The Ministry of Food - a look back at rations

I had a whole other blogette ready to go for today and just managed to jump in in time to stop it being posted automatically. I just saw this and thought it was super duper interesting. All my grandparents are dead a long time now and I never got to ask the questions that I so dearly wish to ask now. I do have old ration books and coupons but they don't talk. I want to know them as people, as children, as lovers and as people my age in their life. But alas I think we all feel the same - gone too soon.

Anyway, here is a lovely black and white film about rationing in Second World War Britian.  Grow Your Own folks and Dig For Victory!!!xxxx

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8511000/8511309.stm

Oh how I would LOVE to own those old posters now. They are fabulous and did you notice - not a plastic bag in sight. We take things for granted don't we; well, as we grow our own we become more in tune with the hardship, the joy and the seasons. Fresh food, grown by your own fair hands - yum.

Gardens create 'feel good' factor - BBC News

As if we didn't know!
The National Trust has now 'revealed' that gardening is good for the soul....and the sex life?!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8178203.stm

I love to be vindicated, Ecotherapy Rocks my friends. Get out in that garden, and take your partner ~ you don't know maybe weeding can be sexy. (?????!) Hasn't worked for me unfortunately. Maybe it's enjoying other people's hard work that does it, oh, and a National Trust tearoom helps I'm sure!

As I said... Gnomes ~ the marmite of the gardening world

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8155542.stm

Make your own mind up.....

Allotments are hell on earth?!

BBC Reporter Paul Reynolds takes an alternative view of Allotments. All I can say is everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
I do not share his....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8119428.stm

I have just written a reply in fact. Heavily, unrelentingly, biased reporting does nothing for me.

That's the ticket

A man has won the lottery £25m and one of the things he's planning to spend it on? Professional advice about his Allotment. Love it!!!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8102282.stm

Help for Heroes

Did you notice last night on the Channel BBC 2 Chelsea Flower Show programme that there was a lady who had won a Silver Award for the Help for Heroes Urban Garden? I would encourage you to go and visit the link. I was so happy to hear her use the word Ecotherapy in her interview on TV. Yes!, plants, gardens/sanctuaries can and do have the ability to make you feel calmer, safer and to lose yourself in just looking at the beauty; no bad memories or thoughts, just a little moment of peace.

Often I feel like a lone voice trying to communicate the undeniable power of nature to cure our minds. I felt so vindicated by her and her efforts and very pleased to see she (and her team of course) got recognition. Apart from everything, it is a lovely garden and I hope it gets transferred, in tact, to a place where it will be used for the purpose it was intended.

My own depression is bad today, but I see blue sky coming my way and with any hope I'll be down at my plots this evening for a bit of therapy myself. x

UPDATE
I'm lying in a ball on the sofa, outside is like Armageddon; the rain and thunder is so loud. The Lottie will be flooded there is so much rain. I like thunder usually, it's power seems otherworldly, it makes me think about Zeus being angry or something. But today it is accentuating my depression, how weird is that, for the last hour or so I haven't been able to think, curled up with my blanket, just staring at the fireplace or closing my eyes because the double vision is so bad. Now with this storm raging overhead, I feel even more pathetic, so small and insignificant. We have all this understanding about our world and we have this technology where effectively I am talking to any one of the billions out there, how come I feel so desperately alone? I am alone, in a world full of people, I am alone and I don't really matter in the grand scheme of things and I'm certainly no hero. It's amazing what a storm can do for your self-esteem....

I think the worst of it may be over now, but there will be no Lottie relief today I don't think, if it was flooded yesterday, I hate to think what my pieces of Eden look like now.

Booze, Bloody Battles, Beans, a BBQ and Bugs

I'm not coping very well with reality at the moment (though a nice Merlot is helping). Today has been one big sleep, with some awake breaks for water and phone calls. Yes, as Andrew says I am better than I was when we came back from Italy but I am taking a lot of medication and pushing myself so hard everyday that I'm exhausted and as a side effect am too tried to think. When I have a minute alone it has to be filled with something and apart from reading incessantly that is generally sleep.

But now Andrew is home and we're just in front of the TV (after checking on the Lottie but the weather, oh god, do not mention the weather - horrendous!), he's watching some historic-drama thing and I can't be bothered so I have turned to my blog, which I feel has been neglected rather and am going to tell you about our (quite impressive) progress from last week/weekend.

First though ~ RHS Chelsea!!!! Other Bloggers will be covering it wonderfully so I'll leave to them, however a quick note - It's so Fabulous! I am in awe of all those 'proper' gardeners and that guy from Top Gear (with the flowing locks) and his Plasticine garden piece. I'd love to visit one day, though the crowds are daunting looking, I'd need a wee behind the scenes tour before opening time. Maybe in the delightful company of Joe Swift or Mr Titchmarsh, now that would be nice. Darn it, all those amazing RHS shows are in England and Wales, what about us poor Northern Irish folk?!

Goodness this TV show is bloody and gruesome, going to have Andy to turn it down a little!

The sky is uninterrupted blue and the wind seems to gone, it's lovely; Mother Nature can be a b*tch sometimes. Why now, why have good weather now when the Lottie day is over? We've been suffering from poor weather for weeks now and our plants look rather sorry for themselves. The French Beans in particular are sulking, I don't blame them, I certainly wouldn't enjoy having my feet buried in cold wet soil and being blown about all over the show. I hope they cope, can plants have nervous breakdowns?!

So to the work we've been up to, there are a couple of stories that will make wee bloggettes in the next few days, but here's some bits and bobs...

A Barbecue!!!

We had a lovely evening on the 12th May (Okay so Mother Nature isn't that nasty); a super wee BBQ on the plot. Sausages and baps and a mixed bean salad. YUM! Other's around us were jealous, which (admit it yourself) made it all the more enjoyable, hehe. We did offer some around but luckily everyone had had dinner already, shame. Oh and we had a beer with it; living the dream alright!

I suppose it was only fair after my cheek, that we found the redcurrant was infested with greenfly. Horrible, gross little beings. Andrew got in there with his fingers and squished them, I prefer the soapy water spray technique myself. But on the up side another insect turned up that was lovely, some sort of fab Beetle. I like to think it's a goody, anyway Andrew deemed it fit to live. Plus, not our fault, but the shed has 3 dead cabbage white butterflies inside it by the window. If it's any consolation to you animal lovers out there I was eaten by lots of midges so in a way nature got her own back. I'm still itchy all over my scalp and now that I've thought about it, I'm scratching away, damn it.

I think I'll leave it there for tonight, I could go on and write a book the way my mind has become engaged in this but I don't think you'd be interested, I've probably lost you already, ha.

I shall leave you with this lovely pic of a rhubarb leaf, I think the colour is amazing, too good to cut and eat! Plus ~ tomorrow WILL be better x

Please, tell me you saw it!

Tuesday evening 8.30pm BBC 2 - 'How Britain Got the Gardening Bug'.

Utterly fabulous! With many of our favourite gardeners and 'celebs' helping the story along. Covering all things from the 'Dig for Victory' programmes on radio with the dear Mr Middleton, to Percy Thrower (and the controversy over his ICI endorsements, oops) ; Allotments!; to the 60 and 70's with their patios, crazy paving and 'fantastic' topiary. My my we had Hosepipe police in the drought periods, with moustaches that demanded authority! and the introduction of the BBQ. It's had to believe that nurseries are so young and pre-mixed compost is but a baby to the horticultural world. For a change my soon-to-be brush with 30, makes me feel young!

With the 80's, there was much disposable money (where have those days gone???), Geoff Hamilton and our men folk's terrible obsession with their lawns. Then we came to my period - the 90's, when I HATED GARDENING, because I was forced to do crappy clean up jobs and would rather have been doing anything else. Now, of course I feel I have missed out on so much, lots of Mr Titchmarsh for one BUT there were so/too many gardening awful make-over shows (though I had a secret lust for 'Home Front')!

And now in the naughties (god, I hate that phrase), it's all going back to the beginning. We may not be at World War but growing our own food (though this time without the chemicals) is not only fun, therapeutic and good sense, but it's also fashionable.

I do hope you can see this programme, if you didn't enjoy it with me tonight, on repeat or, let's be more futuristic ~ on the BBC i player. Again I say 'Allotmenteering Rocks'. Plus, I felt better (after my blip) just watching it, except when they mentioned 'water features' and 'decking'!! Aaaahhhhh!

******

Warning - Highlights:

Good God, James A-S shocked me by telling me Pampas grasses were a sign of a home of swingers (P.S. I think I love you James)!!! And Germaine Greer frequently pee-d on the garden's lemon tree in her youth (she thought it would appreciate it, huummm).

We have an Orchard!

On the BBC news on Friday I found out that The National Trust declares an orchard to consist of 5 trees, even if they're in pots on a patio! Now Andrew did tell me this before the piece was presented but I thought he was being fanciful ~ we have 8 fruit trees on our Lottie but I wouldn't have thought to call it an Orchard. But there you go. Here's the link.

Never mind all the lovely heritage Apple trees planted up by the car park, if you count all the fruit trees on our Eden Allotment Gardens I'd say we're definitely doing our bit to help all those insects (of course the yummy apples, plums and pears etc are an added bonus)!

By the time you read this I'll be in Rome, yes Rome! Can't believe it, lucky girl, eh?

Just leave you with a photo of our Orchard Arch, hehe.

Snails.... (PG 15)

I forgot to share this story with you..... on THE EVOLUTION OF SNAILS!!

They are slowly adapting to this world, were they are hated so very much by every sane person. They have been studied, developing over the past 40-50 yrs and I think becoming clever and stronger as a unit. They have different coloured shells, depending on where they live so they're harder to catch; the humble and sweet Thrush is in decline because they are in training to be masters of disguise. This is the real terror we must face.

My friends. What is a Snail but a Slug with a mobile home??? The 'Enemy' is (admittedly slowly but therefore more secretively and underhandedly; damn their evil minds!!) becoming a more advanced killing machine. They are on to us; they have their eyes on OUR prize - blast their miscreant potentiality!!!

Sleep well, if you can.......

World's heaviest spud?!

The BBC released this story on their website today. The script is entirely theirs, highlights are my own.....

'A farmer in southern Lebanon has dug up what might be the heaviest potato in the world.
"This giant weighs 11.3 kilos (24.9 pounds)," Khalil Semhat told the AFP news agency at his farm near Tyre, 85 kilometres (50 miles) south of Beirut.

"I've been working the land since I was a boy, and it's the first time I've seen anything like it."
Mr Semhat, 56, said he had to ask for help from a friend to get the huge vegetable out of the ground.

He insisted that he had used no fertilizer or other chemicals to produce it.

Mr Semhat said he hoped his potato will be recognised as the heaviest potato in the world. '

Show off......You know - childish as it may seem - I hope it tastes AWFUL!