Can you believe it, some scroats have nicked my bl**dy greenhouses :( I was struggling to motivate myself anyway and this may have just tipped me over the edge.
They appear to have come in through next door's very unsecure manure / compost pile. They've taken the greenhouse that blew down and also the new greenhouse that we dismantled ages ago and hid at the plot. Feckers :( It's gotta be for scrap, as they've left all the glass. Looks like they may have got some other bits and bobs too - can't find my new loppers. What made it worse is that I'd just offered the new one to my lottie friends as it's too big for my plot (15'x10') and a couple were interested.
So disheartened and I should be really excited because look at my new toy - even that hasn't been enough to help me find the motivation to do my annual dig over Easter :(
Not quite sure what I think of it yet. I'm erring on the side of 'it might be easier to dig with a spade', but will persevere and develop my technique ! It came with some sad history, as it's previous owner, a family friend, has lost his sight and is therefore not able to use it anymore x
We are about to receive this years rent demand in a week or so, it's around £50 for my plot, but we've had notification for next year that it's going to double. So I've been thinking about whether my heart is still in it. I'm meeting a friend of a friend in the next week or so with a view to adding them as a co-worker ... and then perhaps next year I think I might give it up. But we'll see - a year is a long time. One of the other reasons for this decision is that we are trying to move (have been for a while!) and we've found a house with a lovely garden, so in theory, I wouldn't need the lottie anymore - we're about to enter the 'sealed bid' process which is very nerve racking (we did this last year on another property and lost, even though we bid £32,500 over the asking price !)
Anyway, my lucky co-worker hasn't even seen Duck Dinner Dash yet, but I've managed to secure him a greenhouse ! What a sweet little thing it is - it's already been dismantled (so you can stop spitting out your wine Rob) and is waiting for collection.
So a year of change coming up I think. The only benefit to the weather is that with all the recent frost, snow & hail it doesn't matter that I've not yet planted anything. I did manage to buy some seeds over Easter - whether I get around to planting anything is a different matter LOL.
Had another work trip ... spent most of it at the airport, but we did manage a quick trip to the Eiffel Tower :)
That's soooo frustrating! Sorry to hear of that.
ReplyDeleteOn the allotment rents, note councils are not allowed to increase the rents more proportionately than they do for other amenities. If you need any more ammunition on this front click the link below to see how our allotment association had a win on this front.
http://allotmentheaven.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/increase-in-allotment-rents.html
Good luck with the house move. John
No wonder you have been sickened off - around where my sister lives they are even stealing the lead flashing off porches!
ReplyDeleteThanks John, there are a couple of people who are gearing up to challenge the council, citing previous cases that have been successfully challenged, so I'll pass on your details :)
ReplyDeleteSue - we've only just got our water back on because the last lot of thefts involved stealing the brass taps off half of the site's water supplies ... the other half having been nicked at some earlier time ... unbelieveable isn't it ! (we had the lead stolen from our bay window a number of years ago ... we didn't notice until it rained LOL).
We had all the brass taps stolen from our site a couple of years ago so the council replaced them with plastic ones!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to read about your thefts, if only the scummy little toe-rags could put as much effort into working a real job.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the rotavator. I made the mistake when we came here of buying one thinking it would help prepare the soil. It's a swine to use and the only thing it did 'properly' was chop up all the worms which is the last thing I wanted. Now we only use it as a lawn scarifier, and then only occasionally.
Anyone want to buy a hardly used Mantis? :}
sorry to hear about your stuff being stolen we had all 54 sheds on our site broken into a few months ago.Each year just before the start of the boot fair season it seems to happen. i bought a new Mantis two years ago and it is brilliant.With reference to rent it does bug me a bit. £1 or even £2 pound a week for all the enjoyment that an allotment gives seems a small price to pay.
ReplyDelete