Bugger!

I seem to have done it myself!!

I'll have to set my own challenge now.

On the cusp

My view count stands at 7999.

Whoever the 8000th visitor is, please identify yourself and set me an allotmenting challenge.

Hollywood calls

Apologies for tardiness in updating y'all on "Finding David Douglas", which premiered at Pitlochry Festival Theatre last Thursday. Thanks to Gnome for pricking my conscience.

Well, what a night we had of it; I'm sorry you couldn't make it, Gnome. I think you'd have enjoyed it.

We had 300 people in the theatre, a reception, an address from the Provost of Perth, the Scottish Environment Minister was there, and we had a rousing chorus or several of "To the Oregon Country" (last heard on an island in the Hayes River, northern Manitoba). Oh and a damn good film launch.

The film was excellent. I hadn't seen it before the premiere and am well pleased with it. I know I would say that wouldn't I but I think it is a good piece of storytelling (with lots of on-screen from yours truly!!). There are some technical faults with it yet; it's a bit too long at an hour & eight mins and needs to lose around 12 mins to make it more broadcastable; some of the maps are a bit overexposed and don't add a lot to the story, and some of the running order needs tweaking to tell the story more clearly.

But we positioned it as what it is - a work in progress. All those issues will be ironed out over the winter ready for the US launch in April. For the moment we're very proud of it.

Frustration may cause Accidents.....

.....said the big illuminated sign beside the A1 on our recent trip to Scotland.

"Aye; better have a w*nk" came the cry from the Wilburys, passing by.

Start of a tradition?

Today is Wilma Wilbury's birthday. It's a significant birthday; she is now officially a pensioneer. But how many pensioneers do you know who were once kissed by Mick Jagger? Before she met me. Obviously.

I've also planted the garlic (75 cloves; we like garlic). This, planting the garlic on Wilma's birthday, could be the start of a new family tradition.

Dig for Victory

.... or Garlic & Autumn Onions in this case.

Before

After

But you'll notice no garlic or onions. Huh?

Soil is too fluffy, having just been dug & mucked. Needs to settle, which is as good a reason for not planting them today as any other I could think of.

New Life

At long last (12 days overdue), in the early hours of Friday morning, Tiny Wilbury checked in. It was a very long and arduous labour but mother and daughter are both doing well. And Woody is now Granddad Woody. YO!!!!!!

In three words

BBC News has been running a feature where visitors to the website are asked to share their outlook for the year ahead in three words.

Let's have a go, with an allotment or gardening theme. I'll start with:

Manure is Good!

Contributions welcome; keep them coming. Let's be 'aving you (Digression - there's a road in Sheffield called Letsby Avenue, on which the police traffic headquarters is based. I kid you not.)

The Mattock is a splendid Tool

I have three garden tools which I'd greatly miss if I lost them, and only one of which I paid for.

The first is my Dad's "Bulldog" spade, which I inherited when he died

The second is an equally good quality fork, with nice sharp tines. This fork was left behind in a shed on an allotment I used to work long ago and it sort of adopted me.

And the third, which I did pay for, is my much-loved Mattock. Here's a picture of it.


It goes with me every time I go to the allotment, but it never spends the night there. Nor do the others.

It's a very old design, used by peasant farmers around the world. They know a thing or two, they peasant farmers. There's nothing like it for clearing ground, short of Agent Orange which I might find hard to get hold of and a tad toxic.

The Great Autumn Tidy being in full swing, the Mattock is getting lots of use.