52 Week Challenge - week by week through 2013

[PyreneesPlot]

Completely lost track of the challenges in the last month, but today went to the butchers in the next village but two and ordered a shoulder of local pork with the skin to be left on for crackling. I hope French Grapes understand the nature of this challenge!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Hazel - I was never greatly interested in History at school and generally got poor marks for same until the last exam when, after a row from my father for a poor mark from an earlier exam, I studied for 3 nights before the exam and passed with an 89.

I am lucky that my Hunters from Prestwick were Freemen there; according to local tradition the Freedoms were awarded by Robert the Bruce for services rendered after Bannockburn. It means there are great variety of records going back hundreds of years available for study.

When my eldest grandson (11) was doing his Roman Project I took him and his younger brother to the Roman Baths at Bearsden - not only was it was very interesting but he got an A+ - this year it was Victorian Children so I took him to Scotland Street School which has a Victorian Classroom - again he got an A+

Next year I think it is World War 2 so he can include the fact that Hitler committed suicide the day I was born and his Great Great Uncle, (one of those Churchill recruited from Oxford during the War) was involved in planning the Normandy Landings. I'll need to work out best place for him to visit but his younger brother should be doing the Romans so think I'll take him to Vindolanda, (Hadrian's Wall) -it will also give him a train trip as he is train mad.

House History is a great subject - I found my earliest arrivals in Monkton Village buying their house in 1811 - unfortunately this house was demolished in the mid 1900s but the cottages round the corner owned by their children are nearly all still standing and I got a tour of one of them a few years back

You are right to try to make a connection for your grandchildren for 'stuff' gone by. All subjects at school are given that bit of sparkle by a good teacher, but history all the more so. It's all a matter of firing the right bit of the imagination.

How many sulky teenagers find it all booooooooring - but spark an interest in the girls in the Regency period with a screening of Pride and Prejudice with Mr Darcy arising out the lake in a wet ganzy (not something that happened in the book, might I add) and you've found your hook.

30 years ago and I would have goggled at the thought that this stuff is even VAGUELY relevant, but who you are has more than a nodding acquaintance to the product of your past, I think. You are well the way to instilling this into the young 'uns - but I think that 'appreciating' it only comes with time/age!

I sound downbeat, but I don't mean to - you're doing a fabulous job, but I expect that you might not get the appreciation for some years hence...

[Sheneval]

Hazel - I think you are spot on - whilst I respected my father for his attitude to good manners, his work ethic, his loyalty to family, his honesty and integrity, his intellect and his political stance, (as a youth he had taken part in two hunger marches to London (plus other places), in protest at the then Government's attack on working class people and had, along with others, barricaded elderly people's homes to keep the Sherriff Officers from selling off their meagre possessions for rent arrears), I never truly appreciated him till I grew up and was able to measure the true value of the man - I now regard him as one of the genuine heroes of his time and am grateful that I was lucky enough to be his son.

As an elderly man about my own age and slightly older, he used to clear a path in the snow in the cul de sac where he lived from the front of the houses on his side of the street to the crossing point for the local shop/post office and the adjacent bus stop, a distance of about 100 -150 yards, as nearly all his neighbours were widows in their 80s and 90s and a fall could have resulted in them sustaining severe injury.

[veggiechicken]

Week 27 Challenge - completed -ish
What do people do when its too hot to garden - laze around in a hammock. That's the thought I had yesterday but when I went to look for my hammock trees they were surrounded by nettles and brambles (not you Bramble). As we all know, falling out of a hammock into nettles would not be a good idea so I've spent all weekend clearing the ground ready for the next hot spell
It leads into another challenge for another week - turn it into a wildflower/herb bed and cutting garden - majoring on scented plants - for when I'm next in my hammock.
As was :-
As is today:-

NB The hammock is not slung properly - just there for show

[Sheneval]

great job VC - what a lovely spot you have created

[bramble]

Weather is looking great for the coming week Veggiechicken, so it was worth the effort to clear the nettles. Enjoy.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Week 27 Challenge

Join in with the Work Party

A couple of times a year we have a Work Party at the Hill whereby all plotholders are invited to help out with the general maintenance of the site. This is met with heartfelt groans by all, of course.

The Work Party taking place at this time of year is because our site competes for the Thorpe Memorial Trophy which the City of Birmingham awards to the best allotment site in Birmingham. It would be remiss of me not to mention at this point that we have won this competition twice in the past three years.

Judging takes place from tomorrow onwards, so it's a general pitch in - primarily by the hardworking committee, frankly, and some other plotholders too - in order to bring the site up to snuff. I'd make attendance to the Work Party compulsory, myself - why should it fall to a few make the site nice for everyone?

Actually, there was not a bad turn out, and many hands do, indeed, make light work, and at the end of a couple of hours in the sunshine we had the car park hedges trimmed, the roadway weeded, accumulations of leaves swept up, and neat and tidy planted up troughs by the club house.



A good job (and my week's Challenge) done!

[Sheneval]

Hazel - looks like a nice site and the fact you have won the competition confirms this to be so

Good Luck in the judging - fingers crossed.

Tomorrow Jim and I will be filling the water tank, cutting grass, trimming edges and untidy plots - not for any competition - just the normal tidy up by Committee members - we do have some Working Party occasions to carry out major tidy ups and these can be reasonably well attended.

However, weather looks to be so good tomorrow I will take up a chessboard & set plus some beers and Jim and I will have a few games and a couple of beers after the work and perhaps a game or three of Quoits or Boules (Petanque) as Jim keeps horseshoes and Boules on his plot

[veggiechicken]

Week 28 - July 8th - 14th

Some challenges to cope with the hot weather perhaps...........

[Hazel at the Hill]

Hazel - looks like a nice site and the fact you have won the competition confirms this to be so

Good Luck in the judging - fingers crossed.

Tomorrow Jim and I will be filling the water tank, cutting grass, trimming edges and untidy plots - not for any competition - just the normal tidy up by Committee members - we do have some Working Party occasions to carry out major tidy ups and these can be reasonably well attended.

However, weather looks to be so good tomorrow I will take up a chessboard & set plus some beers and Jim and I will have a few games and a couple of beers after the work and perhaps a game or three of Quoits or Boules (Petanque) as Jim keeps horseshoes and Boules on his plot

Thank you, Shen - I must take a couple of general pics of the site, it does look rather splendid at this time of year.

Sounds like you have an enjoyable day planned - if your weather is as glorious today as ours is, you will do well to find some shade for your beer and games.

[Tripmeup]

I have missed a few of these lately for to work pressures but promise I will get back on track... This weeks is to get a day off work!!

[Sheneval]

My challenge for this week is to prepare my onions for lifting I will try and so tomorrow watching my friend Jim do his so that I get it right

[Tripmeup]

I have missed a few of these lately for to work pressures but promise I will get back on track... This weeks is to get a day off work!!

I am taking Friday off..

[Tripmeup]

My challenge for this week is to prepare my onions for lifting I will try and so tomorrow watching my friend Jim do his so that I get it right

Some of mine done earlier Shen...

[Sheneval]

Some of mine done earlier Shen...

Trip - looking good - I have not left mine nearly as neat and tidy as you have - I did wonder that leaving them lying where they fell after digging them up might not be the best idea but was not too worried as the whole plot gets plenty of sun all day long at this time of the year. I may re-position them tomorrow - nevertheless challenge for week 28 completed today - pic to follow