Another long one

This is going to be another longish post today, so get your tea/coffee/wine/beer ready, get comfortable and I'll begin ..

I'll start with how I am doing before you ask, well, back in the good place now,seem to be over the last round of treatment. Thursday was a good day. I managed to not only get in our small car, but I also managed to drive it! Now of course if I felt I was dangerous I would stop immediately. However had a sleepless night Thursday so did not do much Friday. Just goes to show the ups and downs as last night, Friday, had the best nights sleep for ages. Woke up this morning at 7am, can't remember the last time I did that! We have a relatively busy weekend coming up, despite the cold weather currently hitting the UK. Today we have to get Freja to work and back, Leisha to football, then tonight Sarah and I are going out for dinner with her Mum and Dad to celebrate her Dad's birthday. Tomorrow Max is off to London with the air cadets. Sounds like a good day. They are marching down the Strand, then to a church service, rounded off with lunch at the RAF club. He really is enjoying the air cadets and it's good to see him in uniform, looks very smart! Oh and Freja is going out to Guildford tomorrow as well so have to get her to the station.

I also once again up front want to say a big thank you for all the messages and emails I have had. I know I have not replied to them all, but I have read everyone and they are all appreciated. I also received a surprise package this week, all the way from Sufferlandria (Singapore) thanks David! For all the cyclists, or those into fitness, David is an old work colleague and friend from way back, who had a great idea to make static or turbo training more interesting, and now has one of the worlds best training products - check out his website. The reviews his products get are amazing, and he is a really nice guy too.

Right, back now to my hobbies, so as usual, if you want to skip the next bit, jump to the last paragraph. This time it's my allotment. For those non- UK readers, an allotment is a large area of ground which is normally owned by the local authority. This and is sub-divided into plots, or allotments, of approx 180 sqm, about the same in sqy. The allotment is rented to an individual for cultivation, mainly fruit and vegetables, but some also grow flowers. They person renting the allotment has to keep the area cultivated and clear, you can literally loose the plot if you don't! Once you own the plot, it's yours until you decide you no longer want it, some of the old boys have had their's for 30 plus years. The typical allotment holder is seen as being an old man, grumpy, and a bit weird, so it suits me perfectly!

Anyway, I got my first allotment about 6 or 7 years ago, thanks to Simon at work. As many of you know I am a bit of a foodie, I absolutely love cooking, mainly savoury dishes, and have always had an interest in food provence. The idea of moving to a self sufficient way of life was a pipe dream for me, an if I won the lottery kind of thought. A small farm was definitely on my list, raising some livestock, my own fruit and veg, etc. anyway the closest I had got was the chickens in the garden. One day at work, Simon and I were talking about the lottery, and my pipe dream came out, Simon sad why didn't I get an allotment. He had had one for a couple of years, and there were some vacant plots at his allotment site. That sparked an idea. Being a little unsure of what was involved, I discussed it with Dad. Dad said he woud be glad to be involved, so that was it. Sunday found us down at the site for a meeting with the Secretary, Ron, to look at the available plots and make our decision, which we duly did, and it was ours, all for the price of £20 per year.

Our new plot was very overgrown and we spent weeks clearing and digging and planning what we would grow, this was helped enormously by the fact that we had the plot right next to Simon, so any snails or slugs were helped to move on, and he plot next door looked like a good home! Not really but we did enjoy winding each other up! Our plot was half sized, as we did not want to bet burden our selves. Dad and I used this plot for about 3 years, and then decided we wanted a full sized plot, and we knew one was going to be one available that winter. I discussed it with Ron, and provided we give up the small original plot it was ours.

Within a week or so Dad fell ill, little did we know how seriously ill he was, as he was always so fit and strong. Within a month he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer caused by asbestos, which he had worked with occasionally since he was a teenager. Nine weeks later Dad was gone. He went downhill so fast despite fighting so hard. Not once did he complain, to me a least, and he always kept his sense of humour, he was, and is, a legend. The allotment not only helped me, it also helped my sister Emma, as many of our frustrations and our anger was directed to our new plot, but in a positive way, digging it, and preparing it for Dad. Unfortunately he was never to see it prepared, but I often have a little Robin visit, and sit and watch me work. Dad's name was Robin, so he is still there, keeping an eye on me, telling me the right way to do it. I am so grateful for the time we spent together there as Dad was my best mate as much as he was my Dad.

I kept this new plot on, and now grow a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. I find it helps deal with the stress of work, as it's do different to sitting in front of a PC all day. It takes a lot of time, but I find it worth it. The other plot holders are a great bunch, yes most are retired, but many are not. This year, thanks to all the volunteers, I plan the following crops raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, blueberries, strawberries, loganberries, potatoes, carrots, onions, sweetcorn, parsnips, cabbage, kale, beetroot, cuecumber, reddish, celery, lettuce, tomato, mange tout, bar lotto beans, chard, leeks, salsfy, French beans, mooli, fennel, broccoli, and lastly rhubarb. There will actually be multiple varieties of many of the crops, so there should be quite a lot. Oh and I forgot the asparagus. This has to be cultivated for 3 years before it can be harvested, and this is the 3 rd year. Mum and Sarah have already put their orders in for the whole crop!

So that's my latest update finished, I hope you all have or had a great weekend and have kept safe and warm. Look out for more soon