Monday 17th August 2015 – Harvesting is going full throttle.

Posted on August 18, 2015 by clairesallotment

Now last week I didn’t manage to get to the allotment at all, which for me is unheard of. Last week was very busy with one thing and another and it poured down with rain on 2 of those days. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say that yesterday it took Emily and I at least an hour to get all the glass out from all the little nooks and crannies inside the car. With what happened I wasn’t even able to even take the kids out to any National Trust places. However, the weekend was lovely. On Sunday we had a family BBQ with both sides of the family over. There were 11 of us all together which was great fun. The weather was fine with a bit of sun, so we ate outside in the garden and under the gazebo. There was a little blip first thing in the morning when the BBQ that we’ve had for about 8 years decided that as Mark was cleaning it out, it would create a massive hole in the bottom. Mark and George rushed to Homebase to get another one. It’s the end of the season so there were only very small round ones about (which are not good for us), and one large drum one without any instructions. Well there was no contest, it had to be the instructionless one, (is “instructionless” even a word?). We found the instructions online and Mark and the kids managed to put it together in less than an hour!! I was very impressed. Dinner was then a little late, but we had crisps and a starter so it didn’t really matter. It also meant that more wine had to be drunk (such a shame). A great time was had by all, well I think it was. They all seem to have invited themselves to ours for Christmas dinner, but then it’s easier for us to do it than anyone else. There could be 15 on that day, so I’d better start planning now!!

Mark and the kids putting together the new BBQ with lightning speed.

Mark and the kids putting together the new BBQ with lightning speed.

Today was back to normal and after lunch Emily and I dropped George off at the Leisure Centre so he could have a swim. He’s got a months free membership, perfect for the summer holidays. Once that was done, Emily and I went up to the allotment to see what needed to be harvested. Quite a lot as it turns out. We dug up the first of the Carrots, picked the first of the Tomatoes, pulled up the first of the Beetroot, picked a load more French Beans, picked more Kale, cut another Cabbage and harvested another couple of Squashes. The Pumpkins are coming on a treat, and I seem to have loads of Butternut Squash, but neither of these are no way near ready yet. I think Emily enjoyed herself, well she told me she did. Now I’ve got to sort them all out and either freeze them or store them in a cool place to eat soon.

And so the mass harvest begins. Emily was very impressed with my 3 legged Carrots.

And so the mass harvest begins. Emily was very impressed with my 3 legged Carrots.

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Saturday 8th August 2015 – My 1,000th post!!

Posted on August 8, 2015 by clairesallotment

Oh my goodness, I can’t believe that I’ve waffled on, mainly about gardening, for 1,000 posts now!!! I’m not sure if I should apologise or not? I’ve clearly had lots to waffle on about, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. There will be much more to come of my adventures down on my allotment and garden, and a few other things as well so don’t fret. There is more to this post than just telling you this exciting news, so here goes. I popped down the allotment this morning for about 2 and a half hours. Now I don’t usually go down on the weekend, but as it’s the holidays I do. It’s all coming along very well. I started by watering everything in the greenhouse. The Tomatoes are starting to turn, so hopefully it won’t be long until I can harvest my first one. Then I needed to see what needed to be harvested. I managed to pick a load more French Beans, which are now getting quite prolific now, I then popped to see if there were any more Squashes ready and sure enough there were a couple more ready. There are loads more on the way, so soon I’ll have an ample supply of them to roast in the oven.

What a lovely pair!! There was a slightly more sensible photo, but I like this one the best.

What a lovely pair!! There was a slightly more sensible photo, but I like this one the best.

Now I’ve been waiting very patiently to harvest the first of my Cabbages, but today I decided I would finally cut one off. There are loads more to come, but sometimes you just can’t wait. I have to admit that I’m very proud of this one. In all the years I’ve grown Cabbages this year has been the best. I’m not sure what I did, may be it was the weather, I really don’t know. But I’m looking forward to eating this one.

What a lovely Cabbage you are, and with a wonderful firm heart to.

What a lovely Cabbage you are, and with a wonderful firm heart to.

Then it was onto the weeding, watering and feeding of the beds from where I left off from last time. Any weeds that I come across are fairly small, so don’t take much to remove. I’ve also put a load more Strawberry runners in more tyres which is great, but there are still lots more to do. But I’ll get there eventually. Time to go now and make cakes and do other stuff. I may have a potter in the garden later on, but nothing too strenuous. It’s a gorgeous day so lunch was outside and I think dinner will be to. George is still camping in his tent at night in the garden, which he loves doing, I think he’s done it every night since Monday. Oh well, at least he’s enjoying himself, he is a Scout after all. Enjoy the weekend what ever you’re doing.

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Thursday 6th August 2015 – Petworth House and Park and the Beach.

Posted on August 7, 2015 by clairesallotment

Today started off rather grey, but the weather forecast promised that it would brighten up. Now, I’m always one to believe the weather forecast 100%, especially Carol Kirkwood and the BBC. So off the kids and I went on a little outing. We were going to end up at the beach, but to break the drive up, and be nosey we stopped off at Petworth House and Park to have a look round, and have our picnic lunch before we continued on our journey. We left home just before 10am and it was only just over an hours drive to Petworth. When we arrived it was still quite empty, I think the weather played a part in that. We firstly wandered round part of the gardens before going into the house to have a look around. We have been here before, about a year ago and with my sister, but it’s always good to come back again. And it’s National Trust, so we can get in for free!! There weren’t many rooms open because they spend various days cleaning, but we got to look at all the statues all with varying amounts of clothing on. Some were practically naked. A lovely man told us about all sorts of statues and how old some of them were. One male statue had lost his head and they found a female head to put on it instead. It look liked the Statue of Liberty head (or Annette Bening if you prefer). As we approached another of the statues the man asked, “Now what do you notice about this statue?” Well George being George said “He’s lost his penis!!” It took all my concentration to not laugh. “I’m very sorry,” I said to the man. He wasn’t embarrassed at all. He also showed us a head and shoulders of Aphrodite which is nearly 2,000 years old!! George then found the children’s costumes and tried on various items, including a beautiful white dress (I took a photo, but will keep that one in the family, sorry). All the costumes related to various paintings on the room and the guide let George pose near the appropriate pictures or statues.

King George posing with a bear chested statue.

King George posing with a bear chested statue.

I would like to thank the guide who was amazing, I don’t know his name, but he was about 65 ish. I’m sure he’ll remember George…who could forget really. We then went to the kitchen area and saw various rooms where you’d prepare or store food. Even Emily got engrossed with the dressing up at this point. I’m not sure how they would have survived in the kitchen at the time, but it makes them appreciate an electric oven.

The maids are ready for some cooking and scrubbing!!

The maids are ready for some cooking and scrubbing!!

Once we’d finished looking round the house we popped back to the car to get our lunch and then found a beautiful secret spot in the gardens to sit down and eat. The gardens are so vast that no one walked past us as we ate. Just before we left we went ot the shop and got some sweets for the journey to the beach and some fudge for Mark. We then got back in the car and headed for the beach. We used to go to West Beach in Littlehampton, but a couple of years ago my friend Sally mentioned about going to West Wittering Beach. Well it’s brilliant! The parking is so much better, it cost £6.50 for the whole day, but is about a minutes walk to the beach. It’s totally sandy, they have numerous loos (very important), and a shop to buy an ice cream (again very important). It’s a bit more of a drive for us, about another 10 miles, but it’s not a problem. We got to the beach around 2pm, and between the 3 of us we managed to carry all we needed. It was rather windy, but not cold. A jumper was needed but apart from that it was perfect. The tide was coming in, but very slowly. We soon found a sheltered spot, where Emily and I read and George dug a hole. Later George put on his trunks and went in the sea, which was rather cold.

George insisted on putting his net on our heads and saying we were Smurfs. Emily was not amused by this!!

George insisted on putting his net on our heads and saying we were Smurfs. Emily was not amused by this!!

It was lovely to sit and relax and soak up the sounds and smells of the beach. The kids went and got an ice cream each at around 4pm and after a bit more relaxing we packed everything up in the car, visited the very clean toilets and then left around 5pm to head home. It would take about an hour and a half to get home, depending on the traffic which wasn’t that bad to be honest, so I decided that dinner would be fish and chips. Well we’d been to the beach and if you’ve been to the beach all day, then you have to have fish and chips. What a lovely day we had. Next time we go to the beach we must do it at a weekend then Mark can come to.

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Wednesday 5th August 2015 – Some funny shaped Squashes.

Posted on August 5, 2015 by clairesallotment

I’ve just got back from the allotment and thought I’d write about what I got up to before the kids and I had lunch. It was a very productive couple of hours working through various beds (in order of course) weeding, feeding and watering, and then harvesting, if there was anything to harvest. It’s August, of course there was stuff to harvest! The Sarpo Mira potatoes are coming along well. They’re not ready to harvest yet, but I’m guessing in about 3-4 weeks they’ll be ready to harvest. The leaves are still green and I wait until they’re all going brown before I harvest them. The Butternut Squash are growing well. I’ve got lots of varying sizes and more on the way, so hopefully I’ll have a good crop of those this year. When I came to the Kale, I harvested some for dinner tonight. The Cabbages are growing amazingly well. I’ve not harvest any yet, but it won’t be long. I harvested a load more Climbing French Beans. They’re now really getting going, and I seem to have to harvest them every couple of days now which is great. Not one plant has had a problem with black fly, I think it’s because I planted some nasturtiums next to them, but even those have only had a few. Either they’ve not been that bad this year or the ladybirds have been eating them all. I did have a load on my Broad Beans so maybe that’s why. Who knows, just one of those mysteries. I also put some more Strawberry runners in tyres. The path that they decided to grow on is slowly becoming a path again which is great. Before I left I went to see how my various squashes were getting on and I harvested 3. I’ve grown the little yellow ones called “Patty Pan” before, but the long one is new for me which is called “Tromboncino”. If you put them in the right place they look like a smiley face.

Smile and say......"Squashes!!"

Smile and say……”Squashes!!”

Well that was all for today. I’d better start lunch because “A” my tummy is grumbling at me, and “B” the kids will start complaining very soon.

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Tuesday 4th August 2015 – Claremont Landscape Gardens.

Posted on August 4, 2015 by clairesallotment

This afternoon the kids and I went to visit Claremont Landscape Gardens. It’s only about 6 miles from where we live, and a very pleasant drive which only takes about 15 minutes, but today took 20 minutes, because we were following someone in a 60mph zone who was barely going 40mph!! But we got there finally. The car park was full, but as we drove in the car park, a car was leaving, so we managed to find a space. We’ve been here before, but it’s always lovely to come back again just to have a wander round on a beautiful afternoon. The sun was in and out, but the breeze was rather challenging, but we didn’t mind. There were lots of families with small children around. You forget, when your kids grow up, how much stuff you have to take with you on a day out with little ones. They had various activities for the little ones to do, and a notice about a Punch and Judy show. Now I HATE THAT!!!!! If someone makes me watch it, I would smash the puppets faces in and everyone watching would be shocked. I find them hideous, evil and repulsive!!  But let’s move on very quickly from that horror, and get back to the beautiful gardens. We came across a wooden play area for 11 years and below. George is 13, but I let him have a quick play. He’s very caring when it comes to little ones, so I knew that he wouldn’t go roughing his way around. He climbed right to the top of the castle, I think some parents looked on in horror. But George is a good climber although Mark and I are the only ones who really understand.

Where's George? Top left. He climbed up the outside of the castle to get to that point.

Where’s George? Top left. He climbed up the outside of the castle to get to that point.

We then continued on our wander round the huge pond that is in the middle of the grounds and the ducks came over to see us. We had nothing to feed them, in fact you weren’t supposed to feed them, I can’t remember why. Some little ones were getting rather close to the edge, but the pond itself is only about 12 inches deep, still I wouldn’t want to fall in there’s a huge amount of pond weed growing.

The beautiful pond at Claremont. So many spots to sit and have a think.

The beautiful pond at Claremont. So many spots to sit and have a think.

We did take some snacks with us, a packet of biscuits and some cheese straws, which we nibbled as we walked round. George found some more hills to climb and we then found some Shetland Ponies roped off in an area. They were having pony rides, but the ponies were on their break, so were having a bit of “Me time”. There are lots of secret parts to the garden, and you really have to explore to find them. The perfect garden to play hide and seek in. You could hide for hours and not be found. There is an area that is gated off and you’re not allowed to enter. It looks like a factory or some sort. It looks fascinating I wish they would open it up.

One of the many sections to explore.

One of the many sections to explore.

Before we left George wanted to go for another play in the wooden play ground. So Emily and I sat near the pond and chatted and looked at the scenery. We then went to find George. Now just a bit of advise when looking for George in a play area, always look to the highest points first. You’ll find him faster that way. There’s no point in looking at ground level because he’ll never be there. Sure enough we found him climbing to the top of the castle again. When he saw us he gave us a wave.

Always look to the highest point first, you'll find him quicker.

Always look to the highest point first, you’ll find him quicker.

We then wandered back to the car to come home and George and I put up his tent in the garden because he wants to camp in it tonight. Hopefully he’ll sleep well and the chickens won’t wake him up too early tomorrow morning. As we were putting it together the chickens did look a bit worried, but once it was up they soon realise that it wasn’t for them and they didn’t need to be scared.

George's little home for the night.

George’s little home for the night.

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Monday 3rd August 2015 – My first Okra!!

Posted on August 3, 2015 by clairesallotment

I popped to the allotment this morning for a couple of hours and left the kids at home with a list of chores I needed them to do. Nothing too strenuous like build and extension or redecorate a room. They seem to enjoy me giving them a little list it chores, which is great, and they always do them all. Now that I’m harvesting various vegetables, I’m clearing certain areas so I’m sowing more seeds in the empty spaces. So this morning I sowed rows of the following: Spring Onions “Winter White Bunching” and “White Lisbon”, Radish “Bright Lights”, Lettuce “Best Bulls Blood Soldier”, Rocket and some more Carrots “Autumn King 2” The carrots are to fill in some gaps in the rows where I’m growing other carrots. This will hopefully mean that I’ll have some ready much later on in the season. They may be a little smaller, but at least they’ll be tasty. Once I got home we all had lunch and then I went into the garden to do various bits. I’m very proud to announce that I’ve just harvested my first Okra!! I’m so chuffed, I’ve finally done it. There are more growing which is great and lots more flowers forming. After years of trying it’s finally worked. Not sure what I did different, but hey ho.

My first Okra baby. I'm so proud!!

My first Okra baby. I’m so proud!!

 

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Sunday 2nd August 2015 – My King Edward’s are all harvested.

Posted on August 3, 2015 by clairesallotment

Today started like most Sunday mornings do with breakfast. But instead of having it inside in the dining room we had it outside in the garden and under the gazebo. It was lovely and warm even for 8.30am. Why waste the gorgeous weather and the gazebo being up!!! Then after bell ringing this morning I popped to the allotment for a couple of hours. I’ve emptied the compost heap at home, and the contents in wonderful so I’m moving the contents to the allotment to fill up some tyres where I’m going to plant some strawberry runners that have decided to grow in the wrong place. It’s a rather slow process, but seems to be working. Once that was done I then had a container so I dug up all my King Edward Potatoes. The soil is really dry, even thought I’ve been watering it often, but we’ve hardly had any rain (except those 2 days last week) so the only way to get up all the potatoes is to use a spade. Fortunately I manage not to slice any potatoes in half which was good. I think I managed to get up every single one, but I’ll only know for sure next spring when they start to grow again. I always miss some, I think we all do.

King Edward woz 'ere!!

King Edward woz ‘ere!!

When I got home it was time for lunch, again in the garden which was wonderful. Then we went to he cinema to see “Inside Out”. What a brilliant movie, so funny and not just for little kids. Teenagers and grown up will thoroughly enjoy it as well. We all did. We had planned to have dinner outside as well, but the flying ants decided that they would start to swarm, so we decided the most sensible thing to do would be to have dinner inside. The chickens did get very excited when the ants started to swarm so I let them out for a treat on the grass to peck at some. They didn’t hang about and gobbled up loads in a very short time.

That's my girls, pecking up all those pesky flying ants.

That’s my girls, pecking up all those pesky flying ants.

Later on there was a bit of a kerfuffle, because a pigeon had landed on the grass near the chickens. There was a lot of wings flapping and clucking. The pigeon panicked and flew into the chickens run, and panicked some more, but then found it’s way out and flew away.  Everyone then calmed down and order was resorted. The chickens don’t like to share their space with strangers.

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Saturday 1st August 2015 – Come on let’s eat outside!!

Posted on August 3, 2015 by clairesallotment

What a perfect way to spend a lovely Saturday. We all had various things to do in the morning and early afternoon, but from mid afternoon onwards we were all at home, so it was time to get the gazebo up, clear the garden table and get the BBQ lit. I had a lovely selection of meats to cook on the BBQ, far too much for just us 4, but I tend to do far more than we need, then what ever is left will usually do us for the next day, and possibly to day after. Once all the meat was cooked, the roasted vegetables were done, and the potatoes (mine of course) were boiling we sat down to have our starter. This was typically Spanish with bread, chorizo, alioli (Garlic Mayonnaise), various salads and cold roasted peppers. Basically a massive antipasto platter. It’s a great starter to have as it’s easy to prepare and gets everyone sharing and talking.

Eating alfresco. Such a rare thing to be able to do in the UK.

Eating alfresco. Such a rare thing to be able to do in the UK.

Once we’d polished off the starter then it was time to assemble everything for the main event. Again this was put in the middle of the table so everyone could help themselves to what ever they wanted. Even thought I cooked it all myself, I have to admit that I did a very good spread. I think the rest of the family agreed which was good.

Sausages, Ribs, Chorizo's, Chicken and Shish Kebabs!! And potatoes and roast vegetables of course.

Sausages, Ribs, Chorizo’s, Chicken and Shish Kebabs!! And potatoes and roast vegetables of course.

Pudding was a much simpler affair of ice cream. But after all that exhaustion I deserved a rest. We sat in the garden for quite a while afterwards enjoying the warmth and the late evening sun. After such a hectic day with one thing and another it was the perfect end.

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I’ll be at Nine Worlds on Friday!

Posted on August 1, 2015 by clairesallotment

He’s a very good speaker is Mr Mark Stay.

MarkStayWrites's avatarMark Stay Writes

If you’re there too, come and say “Hi”. I’m hoping to convince our VFX genius, Mr Paddy Eason to come along, too, and together we’ll reveal all the secret behind-the-scenes stuff about ROBOT OVERLORDS with a super-whizzy multimedia presentation.  We’ll also sign things, including books and posters and naked flesh… okay, maybe not naked flesh…

Here are the where and when details…

Friday 7th August, Nine Worlds and Geekfest:

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Friday 7th August, 4-5pm, Room 16: Robot Overlords From Script to Screen. A behind-the-scenes look at how this independent British Sci-Fi movie went from script to screen.

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Friday 31st July 2015 – Boxhill fun.

Posted on July 31, 2015 by clairesallotment

Today Robert (aged 10), the little boy from next door, is very sweet and always wants to come round to play with George. They’re both very similar, in the fact that the both have an endless amount of energy and love to fling themselves about when they play. This afternoon he was able to come round and play so at 2pm there was a knock on the door. “Yes can I help you?” I asked. “I’ve come to play,” was the smiley reply. “Oh I don’t know about that?” I said. Of course I let him in, and after he’d played on George’s drum kit for a while (his rhythm needs more practice), and then said “Hello!” to the chickens, stroked and held several of them and then collected some eggs, we headed off to Boxhill. It’s not far away, and only takes about 20 minutes or so to drive there. We arrived about 2.45pm and first went in the “Nature Trail” where George, being the monkey he is, climbed everything. Robert was a little apprehensive to start with but soon joined in. George has been climbing trees since he was about 18 months old, so it’s second nature to him. He tends to freak out most other kids (and parents) with his climbing abilities, but I’m used to it, so am not worried. With a little encouragement Robert was climbing but wanted the security of holding my hand when he got too high. This is perfectly understandable, as most kids would do the same (apart form George that is). “How do I get off?” Robert asked. “Jump!” was my reply. So he slid off holding my hand and George flung himself off higher up. We then went to the massive hill and the only thing you have to do (if you’re a kid) is to roll down it. It has to be done, there is no other way to do it.

And off they go!!

And off they go!! George is on the left and Robert is on the right.

Off they went and I could hear them giggling and laughing as they went. I walked sedately towards them, and once at the bottom they decided to run back to the top and then roll down again. Fine by me!! I stayed at the bottom and waited for them to come back to me. However the walk back to the top of the hill was a little too much for some.

The walk back up the hill was too much for Robert, but with coaxing from George he managed it.

The walk back up the hill was too much for Robert, but with coaxing from George he managed it.

Once all the rolling down the hill was done it was time to go over a sty, into another field and into the woods. This was great fun because of the amount of sticks that the boys found (Emily was out with friends all day, so missed all the fun) this meant they could then play Star Wars with each other and use the force. I’m not sure who they decided to be. I think Robert was Yoda, George was Anakin, and I opted for Princess Leia (but NOT in the bikini!!) Lots of sticks got broken in the process, but replacement sticks were found very quickly. Then it was time to slide!! There are certain sections on Boxhill where the trees are thick and the ground is very dry, and it’s perfect for sliding down on either your bottom or feet. It’s a bit like skiing, but there’s no snow. George has got this down to a fine art, with many years of practice. I think that this was Robert’s first time at this particular sport, so George very kindly showed him the most sensible way to slide and that was on your bottom (their trousers will never be the same again). Getting up to the top was sometimes a little tricky, and I had to assist Robert sometimes. He suddenly slipped back down and pushed me down in the process, which was rather amusing and funny. But he did get the hang of it, and both he and George were sledging down the slopes quite happily for about an hour. There are some wonderful holes underneath some dead trees that were a magnet for intrigued little boys to venture into.

There's nothing that makes a boy happier than investigating a hole.

There’s nothing that makes a boy happier than investigating a hole.

We stopped often for a drink, but having fun was much more enjoyable. We finally came back to where we started and got to the refreshment shop just before it closed. We all had an ice cream of one sort or another, some of us getting messier than other (Robert I’m talking about you with ice cream all round your mouth). We left just after 5pm and I dropped him off home around 5.30pm or there abouts. Now I don’t know about the boys, but I’ll definitely sleep well tonight. I hope they do with all the excitement and play they had today.

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