Realistically, with only 3 golds and 4 silver gilts awarded out of over 1200 allotments I should be pretty damned chuffed, and in truth I am.
After the saga with my invitation to the award ceremony, which, because of a mix up with the plot numbers wasn't received until last week, I nearly didn't win anything.
So it's time to start thinking about next seasons plans, projects and which varieties to grow.
For those of you who are vegetable and flower growers have a look at this excellent site:
http://www.vegetableseeds.net/
The staff are all keen vegetable growers, passionate about their jobs, and take pride in making sure that seed reaches customers in the best possible condition.
VegetableSeeds.net offers a 100% no quibble guarantee on all seeds, giving you a full refund or replacement seeds. Happy customers are very important to us.
For the 2010 season we've expanded our stock to over 400 varieties, including vegetable seeds, herb seeds and flower seeds.
We ship throughout Europe, and P&P is FREE on all seed orders. All orders are shipped next working day by Standard Class Royal Mail.
My fellow blogger and rookie allotmenteer is employing latest technology to the design and planting of his newly acquired Prospect Road plot. Mike has come across what appears on the face of it a great bit of software at http://www.growveg.com/
Here's what it says on the box:
GrowVeg.com is an online Garden Planner which helps you grow fruit and vegetables to the best of their ability, whatever the size or shape of your garden or plot.
With GrowVeg.com it is easy to draw out your garden plan and decide how best to plant it. The GrowVeg.com Garden Planner software shows how much space plants require and how to group them for maximum success, removing the need to look up planting distances and crop families.
Growing advice is just one click away as you select the plants that you wish to include, enabling you to solve problems and maximise your harvest from the space you have. An annual subscription costs just £15 (€17).
The great thing about it is that it stores a history of what you have grown where and suggests the rotational plan for the next year and at my age remembering what you did yesterday, let alone what you did six months ago, is something of an ongoing problem.
I think I may be tempted not least for the fact that, as most of you are aware by now, I didn't get where I am today by not employing the latest technology.
Remember the "dongle" ? Where would I be today without this essential item of gardening equipment - need I say more.
More importantly I can't let that young whipersnapper Millard steal a march on me!
Talking about age two weeks ago on the 13th another milestone was passed.
For those of you who weren't aware I was born on Friday 13th at number 13 Trent Road.
My father went through life telling everyone that 13 was his unlucky number.
I suppose that I should be thankful that TV hadn't been thought of and "Only Fools and Horses" wasn't broadcast on the Light programme, otherwise I could well have been named Damien.
I am not revealling my age but here is a clue.
Who could ask for more?
Yes, in a years time I will be joining my wife as an official old age pensioner and be in receipt of my £100 a week (less tax). The fact that my wife will have already received 4 years worth is, to me, one of the great mysteries of the 21st century definition of equality, particularly as the life expectancy of the female of the species in the UK is 4 years longer than the male, facts which seem to be totally glossed over by the darling little creatures.
Before I get into GrumpyOldBlogger mode heres a link to brilliant set of novels I have started reading written by Malcolm Pryce: The Louie Knight Mysteries.
They are detective stories written in the style of Raymond Chandler but set in downtown Aberystwyth. Titles include:
"Last Tango in Aberystwyth", "Don't Cry for Me Aberystwyth" and "From Aberystwyth with Love ".
Here are a couple reviews of his books:
'Noir fiction meets modern League of Gentleman weirdness in Pryce's fantstically offbeat thriller ... Pryce's deft lifting of the pace, action and deadpan tone of classic dime thrillers never lets the genre down' Scotsman
‘A sustained masterpiece of dark imagination … I am already looking forward to future volumes in this marvellously surreal Welsh noir series’ Daily Telegraph
‘Combines Monty Python absurdity with tenderness for the twisted world of noir … Add a clown, a brain in a box and an endearing gallery of grotesques and stir maliciously. Priceless’ Guardian.
I have included a link to Malcolm Pryce's site to my Recommended Reading section.
It's a while since the last post, primarily as we have been holidaying quite a lot and we are off again in just over a week. A full report will be published on our return.
Here's a snap of us relaxing over "The One" in a delightful bar in Nerja:
I must sign off now and start planning next years allotment activity. I fear I am going to need more than technology to help me maintain the standard next season as having sold our static caravan in Hastings a couple of years ago because we were unable to make much use of it, now our circumstances have changed we have just bought another one in Selsea.
