SHP helper Chris wanted to harvest the fruit from the Green House Project allotment and needed company as they have a policy that at least two people need to be on site. Linda and Eddie were available so signed up and set off to the allotment.

Sadly SHP have not had much opportunity to attend the allotment this year so things were very overgrown. Ed set about freeing a sapling walnut tree from bind weed while Chris and Linda went foraging for fruit. Until the SHP are able to get back to it in September there was not much point in doing much else there. Chris took the goodies to the chef at the local shelter where they were well received.

The SHP allotment struggles for support as their clients are so transient. They now have a client who is a keen grower and anxious to get going on the project. Sadly the allotment had been very neglected over the winter and the recent clement weather has made everything very overgrown. With the task being too much for one the SHP requested GG to go in and help clear the pathways.

Ed and Linda got started at each end of the path between the shed and the water butt with AJ a welcome addition to the team working from the compost up towards Ed. AJ and Ed share a love of similar books and films and were merrily chatting away as they worked to clear the waist high grass. Linda was using the strimmer and not able to talk to anyone. 😁

Either way the time passed very quickly and we ended up doing an extra 30 mins so not only did our little areas of path clearing join up together nicely we had also managed to clear a little bit around a couple of fruit trees and detangle the rasberry bush from the undergrowth.

AJ then cycled off for her second mission of the day and her 100th with GG 🥳🥳

Yet again the SHP shed has been broken into, this time the door was ripped off completely.

Following Park Run Ed, Linda and James set off to see if they could sort it out. Some theories say the vandals are looking for power tools to sell on, others say its youngsters looking for booze. Either way nothing is ever stolen so it was agreed with SHP we would put the door back up without a lock to at least put a stop to the repeated damage .

Ed removed the hinges and put them back on the outside of the door which meant it now opens and shuts a lot better than it did before. James and Linda moved the remains of a fallen tree in front of the fence where people have been gaining entry. Then Linda and James fitted a door jam to stop it swinging in while Ed fashioned a toggle so the door didn't blow open.

It felt and looked like a good job was done. Hats off to Ed for masterminding the job and kudos to James for keeping calm and carrying on despite sustaining an injury en route to task. We even helped out with a little job on a neighbouring plot. Nice work team. 😊

It had been agreed that we keep an occasional eye on the SHP allotment while SHP people were on a 5 week course so Ed and Linda packed up their kitchen waste and gardening gloves and made their way over.

Someone forgot to tell the weeds that, despite the clement weather, it is winter and they really should be resting. Most of the plot, much of which had been reasonably well looked after, is now covered in weeds. However we are pleased to announce that the area was free of vandalism apart from the notoriously flimsy shed roof which had been attacked by the wind.

While Ed got on with making a temporary roof fix Linda (accompanied by the resident robin redbreast) offloaded the kitchen waste into the small compost bins and turned it over, she then turned the big compost pile over mixing the two big compartments. After finishing the repair Ed freed the strawberry bush from disappearing behind some weeds. The rest of the weeding will have to wait as the cold was starting to get to us by then.

Let’s hear it for Eddie’s 50th mission 🎉🎊. Not only this but he is an amazing support to GGR Wife Linda around the home 🤩 which enables her to do more missions than she would otherwise and he is also an enthusiastic regular and popular marshal at the local Park Run. 🥳👏🏻

Today and Eddie and Linda met up with SHP volunteer Chris at the SHP allotment. We were greeted by two panels from the shed roof on the floor along with the old tyre that had been “securing” them.

Ed got on with replacing the panels while Chris and Linda turned all four compost areas and dampened them down. Chris also did some weeding while Linda emptied the liquified compost from the very smelly compost tub on to the big compost to help it decompose.

A couple of the squash fruits had outgrown their stalks and broken off so we stored them in the shed for Mr T to find next time he comes as he was quite upset when the last couple went missing.

Relieving the allotment of a bag of its seemingly inevitable stream of litter we considered it an hour well spent, said our goodbyes to Chris and went on our way home.

Ed and Linda met SHP volunteer Chris at the allotment with the intention of finishing the weeding that was started on Wednesday but we found that one of the clients had already done a really good job on that bed.

Instead Ed chose to tend to the various compost heaps and repair one of the pallet areas, Chris pruned back one of the small walnut trees which was starting to over shadow the redcurrant bush and then collected windfall walnuts while Linda strimmed the grass back around the fruit trees then dug up a baby walnut tree which needed resiting as it had sprung up just 4cm from a pear tree.

The local squirrels took offence at us interfering with their nuts and started bombarding us with walnut husks so we took the hint, a quick tidy up and the walnuts safely stored in a tin in the shed and we beat a hasty retreat. 🐿