Cottonmill and Nunnery Allotment Association

On Thursday 17th January, John Boden became the first CNAA Summer show winner to receive the Silver Ryder Cup.
 
John’s wife Doreen, friends and members of the association gathered early at Aylett's Nurseries to see Roger and Hazel Aylett present John with his prize. Proceedings were slightly delayed as John was distracted on the way in by the full array of seed potatoes, but we found him in the end!

The cup was donated to Roger Aylett by the St Albans Horticultural Society and was given to them by Leonard Ryder. Adam Wigglesworth, Roger and Hazel’s son-in-law and a Director of Aylett Nurseries explained that they were especially pleased that the cup will be used by CNAA as it is inscribed as the “Amateur and Allotment holders Challenge Cup”.

Aylett’s is family run company, with a long local history. Roger was a keen gardener from an early age and shared a great story about his first attempt in the St Albans Horticultural show at the tender age of 15. He had entered tomatoes into the show, but removed the stalks. Discovering that everyone else had left theirs on, he attempted to glue them back… a useful learning curve, but not a tip for success!

For the CNAA, it is also highly appropriate for John’s name to be the first inscribed on the cup, as he is a founding member of the Association. John won back his title as the overall winner of the CNAA Annual Summer Show last year (after a year off), just in time to benefit from the five-year loan of the Allotment Challenge Cup. You can see the cup on display at Aylett's near the cash registers. If you want to be in with a chance to beat him in 2008, now is the time to start planning your entries! Ready, Set, Go …….