morning?

Silly question. The Seedy Sunday coordinator and others received parking tickets. Early Sunday is a good opportunities to meet parking ticket targets. But we hope our own special branch will be giving them a bit of stick.

Special Branch watching the watchers

The Government did help in one way. Current (and the last) governments plans to sell 15% of the Forestry Commission land each year and the suggestion of privatising ( even to charities) our heritage land encouraged people to sign the protest petition. It creates a community of concern and a knowledge that Big Society does matter.

Sussex’s own Woodland Trust is showing this.

This fabulous event takes place, as it is driven by the commitment and enjoyment of those involved. It would be good if Brighton and Hove authorities were indirectly supportive, they were proud of this event and celebrated its success, but they do seem to be too worried about saving their jobs, cutting their budget and only collecting the rental. We need some support for people power, without any political prima donas trying to taking credit.

Savouring Seedy Sunday as if people mattered.

Seedy Sunday was and has been a great success over the last decade, but the enabling support for the Big Society looks like seed on stony ground. Someone should look at the seed saving cycle display and learn that seeds themselves often grow into great plants, but need an enabling environment at the right time.

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