A lot

[j4]

pseudomonas was talking the other day about the possibility of getting an allotment, so when Caroline at work mentioned her allotment I thought I'd ask her about it. I was expecting the hire of allotments to a) be expensive, and b) involve driving out to some place out in the middle of nowhere. Turns out there are loads in Cambridge -- far more than I'd've imagined possible in a city! -- and apparently Caroline's paying the princely sum of £8 per year for the hire of 8 poles, so it's not exactly going to break the bank either. (There followed an unsuccessful attempt to convert poles into a more useful unit of measurement, e.g. yards or "tennis courts" or "this kitchen" ... but the upshot was that it sounds like quite enough space to grow some vegetables.)

I wonder how many of you Cambridge types out there would be interested in forming some sort of allotment collective? I know I don't have time to maintain an allotment on my own -- I barely have time to do my laundry, for god's sake -- but I would probably be up for occasional sociable (or antisocial!) if between a group of us we could potter often enough or enthusiastically enough that the thing got maintained usefully. Or should I just stop taking on more stuff and try to do the stuff I'm already supposed to be doing?

*

In other news, it's myour birthday. :-) Thank you to all the people who have said nice things on LJ, on SMS, on IRC, on email, and in real life! I am showing amazing restraint where presents are concerned and have only opened one so far (a BADGER, from sion_a!) so that I can open the rest tonight with addedentry, pre-Poptimism. Looking forward to seeing lots of you tonight and on Saturday -- those of you who can't make it, you will be missed, but there will be other parties and picnics! Promise!

Comments

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

4 poles to a chain, innit? That's a Gunter's chain, of course.
Same as a rod. A pole wide as well? I think they usually are.
Whaddya mean, what's a chain? 1/10th of a furlong - length of a cricket pitch.
DUH!

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Oh, happy birthday, too.
So, you have 8 poles, which is 2 chains, which is 44yards, by 5an'arf yards wide.
My dad had two and our garden when he was in his prime, and we rarely bought veg at all, or apples, or much in the way of berries. Or pears or plums. Looked after, 1 plot will do all the veg and some soft fruit for a family of 4, easy.
8 quid a year is a bargain. Put a shed on it and live there! (but don't get found out)

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Mind you, a lot of the winter involved runner beans that had been cut and stored in jars of salt. Mum used to buy blocks of salt about 4"x4"x12" and we had these old sweet jars... happy days.