Monday 13 April - Open Day at the Allotment

This Day In History

Early start today, up for 9, we’re off to the allotment to get some serious work done and to take part in the open day. But first, we have to watch Jeremy Kyle ripping apart another group of dysfunctional sociopaths from the “new” Great British Underclass. These are the real children of Thatcher. What she did, Re:the economy, had to be done; but the consequences were far more far reaching than she ever thought they would be, if in deed she ever did think about them. She was most certainly wrong about there being no such thing as society, there certainly was such a thing before she, through her actions and her lack of concern for the unintended consequences of those actions, created this enormous self-perpetuating group of asocial fuck-ups. Every morning it’s like watching a rerun of the same mistakes made by the same people with the same lack of foresight. Anyway JK was great fun and once more did the job of proving to me that no matter how low my self esteem might fall there are still people who are far below this level on their best day. How strange that some else’s lack of life chances makes me feel better about my own inadequacies. Judging by how popular he is it must do the same job for many others. Thanks JK for making me realise I’m a Cu*t.

Off we go, everyone into the car and lets hope Mummy doesn’t slam the breaks on because if she does one of us is getting impaled on a rake. Last time we’ll have to do this, from now on they can stay in the shed. Got to the main gates
at about 11:00 to see everyone setting up the stalls for the Easter open day stall sale – all the money’s going toward a composting toilet for the Rosamond Avenue site, which will turn out to be an issue at the SAGM later in the week.

We got a lot of work done today. Nat, after a few fraught attempts, managed to get the potatoes trenches lined with comfrey leaves and the seed potatoes laid on the top of them and covered over. I finished off the roofing on the shed, laid a carpet inside and then pulled back the covers at the front of the plot and dug it over. Deb took the kids to see the stalls whilst I got this done. She and Han had been weeding and planting up until then. I got it dug over and when they returned we put up the bean sticks and the pea nets (add Pics when able). We stopped for a drink and some nibbles. Deb was trying to clear the area around the shed where the fruit beds and fruit trees are. I removed some of the covers from the grassed over areas and dug up a number of clog’s of earth. The kids for some reason started digging a trench over on the other side of the plot just down from the shed, but were happy to take my clog’s and put them there, God knows why but it kept them quite. I took the kids with me to see the stalls and to give Deb a break; she was beginning to feel quite unwell and was developing a stinker of a headache. We had a look round the stalls and I paid 20p for a patch work elephant that Han has christened Elitusk and who now shares her room. Got chatting with Pat (PJ) Bates wife of the chairman (Eddie) and recently retired teachers at the kid’s school. Popped back, tied up put the tools away and headed for home around 4:15. We stopped to check if we’d won a raffle prize but no such luck. Home around 4:30.

We were all pretty knackered and Deb, by this time, just wanted to crash (yes I’m an aging hippy – Man). Watched a few, of our many, recorded programmes, 2 episodes of Argumental, with John Sergeant, Marcus Brigstock and Rufus Hound, which was well funny man (yes I is down wid da yuff 2 ).

Made something to eat, had a few beers and settled in for the evening in front of the telly. Not a bad day!