The annual Aith Plant Sale began in the early 1990's as a fundraiser to help raise money to build a much needed marina in the village. For years the money raised went towards the maintenance of the marina, but eventually they didn't need the funds any more, so other groups took over hosting the event.
The Aith Community Hall, the kirk, CLAN and the village shop have all previously hosted the Aith Plant Sale, and this year the Eid Community Co-operative hosted with the help of a dedicated team of hard-working volunteers.
This year, despite there being several other west side community events on the same day, saw an incredible turn out of people. Come 2 pm when the doors opened, a flood of waiting visitors filled the hall to stock up on the many Shetland-acclimatized plants donated by gardening villagers.
Aith was one of the first villages in Shetland to host an annual plant sale. There are other plant sales throughout the islands and you can find their dates and locations in the weekly Shetland Times newspaper.
After browsing through the many plants on offer, visitors were invited to relax and enjoy some tea, sandwiches and home bakes in the Rankin Lounge next door. There was a steady stream of visitors all afternoon, and I racked up 7 miles on my Fit Bit, refilling endless cups of tea, coffee and juice!
Two villagers, Shona Moncrieff and Claire Hurst, both kindly shared the recipes they baked for the teas, and Charlie Hodge from the Walls Bakery donated all the bread, rolls and a large selection of fancies.
This year £1500 of donations were raised, donations which will be put towards the running and maintenance of the Eid Community Co-operative.
Shona Moncrieff’s Peerie Traybake – a recipe she was given from a woman in Whalsay
Peerie Traybake
Course: Main
Servings: 16 squares
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- Butter - 4 oz
- Milk chocolate (Cadbury's) - 9 oz
- Golden syrup - 4 tbsp
- Digestive biscuits - 8 oz
- Maltesers - 8 oz
- Cadbury fudge bars - 3 Small
- Milk chocolate bar - 1 Large
- White chocolate bar optional - 1 Small
Instructions:
- Melt the chocolate, butter and syrup in a large pan over a low heat until it has melted. Allow to cool.
- Crush the digestive biscuits and add to the butter mixture.
- Chop up the Fudge bars and Maltesers and combine with the digestive biscuit/butter mixture.
- Spoon into a 20 cm baking tin lined with paper.
- Melt another large bar of chocolate and spread over the top.
- Optional - melt some white chocolate and drizzle over the top of the milk chocolate layer for a marble effect, and top with more chopped up Fudge and Malteser pieces.
- Refrigerate until set and cut into small squares.