What a month

Once again I must apologise for my absence but the last few weeks have been a whir or sporting and career achievements.

Firstly I won the Lunn cup (mixed pairs with John Belair) then last Wednesday I heard that I had a new job and in the evening won the Grassi Shield (pairs with Mick Green). OBBC annual dinner and prize giving is on 24 November so I am sure you will get to see a photo of me with my trophies. I start my new job, moving to level 42 with HSBC so we need to get the manure spread before then.

Back down to earth, I must give you a quote from this month’s Kitchen Garden magazine – ‘How do you see a typical allotment holder? …slightly weird, pretty scruffy, set in his ways, probably retired and finding it hard to make ends meet. … baggy serge trousers and … a flat cap’. No way are we set in ways or retired but apart from that all we need are a couple of flat caps.

He does go on to say that the new breed are ‘younger, less often male, better off, better presented and they drive smart cars’. Here is the crux, with my new job and interest free car loan, we are moving towards the nouveau allotmenteer model.

This brings me on to quantifying the slightly weird bit and I know you think we are mad but we really have tipped the scales this time. The reason we took an allotment at Churchill Way (CW) was that we put our names down for a plot at Old Basing (OB) but were told that it may be up to three years before one came available although residents in the parish did get priority. We then scoured Basingstoke for allotment sites and found CW, fell in love with 51/52 and you know the rest. Well, out of the blue we received a letter from OB Parish Council with an agreement to take on 3A. I would have shown you a picture of the tenancy agreement but I signed that and took it to the council offices with my £14 rent for the year.

There is method in our madness. As well as the social aspect of integrating ourselves further into the local community, the soil is so different to CW that we will be able to grow a whole different sort of crop, in fact this is going to be our show plot. We are already planning the 3ft carrots and show potatoes as well as dalias and chrysanthemums. CW is going to remain our food source where as OB will be less quantity but more quality.

You will notice that there is a good supply of rhubarb and there are also about 60 strawberry plants. All of these are going to be moved to the fuit plot (53) at CW.