It’s Bungo In The Back Lanes 2012 -4 so time to fill everyone in on the runners and riders.

We’ll have all your favourites – the beer gardens, tea gardens, children’s garden, plant stall, tombola, bottle stall and introducing our very first wheel of fortune (woo!) plus we’ve been inundated with info from residents about the stalls they are planning to hold.

We’ve got animators, DJs, musicians, masseurs, bakers, crafters, gardeners, martial artists, photographers, watercolourists, confectioners, chefs, card makers, de-clutterers, face painters, temporary tattooists, book sellers.

Some of the businesses holding stalls on the day are; Barefoot books, award-winning children’s books, Locavore cooking local and foraged food, Happy Holistics chair massage, Venues to Menus macaroons and cupcakes, crafts from Vintage Zebras, Finbo Deluxe and Sew Like Me, quirky homewares from Sparrow and Co, the world’s best sausage from Gusto & Relish and even the Avon lady. On the street rather than in the lanes, Merry-go-round are hosting a treasure hunt in store.

And that’s before we get to residents and charities, like the jams and preserves being sold to raise funds for the Glasgow Islay Gaelic Choir, Liz selling cakes and cards to raise funds for the Beatson Institute and  Orangutan Appeal UK, Nicola’s amazing cupcakes, Helen’s lemonade, Lyndsay’s home-made cards, bric-a-brac, tai chi demonstrations, curry in a cup, BBQs, Nicole’s clothes and books at 4 Moray Place, the return of Candylicious and the wonderful array of local artists including Karen Cairns, The Square Slice Boys, Sarah Barr, Kato Yeah and Laura Hudson Mackay.

For children there’s the Animated Emporium Of Curiosities and the children’s garden with its bouncy castle, face painters, outdoor games, bubbles and a sand pit for the wee ones.

A music lover? We have DJ sets from La Roche Rumba, live music from Dean Queasy and the Viennese Ensemble plus more DJs in gardens and live music in the Glad Cafe garden.

There really is something for everyone in all the lanes and don’t forget the event this year stretches from Nithsdale Road to Vennard Gardens, so bring your friends, suncream and a brolly and prepare to party on the cobbles.

We’ve had a few queries recently about food stalls and BBQs so we thought it made sense to have all the info in one place.

The Society obviously can’t dictate what people may choose to do in their private gardens but we do have to make sure we’ve considered all the risks to the public during the event and how to minimise them.

If you’re planning to serve food, you must contact the food safety department of Glasgow City Council who will examine the cooking premises being used prior to the event and spot-check on the day. Phone 0845 2701558 or email: foodsafety@glasgow.gov.uk

We’d prefer to keep BBQ and camping stoves etc to a minimum but if you are going ahead, as well as contacting Food Safety you also need to consider the fire risks involved. We have been informed by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue that The Scottish Executive has published guidance entitled “Practical Fire Safety Guidance for Places of Entertainment and Assembly.”

It’s free to download here: http://www.firelawscotland.org/v2893b.html?pContentID=221

The bottom line – keep flammable liquids safe, make sure you have extinguishers to hand and make sure anyone coming in your garden can get out easily and the Fire Service can enter easily!

If you have any concerns about potential health and safety risks, do let us know either before the event or by speaking to a Bungo steward on the day. We’ll also be out walking the back lanes every day next week to check access and hazards and keep on top of litter and fly-tipping (we hope!) Extra volunteers welcome!

With less than two weeks to go to the big Bungo bash, it’s time for an update.

Stallholders are getting in touch every day with their stall ideas and locations. Keep checking the Bungo map to find out what’s going on. And if you have grand plans, get in touch either via the blog or email chair@strathbungo.co.uk

If you want to set up a stall but don’t have a back garden of your own Queen/Regent and Regent/Nithsdale currently look like the lanes with most available space but, as ever, it’s hard to judge before the day itself.

Latest additions include:

The Glad Cafe on Regent/Queen Lane, pilates sessions and health and fitness info on Marywood/Queen and The Animated Emporium of Curiosities on Marywood/Vennard.

The Glad Cafe are hoping to open a place on Pollokshaws Rd in the near future. They will be at the back of No.41 Regent Park square with live music, bric-a-brac and tea/coffee plus paintings by local artists The Square Slice Boys.

The Animated Emporium of Curiosities will be behind 33 Marywood Square and features children’s games and animations by the team that brought you the animation workshops at Spring Fling,

The children’s garden will have a bouncy castle, a Merry-Go-Round bring-and-buy sale (do look out clean, good quality kids’ items to bring along), face painting by Fun Paint Factory, kindly sponsored by Eglinton Dental Practice and a stall from Barefoot Books plus a selection of fun village-fete style games to play and bubbles.

Our posters are now out and about and the flyers have just been printed. We’ll be dropping those off in local shops and businesses over the next few days. Get in touch if you’d like to help distribute any.

We’re also still looking for tombola/raffle donations (please drop off at 53 Queen Square) and a small freezer for the Marywood tea garden.

We’ve also taken a big gulp and sneaked a peek at a long-range weather forecast. It’s not likely to be hugely reliable this far out but it looks like sunny spells and 17 degrees Celsius with a chance of showers.

The event is always on and always fun come rain or shine but it would be lovely to have a bit of sun this year!

There’s a final planning meeting this Monday 18th, 7.30pm in The Bungo on Nithsdale Road. Do pop along if you’d like to help on the day or in the build-up.