Rotten Cold, Shaun Visits & Woodchip Arrives

It’s been a funny old week here. Started off with a visit from Shaun off the forums. It’s very strange actually meeting someone for real who you chat to online. You’re never 100% certain of who the person on the other end of the keyboard really is.

People assume a personality online and it might not actually be the same as their normal one. I mean, who would imagine that Muntjac off the forums is actually a professor of English literature at Oxford University and his hobby is classical ballet?

Or Aunt Sally isn’t actually a wooden TV character? In fact she is actually an all-in wrestler from Deptford and plays the drums in a punk rock band at the weekend,

I found the silly on the right in some directory on the machine – hope you enjoy, it makes me laugh.

Anyway, Shaun is a perfectly normal chap, quite tall and takes one sugar in his tea.

Unfortunately the week went downhill quickly, we both came down with a rotten cold. Well the weather was pretty wet and cold so I’ve stayed in mainly, drinking lemsip and whiskey (for medicinal reasons, you understand). We did undertake a trip out for some leeks one day and a swede another. The excitements of our life know no bounds.

I watched with great interest the football match. I’m not a great football fan but being as it’s our national game, I thought it worth a watch. The Croatian team had received detailed instructions from their coach. “This is ball. That is goal. Kick ball into goal, many time” Our team were weighed down by their problems. How their investment funds were performing in light of the financial problems engendered by the sub-prime lending crisis in the USA and if their hairstyles would be mussed if they headed the ball and the effect this could have on their endorsement fees. Poor dears.

Today was rather nice, the sun was shining and it was really crisp. The cold weather will be killing off the slugs and bugs and I’ve got a feeling we’re going to have a cold winter followed by a good summer. Old John’s Almanac!

So before I headed off to the plot this afternoon, I donned my artic gear. Now Larry always gets excited when I discuss underwear so I’ll be brief. My fetching long johns and long sleeved thermal vest kept me toasty.

I took my tools with me, intending to finally finish the compost bins but realised when I got there that there had been a delivery of wood chippings. I think it’s getting on for two years since I put wood chippings down on some of the paths and on plot 5 they have nearly all rotted in now.

Now the rule is, “first come, first served” so if I left it until I was ready, it would be gone. So, forget the compost bin and start re-covering the paths. Lee turned up after a bit and his plot is in the far corner from the car park where the wood chippings are so I lent him my big plastic bag thingy. It’s supposed to be for garden waste but it comes in really handy when you’re moving wood chippings or leaves. Fill the barrow and the bag sits on top, doubling the amount you can move in each trip.

While we were both busily barrowing, the council lorry arrived with another load Nice guy driving it asked if we’d like it nearer our plots, so we asked if he could take it up to the other side of the site, which would be a lot easier for Lee and Pauline who is up that end as well and uses a lot of wood chippings. Unfortunately the state of the path stopped him from getting up there for fear of being bogged down. It’s a right state now and goodness knows how the poor lambs who have to drive to their plots will manage the 100 yard marathon from the car park if it gets worse and they can’t get through.

Boy it gets dark quickly now. We had a quick chorus of “By the light of the silvery moon” and fumbled our way off the plot.

I hope I can get enough chippings to do the path next to plot 5 before it all goes.