Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Rather to my surprise, today was dry and, even more shockingly, there was sunshine! Granted in November, the sun contains little warmth but it's a vast improvement on the past few days! Armed with cleaning supplies, I dashed down to the allotment during my lunch break to clean out the chickens. Poor Maude and Mavis... Continue Reading →
Winter in the UK is wet. Not full monsoon for weeks on end but a persistent drizzle interspersed with heavy rain accompanied by howling winds. You may wonder why Brits have no problem going outdoors in this depressing weather. It's simple. If we waited for the rain to stop, we wouldn't leave the house for... Continue Reading →
So here we are again, loading up the car with wood to attempt to shore up the main coop roof. Thankfully, the rain has held off for most of yesterday which means we could actually catch up on jobs at home for the first time in three weeks. However, lunchtime saw us jumping into the... Continue Reading →
There has been so much rain this week that I have been obsessively checking the main coop roof each time I have been down. I couldn't get down yesterday so I dashed down before work this morning to check on the girls (and the roof!). Most of the roof has coped well with the relentless... Continue Reading →
Today marks the beginning of spring, at least according to the chickens. They have yet to inform the weather which although bright, was quite cold and windy today. As I walked down to check on the Little Weed Destroyers, they all greeted me enthusiastically. Such a welcoming sight was only slightly spoilt by Roxy mistaking... Continue Reading →
It's been a busy week and I have only managed to get down to the allotment briefly in the afternoon to sort out the chickens. Escaping from work slightly early, I dashed down to the allotment to see what has been happening in my absence! Predictably, more flooding of the plot due to the non-stop... Continue Reading →
Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief that we had come through Storm Eunice unscathed, along came Storm Franklin. This storm is gusting at nearly 90 mph and has caused quite a lot of damage on site. I received a phone call early this morning from Derek informing me that two panels had... Continue Reading →
Amongst dire warnings from the Met Office, I headed down to the allotment this afternoon with more than a little concern about what I would find. So far, everything was intact including the shed and greenhouse. However, the storm is due to continue for the next two days so there is still plenty of time... Continue Reading →
Over the past weeks, we have been organising a new site project. The back corner of the site, next to the Razza, doesn't have easy access to a tap. Added to which, when the pond needs topping up or refilling, we need two hoses to reach it from the nearest tap. So the committee has... Continue Reading →
So today was the big day. The day of moving the slabs. I arrived early onto site to find Rachel busy working on her plot and a few others pottering around. Outside Cliff's shed, I found The Plod and Cliff working out how many trips we would need to do. We were joined by Geoff... Continue Reading →
After a busy morning at home, I arrived at the allotment armed with a bag full of equipment and supplies for lunch. Liz wanted to give her new stove a try and I offered to bring hot chocolate to wash down her homemade minestrone soup. Knowing I would get entirely distracted by lunch, I made... Continue Reading →
This evening, Cliff, Will and I went back to collect the last of the slabs. Just before I set off to meet Cliff at the allotment to help attach the trailer, I grabbed half a dozen eggs to give to the gentleman who owned the slabs. I also thought it might be a good bribe... Continue Reading →
Well today has been one of those incredibly productive days where enormous amounts of jobs get done. But it's even better when everyone joins together to get these things done. This morning, we had arranged for several of us to meet by Plot 8 to move the greenhouse backwards towards the shed to widen the... Continue Reading →
The weather was amazing today - bright, clear and with glorious winter sunshine. When I arrived on site, I found Cliff and Michael had moved their chairs to sit in the sunshine as they enjoyed a cuppa. We had arranged yesterday that we would do a tip run with Cliffs trailer to remove some rubbish... Continue Reading →
Today was a day of two halves. This morning, I ambled down with good intentions of cleaning out the Nest House. I stopped to say hello to Geoff and Cliff and ended up chatting to them for a while despite the cold. When Derek joined us, we all put our heads together to work out... Continue Reading →
Today was freezing. I delayed going down to the allotment, hoping it would warm up later in the day. It didn't. Wrapping up as warmly as I could, I headed down to the allotment mid-afternoon. By the time I had arrived and unlocked the gate, my hands were freezing. Metal seems almost cruelly cold and... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, I walked down to the allotment weighed down with some seed potatoes, onions and other odds and ends for the new growing season. It was increasingly misty, with the BT building behind the site a shadow rather than the looming landmark it usually is. As all the chickens had enough food and water... Continue Reading →
Whilst you read this, please have the tune of the Great Escape playing in your head... The sun was out, the sky was blue and cheerfully I headed out to the allotment. When I arrived, I discovered Geoff, Cliff and Michael busy putting the world to rights. I joined them for a quick chat before... Continue Reading →
Typically, I overslept this morning resulting in a mad dash to get ready and to the allotment to feed the chickens before the inspection began. Cramming on my hat, I ran out the door, arriving on site with just enough time to clean out the nest boxes in the greenhouse and main coop. As I... Continue Reading →
I ambled down to the allotment this afternoon, intending to have a quick visit. I ended up staying for quite a bit longer. When I opened up the shed, I found a lovely surprise waiting for me! A beautiful calendar to go up in the shed with a thoughtful note attached. There really is something... Continue Reading →
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