Planting, Snow And Cars

Last week I put in pots some Broad Beans, Peas and Garlic and on Saturday some Narcissus  and  Anemone bulbs in the front garden for some Spring colour.

Selection of bulbs for planting

The border planted

Garlic (from the shops not the garden Centre)

Then 10th December the snow (and debate on why England can't cope with it).

I popped out with my Camera and here are some pictures from round West Ealing

My allotment shed in the snow (plot 202)

St John's West Ealing

A Christmas Card in the making?

Cars

On Friday I was chatting with a somewhat 'Senior' woman and cars cropped up as a topic of conversation - she said that she couldn't really see driver-less cars catching on, well I'd earlier taken my own car in for a service, it's about 20 years old and while I was in that 'car' frame of mind I looked at a modern car (I'm going to replace mine soon) - it'd got all sorts of tech, camera for parking - Bluetooth and the like so I can see it happening, if my next car lasts as long as this one has I expect it'll be driver-less and electric too.

Allotments and surviving the Existentialist crisis (73)

Great to be out on the Allotment and enjoying some pretty warm weather - it's somewhere that you can't really hurry things the seasons are what they are.

Another good year for Rhubarb 

The Other Mans' Grass (is on his shed) and greener too

As the benefits of getting back to nature are apparent perhaps too are the ideas of Alain de Botton - below a great Video on Existential Crises but here see his take on crushes - what I like about the writing is the very gentle humour I love the line about his crushes in this article'  which mentions  her macaroni lunch splash .

And making up for it £93 77

Doors

Kew Green (just across from the river Thames) has some lovely houses and on the front of them some lovely doors.

Kew Green and cue the door too

A nice Racing Green and traditional Milk man ( Okay so they don't want junk mail either) 

Time travel on your doorstep and Red 59

Lovely allotment plot in early morning sun

Some early morning errands to run and am struck by the fact that you don't need to travel far to see different things - just get up an hour or so earlier or visit the places you would normally at a different time.



It's intriguing that the hours around dawn and dusk give such lovely hues to our landscape but we so often miss them - you don't need a camera to see the sights but I'd got mine.

Sunlight playing on a shed

A Tea Towel of local (Ealing) landmarks 

Wisdom on a reusable bag in Ealing Broadway Centre

Burn Artist

I don't know if this guy has his occupation written on his passport as Burn Artist.

It's 300 years since the great fire of London and seems the ideal time for David Best to take his place centre stage which hell be doing  tomorrow (8:30 PM UK time) check out this link.

Red 59

An inverted red plant pot held with a light blue  tie wrap

Allotments Versus Affordable homes and Red 61

Under threat

If you've stuck with my Blog for a few entries you may well have come across my thoughts on housing as well as the fact that I've got an allotment - well sad to report that there are moves afoot (sure to be resisted)  to use part of our allotment site in West London for 'Affordable' housing (whatever that currently means - my friends former house is on sale at nearly £1.5m).

I prefer it without houses 

I do regret that for many people a home of their own is now but a pipe dream, saddened to find a small bit of Green space that helps to provide head-space to urban dwellers could be sacrificed for housing.


Be far better to use some other land (of course) than London's oldest allotment site - even if the 10% suggested is used for houses it's not going to solve many people's need for housing  - and the allotment will never be recovered (and what about the other 90% -when will the Pathways charity be back for more how is the trust that bequeathed the allotments held to account?)

Fingers crossed that a successful campaign can resist the encroachment - but undoubtedly those without their own homes will be understandably miffed should that be the case.

A sentence could be hanging over Plot 202

Red 61

If life's just trundling along we might ignore it but when it's highlighted in Red can we?

And here's the big question with a red background

A 2016 visit to plot 202 and Red 276

Down on plot 202

A prune and a clear up

Fiddlers on the roof

It felt like a new year sort of thing.

The sun was out there were people doing outside things.

What with the weather and putting my photo's out there it's been some time since I've been on the allotment, Thursday was a lovely day so I decided to go and do a bit of a prune and tidy up.

All the fruit trees have grown over the last 4 or so years and I thought I'd have a go at moving one of my Rhubarb plantings too.

It's one of two and it's got a new home -hope it survives

A greenhouse and lovely day

I was interested to see Simon's shed  development (plot 198) too it's certainly different.

Simon's shed mark II

My shed, my rules

A time to burn too

Red 277

you can see here how the brightness is reduced in shadow 

Yeah -Respect