 28 July 2025 (Monday) Well, it's true to say that it's been rather a long time since I've written a piece for A Guernsey Gardener in 2025… and while I’m mentioning the title, I think I'm going to change it to A Guernsey Gardener at some point, as it seems to fit better. I think it's fair to say that the death of Big Ginge rather took the wind out of my sails. It came at a time when there were a lot of anniversaries of various kinds, some of people dying and one of me being a year older. I tend not to dwell on anniversaries of people who have died. I'm simply not one of those who says on social media posts, or in fact in my head “Happy Birthday to mum who would have been X years old today” or “Happy Birthday to 'dad' or 'Perri' who would be Y years old today”. These types of posts and thoughts are of course absolutely fine for those people who feel the need for them, though it's just not something that I've ever felt I needed to do. I think I tend to now see the passing of days and weeks and years and lives as part of the process that we all go through, and whilst some periods in our lives are extremely painful and break our heart, it's really about accepting this as part of the process, and that it balances out the days where time is joyous and smiles bring about much laughter - it works for me, at least. My intention when I started this blog was to see if I could write something every day, and in that matter I think I’ve found out that I can. And of course, as is often the case with finding out that you can do something, there are also times when you realise that you might not want to do something or just can't do it, and that's fine too. Somewhat sadly, we live in a world that’s now very much about us all getting things done, and filling our time, in most cases to overcrowding; all mainly for work, and business, and the economy and global trade. However, we have to appreciate that sometimes we simply need time out and when I mean time out I don't just mean taking a break. In taking 'time out' I literally mean taking time out from doing and being the thing or things that are what you might think you need to do and be, when in fact you need to do something entirely different, whether that be reading a book, walking in the countryside, or simply sitting alone and mulling your life and how it fits in with that of your family or household, the lives of your friends, your local community, commerce, society, and the global engine. In some ways, with Big Ginge, I was forced to think about certain things that are not normally at the front of my mind. And that was fine, and today it's also fine to move on from these things knowing that they're all still there, whilst also knowing that it's time for me to take that step forward... whether that step be in writing, sowing carrot seeds, doing tomato cares, watching TV, cooking in the kitchen whilst listening to something from BBC Sounds… or just contemplating my naval which I've not given any real focus to for some years! So today I’m taking that step, whatever it might be... and I guess that first step is writing words again, as I have now just done.
Since I last wrote a piece here, life has continued in very much the same vein as it always does at this time of year. There's been an awful lot of time at the allotment, looking after tomatoes and tying them in, weeding beds of annual and perennial weeds which seem to have inundated groiwng spaces following recent rains, watering, watering and watering - though at least there were those few days of respite when the clouds gave out their all. There's also been a lot of mulling of what needs to be done, and a good bit of tidying around. Oh, and a Bung-It-In day too!! There's still much tidying to do at the plot, and I can do it bit by bit, though at the top of the plot by the poly tunnel I really need AND want to get on and strim and take back control of that area as long grasses and items I've got 'stored' there are really beginning to get to me. And of course, as much of our life is now, there's been an awful lot of vlogging going on; Sunday Chat, A Week of the Plot and all of the vlogs and recipe segments that Richard does. And we've certainly had a whole host of fabulous recipes going on including: Courgette / Zucchini and Potato Patties Courgette / Zucchini Layer Bake Quick Fruit Compote Peach & Nectarine Cookery Experiment Failure!!! Courgette/Zucchini Bran and Banana Loaf Warm Pasta Salad with toasted Orzo, sun dried tomatoes, peppers, baby artichokes. One of my recipes which I’ve really enjoyed is a Cheezy Courgette & Lentil Bake. The recipe’s below and it really did work well: hot from the oven on the day I made it, cold with salad the following day, and then reheated a few days later. I think it's something that would work well in a sandwich too, maybe with a little mayo and some lettuce and slices of tomato. Anyway, as I take that step forward I've also been thinking about that intention of mine to write every day, and that I have achieved this over the past six months. I’ve now realised that with writing there are various facets to what I do, and maybe I've been concentrating a little too much on writing my blogs and a little too little - or rather not at all in some weeks - on writing creatively. I'm going to try and get this balance back to an equilibrium that fits with me. In this I mean the blogs will continue, though likely not written daily - they may even stretch one or two or more days - and a little more on my creative writing, which I have been missing. Of course, some of this writing I might be able to share, though whatever I do I hope you’ll find it interesting. starting with this segment of A Guernsey Gardener! So basically, it's time for me to move forward, and take the next steps, and maybe we'll chatter a little bit more about that in the coming days or weeks. In the meantime, here’s that really delicious Cheezy Courgette & Lentil Bake that I really do suggest you try.  Cheezy Courgette & Lentil Bake
Ingredients 200g of dry red lentils 500ml water Mixed herbs 1 red pepper, chunky chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 4 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 large or two medium courgette, grated 4 rounded tbs yeast flakes 5 rounded tbs gram flour 1tbs bouillon powder, stock cubes or 2 tsp salt black pepper to season Instructions Preheat oven to 180c Rinse in lentils in a sieve under a running cold tap until the draining water is virtually clear - this will remove detritus and excess starch. Now add the lentils, water and mixed herbs to a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are almost cooked through. In a frying pan gently cook the pepper, onion and garlic in the oil for about five minutes. Add the grated courgette, bring back to a low frying temperature and cook for a further five minutes, stirring regularly. Combine all the prepared mixtures in a bowl, leave to cool for ten minutes then add the yeast flakes, gram flour, bouillon powder and a good few turns of ground black pepper, stir well until all is combined, this will take no less than 30 seconds, maybe even a minute or so. Add some oil to a baking dish which will allow the mixture to be no more than two inches deep; I used a 18cm round Pyrex. Add the mixture to the dish, spreading it out evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for thirty minutes. This dish can be eaten straight from the oven, cut into slices, cold (again sliced) or reheated in a microwave or oven, though if reheating, remove portions from the fridge a good few hours before. I have not frozen this though see no reason why it would not work well. Weather: Overcast, though humid and muggy… around 24°. Breakfast: All Bran, oat milk, banana Lunch: Yellow Courgette & Lentil Soup, Egg Mayonnaise, Sesame Crackers (Lidl), tomato and cucumber Supper: To come…
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13 - 16 July 2025 (Sunday to Wednesday) CAUTION, the later part of this blog may be distressing. The thing is, when you go away there’s an awful lot of catching up to do, and that’s even before the kettle AND the washing machine decide to go on the blink, or do nothing as with the kettle! The first part of the week was all about catching up at the plot, getting back in the saddle for For Earth’s Sake, and confirming all that is planned for a celebratory wake at the Great Green Barn on Thursday afternoon… and all FES and GGB stuff has been with the added complexity of Vanessa being on call for Jury Service both this week and next… some days needing to be in, half a day not being needed at all… Busy Days!! On Sunday I did a final segment for my upload of A Week at the Plot, and I have to say the heatwave we’ve just had has fared all plants at the plot better than the one a few weeks back, again when we were away - I think this is because the nighttime temperatures have been dipping nicely below 20°, where a few weeks back the temps stayed uncomfortably above 20°. This means the watering that has been done has kept all, well mostly all, healthy and growing. The one thing that had suffered, both in the greenhouse and outside in a raised bed are our cucumbers; on reflection planting most outside in a raised bed may not have been the best idea, as there was just no way in a very well drained bed to keep on top of the watering. So, on Tuesday I took them out, and had planned on Wednesday to remove the ones from the greenhouse too - all would go into the compost to help make growing medium for happy plants next year… fingers crossed! With the Cheeky Prince bed now clear of poppies, and with beautiful gifted cosmos, I put about seven or eight plants in amongst the squash - I’m sure they won’t interfere with the growth of the Cheeky Prince, and I know they will bring me moments of joy through their growing season, so a win win situation! Oh, and did I say that the late La Diva cucumber seeds I sowed last week, the ones that were really out of date, have decided to show their worth… fingers crossed quite a few will germinate and give us late cucumbers in the greenhouse.  La Diva cucumbers germinating The weather’s been quite mixed since we returned from Swanage - overcast, with some very bright spells of sunshine, though overall lots of grey, and then quite a bit of rain spread out on Tuesday doing little for the ground, though maybe refreshing leaves which will help growth. Then… LOADS of rain overnight Tuesday / Wednesday, so watering at the plot would be reduced, though of course, the poly needed watering and all else outside needed to be checked too… and tomato cares done… and courgette cares… and… Wednesday morning saw Richard editing his vlogs; he did not have time to do a recipe video on Tuesday, though that’s how things go when you’re catching up. Finally, after a morning of work work at my desk, finalising arrangements for Thursday’s big event at the Great Green Barn, I popped to the plot to see how it was faring, and water the polytunnel, check things outside… do tomato cares… and courgette cares… and… As I was getting to the site I bumped into one of the trustees of the charity that owns the allotment site, and we had a chat and a catch-up… and then I made my way into the site, and to my plot… and when I was almost there I heard a distinct cry of help… and my day went sideways. Big Ginge was on my plot, collapsed and clearly in great distress. He was panting and panting, and seemed unable to move, certainly no movement in his back legs. Immediately, I grabbed a plastic container and some fresh water from the tap and offered it up, thinking the heat may have gotten to him. He didn’t seem to want to drink so using my fingers I dropped droplets onto his mouth… several drops went in, though clearly Big Ginge needed help. More droplets followed, not being lapped voraciously though seemingly much welcomed. I noticed a wound, scabbed over though raw to the touch, for Big Ginge at least. The thing is with these allotment cats that take our hearts, we often don’t know where they live, or even if they do have a home. They take charge of our chairs, pathways, drinking stations and as I say, our hearts, and we just accept them as being part of allotment life. With Big Ginge I’ve always thought him too well groomed to be a stray, despite his slim build, so I was sure he had a home nearby, and therefore an ‘owner’, though with any cat who’s the owner and the owned is always a matter of change. Another plotter was about to pass me and I asked her for help… and she did, without any question. I then phoned another plotter, who has rescued cats herself, and she was busy so could not help… then texted immediately to say “I am on my way!”. Whilst my fellow on-hand plotter comforted Big Ginge, who by this time I had moved to the shade of our red umbrella, I left the allotment and knocked doors close by, going up the main road from the allotments seeing if anyone knew who had a ginger cat… One door I knocked did have a ginger cat, though they thought he was around, though he turned out not to be so she came back to the allotment with me, though Big Ginge was not hers… I could feel her relief, and then her compassion as she immediately gave loving strokes and tender words to Big Ginge, soon then going back to her home, borrowing my allotment key to get some catfood, coming back five or so minutes later. By this time another plotter was also concerned and giving soothing encouragement, I think to both Big Ginge and myself. More door knocking by two others, though no luck.
The fellow plotter and cat rescuer then turned up, and with a call had a local cat charity, Hounslow Animal Welfare (please donate if you can) sponsoring initial vets bills, IF we could get Big Ginge to a specific vet about twenty minutes away, though a little more as by this time it was rush-hour. We had no idea if Big Ginge was chipped, so on arriving we were told what would happen and were asked to complete a Stray Animal Form, which we did.
As soon as we’d walked in one of the receptionist’s too Big Ginge for triage - they had been told we were coming so were all prepared. Soon after we were told Big Ginge was an oxygen tent, and had been given medication for the pain… at least he was no longer in pain and having major issues breathing. We stayed, and sat, and waited, and waited, to be told after an hour or so that Big Ginge was chipped, and the owner had been called and should be there soon, and virtually as this happened we heard the vets door open and chatter at the front desk; he had arrived. A brief chat with us as he passed, and grateful thanks for doing helping as we had, a shake of hands, and he was ushered into the vet’s room where his cat was, our Big Ginge; there were facts for him to hear, and I’m sure decisions for him to make, though all was now was out of our hands. With Big Ginge’s owner there, and with client confidentiality understandably paramount, we could not be told more, though we were clear that whatever was wrong with poor little Big Ginge was pretty major. Tears flowed as we got back in my fellow plotters car, to make our way home, and in her case back to the allotment to water. We comforted ourselves in knowing we had done the best we could for our little Big Ginge, and all we could do now was hope for the very best of outcomes, whatever that might be. Home, and supper… Richard had made Courgette & Potato Patties, welcome as sustenance and very tasty, though my mind was elsewhere. Some distraction TV, and then to be… and not even a page read of my book. It has been an emotionally wrought day, and my body and mind gave way to sleep without a second thought. First thing Thursday morning, awake before the alarm, my first thought was of Big Ginge, how he was, and whether his precious soul was still on this plane… I’m sure we will find out one day soon. With an emotionally heavy heart, I left home around 7am and went off in Fenella to the Great Green Barn, where it proved to be a long, tiring busy day, though that was fine as it kept my mind occupied. The celebratory wake went really well, with Vanessa arriving back from court just as the guests were arriving… suffice to say all went extremely well, which was a delight and a relief to all. On my way back home, I thought about Big Ginge. I now know where his owner lives, and I think I’ll drop a card though his postbox in a day or so… keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Arriving home, Richard had made THE most delicious Courgette Layer Bake… which I recommend you make as soon as possible as it was unctuous and tasty and fabulous. Some TV, and then to bed… falling asleep with my open book on my chest, though not a word read. Weather: Generally bright but grey, with less sun, and temperatures well below the highs of last week. Thursday saw the temperature climbing again, with much brighter skies, and a high of 30° to come on Friday. Wednesday Breakfast: All Bran, oat milk Lunch: Yellow Courgette & Lentil Soup, Cottage Cheese, Ryvita, radish and cucumbers Supper: Richard’s Courgette & Potato Patties, Plain Omelet and tinned Baked Beans Thursday Breakfast: All Bran, oat milk Late, Late Lunch: Cheese & Tomato sandwiches, thin slices of Spanakopita Supper: Richard’s Courgette Layer Bake  8 July 2025 (Tuesday)
Up early, and I downloaded footage I took yesterday from my phone to the computer as I needed to edit. Then it was downstairs to make a pot of tea as usual, pouring myself a cuppa, and then back up to the top of the house to sort out a segment of A Week at the Plot. The day went along swimmingly, with little to talk about. The afternoon saw me as it does most days, finishing my work work at my desk and then getting down to the plot. I made it a sort of tidying afternoon, clearing away spent poppies, though first cutting off their seed heads and putting them into a paper bag to dry off. I also decided that it was time to give our courgettes a trim, just as I do with the tomatoes; cutting back the larger and spent leaves lower down on the stem to ensure that each plant’s energy goes into new growth and fruiting rather than keeping alive old growth that isn't necessary anymore. The rain that we had on Monday and earlier this morning had really benefited the soil and I'm sure will benefit the plants too; they already look cleaner, having had lots of pattering rain to clear off any dust and particles on their leaves and petals. The paths also are less dusty, though I think after a day of no rain they’ll be back to being dry again. At home, Richard had been busy and with leftover potato salad in the fridge, tomatoes on the windowsill, and lettuce in the spinner, I'd decided earlier to get some of our Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Bean Burgers out of the freezer and have those for supper. By late afternoon they’d defrosted and I put them in the combi which I’d preheated to 180 degrees; they were in for twenty minutes which ensured that the inside was thoroughly heated through but not dry. Just before the end of the cooking time I topped them off with a little cheddar cheese, which oozingly melted over the top. We spent much of the evening watching old music videos from 1975 and 1977, most of which we both remembered though there were one or two that neither of us had any idea of. We watched something else between checking socials, then it was time for bed… and my book. Weather: Rain overnight, and the morning was a little overcast, though the day was mainly sunny. Around 25°. Breakfast: All Bran, oat milk and a banana Lunch: Cheezy Butterbean Smash Wraps Supper: Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Bean Burger, Light Potato Salad, lettuce and tomatoes  3 July 2025 (Thursday) We had a walk in the morning, going down the canal this time, rather than going up the towpath beside the locks. Going down this way, if we’d carried on for a mile or so we’d have got to Brentford and then beyond is the Thames tidal lock. Everything's looking very dry, and sunny, and we really need to have rain, though little is forecast. I had a work work morning at my desk, and then Richard was doing a new courgette recipe, which we had for a quite late lunch. It was then down to the plot and thoughts of making decisions about what is working this year and what isn't, what needs to go in, and what needs to be sown… one of the things that really isn't working this year are our brassicas. To be fair, it's not that the brassicas aren't doing well, it's basically that the brassicas haven't had a chance to do well. Once we get over the hungry gap, there's usually lots of food for pigeons to eat, and this year’s been no exception. There's been lots of growth and buds and berries and fruits around for pigeons, though they seem to have taken a real liking to our brassicas; deciding that despite most of them being heritage varieties, and therefore being quite bitter, they wanted to peck away at them time after time after time - each time, in doing so, the growth had been stunted. If we look at the meteorological side of things, we've had so little rain this spring and summer, and brassicas really do like good watering to keep on going, though without water from the skies it's a real challenge. So, looking at the brassica bed, I decided that it was time to cut my losses and pull them out. However, looking at the squash bed and a couple of the other beds, the weeds were beginning to take hold, themselves taking up valuable water and likely nutrients too from the plants around them I want to grow to harvest, and I decided that my job today was to be weeding, so weeding it was.  After weeding three full beds, it was back home, and having had a decent lunch, I decided to do a butterbean smash again, this time adding in some pesto that we had in the fridge, and leaving out the yeast flakes as I felt these two tastes might jar. Now this type of meal you really can add what you want, though things must also be right… a red or yellow pepper would be fine, defrosted or fresh peas or broad beans, put celery in or leave it out, even chard leaves crushed and chopped would add a different complexity. The thing is to get the balance of ingredients right, and making sure there's texture, including crispness and crunch, and of course flavour, which can be lifted with lemon juice, or liquid aminos, or soy, or tamari, or miso….our own culinary journey has been mainly about trial and error, with far, far more upsides than downs. Anywho, as Greta of Greta’s Garden would say, another busy day… and so to bed, a chapter or two, then lights out. Weather: Sunny and overcast… a cool breeze and definitely well below the temperatures of last weekend. Breakfast: All Bran and oat milk Lunch: Richard’s Baked Courgettes with Sun-dried Tomato Stuffing Supper: Pesto Butterbean Smash wraps  A beautiful cornflower 16 June 2025 (Monday)
We had a lighter blanket overnight, though I think the time of having blankets on the bed may be coming to an end for a few months. It was to be a pretty normal Monday today, with both work and work work... though first, a quick trip to Lidl! Our local Lidl closed for refurbishment a week ago, and I've managed to scrape through on fresh food items (ie, vegetables, fruit, yogurt etc) until today as I did a 'big shop' the Friday before it closed. But now, wants (rather than needs...) prevail and BOTH of us are up early and off in Fenella before 7am to the new Lidl that opened just over a week ago in Brentford.. for some reason, I'm a little excited! It's bigger, and brighter than our local one was... though all our old favourites are there, so it's just getting used to the layout, which is remarkably similar to how our local store was... maybe this is how they all are now. Anyway, we get our shop done and then it's back home... me to my desk, and Richard's going to do a shopping haul video - which is not a turn on for us, though others love them which is grand!! Anyway, back to my morning... It was mainly spent at my desk doing stuff for For Earth’s Sake and the Great Green Barn. We’ve Midsummer Revels coming up on Sunday and there's quite a bit that needs organising for that still. I'm down with Vanessa tomorrow, so there are various things that I’ll leave until then. With the weather being dry, and looking as though it's going to remain dry for quite some time I was down this afternoon watering, and also feeding all that needed to be fed. It's mainly the squash, cucumbers and tomatoes, though maybe every other week I give everything else vegetable-wise that we’ve got growing a little boost too, and I'm also beginning to give some feed to the flowers we've got - I’m sure they’ll appreciate it! And on flowers, I did spy this little cornflower, which despite its size is big and bold and one of my old favourites; never grown by me before, though hopefully will self-seed and become prolific. Of course, it had a little feed, and I’m sure with grateful thanks will throw up further blooms soon. Someone asked what feed I use. Well, I use an organic general fertiliser with added seaweed. I bought it two years or so ago as quite a big chunky 10 litres, and I'm almost all the way through it now. I also make my own nettle fertiliser and comfrey fertiliser, and I sometimes combine the two. I find that these two home-brewed ones are good for general feeding throughout the year, though comfrey feed is particularly good to encourage flowers and fruits, whilst nettle feed promotes general growth and is good for leafy greens, such as brassicas, chard, spinach etc. After a light supper, as lunch was quite big, it was time for a bit of TV, and then to bed… and a chapter or two of my book. Weather: Warm… and getting warmer. Sunny in the main. Breakfast: Bran Sticks, yogurt, and banana Lunch: Lentil soup (tinned and thinned a little), hummus, crackers, cucumber, radish and tomato Supper: Cream cheese, a rice cake, tomato, radish, cucumber and olives  29 tomato plants in... Yay!! It’s June 1, and meteorological summer… already!
I've been meaning to get our tomato plants in for the whole of this week, though with one thing and another something’s always got in the way. I was determined that they’d go in by the end of the week, so down to the plot I went and after a bit of watering and checking on things I started filming me getting our tomato plants in. With this week gone’s A Week at the Plot already edited, uploaded and finalised at my desk first thing this morning, I’ll have to do some sort of time travel for the start of next week’s upload. The beds I’d earmarked the tomatoes to go into were covered in cardboard at the end of last season, and it shows how dry the time between has been as about a third of cardboard was still left intact… so, the first thing I did was rub any soil off the pieces of cardboard that remained intact, and popped them into a big bucket; another day they’ll be ripped up to go into our compost bin. After leveling the soil off a little with a rake, I started planting out the 29 tomato plants. They’re are real mix; a Croatian variety that we were given by plot neighbour, a Hungarian variety given by a favourite plotter, and of course the selection of our own save-seed tomatoes including Amish Paste, Black Krim, Rose de Berne and an Isle of White yellow tomato of which I saved the seed from a box of tomatoes we were sent last year by one of our subscribers from the Isle of White Tomato Company. The plants really did need to go in, though despite being pretty big - with some of them about two foot tall - none were rootbound which I was very pleased about. The holes were dug really deep, down to about a foot and about 10 inches wide, and then the plants themselves were put in about four or five inches deeper than they’d been in the pots, ie the top level of the soil of the pot was now about four or five inches down. This will allow the hairs on the stem to change to roots, bringing more nutrients and water into the plant as each grows. After a really good watering, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for bountiful harvests in a few months time. After lunch I popped back to the plot to do some more tidying and general watering, and then came home to get changed to then go off to a neighbor for supper. The meal was absolutely delicious, as per usual; a vegetable and tofu curry with brown rice and salad, and then we moved outside into her back garden, and sat sky watching in the sunshine for a good few hours. At one point our host decided that she’d make some popcorn as an extra indulgence, salted rather than caramel thankfully! With the sun going down and shade crossing the garden, we moved inside to her living room and spent another hour or so just chatting away. We walked back, across and up the road getting in just before 10pm. Then, after a brief sit down and with me being totally exhausted I climbed into bed and read a few chapters of my Peter James book. A busy day, yet a quiet day! Weather: Greyish, with sunny spells particularly in the evening, though feeling warm as around 24°. Breakfast: Rye loaf toast, Flora ProActiv. Yeast extract and peanut butter Lunch: Lidl Peppered H*m Sandwiches with lettuce, cucumber, mustard (for Richard) and ProActive Buttery spread Supper: Neighbour’s Vegetable and Soya Curry with wholegrain rice and salad, and salted popcorn  Monday 26 May 2025 Where did yesterday go? I know Sunday’s often referred to as a day or rest though I was sure I wrote something!! Anyway, today's the late May Bank Holiday, though with being in Swanage for a few days last week the order for one of For Earth's Sake’s suppliers needed to be done this morning so that the delivery happens tomorrow, so… I'm at my desk checking on things for that quite early, and also updating my blog and doing some writing. I also popped to Lidl first thing, not because I really wanted to but because I'd rather do it today than do it tomorrow, which for me will be a full work work day. After breakfast, I get on a call with Vanessa and we do the order both for the delivery that needs to arrive at the shop tomorrow and also check through all the fruit and vegetables we still have; doing this, Vanessa can have a think about what we need before she puts the order through tomorrow to arrive first thing on Wednesday - usually about 6am! Whenever we do the ordering from our three main suppliers there's always a bit of checking that we’ve the right product; it can be quite easy sometimes to order the wrong one! Since I’ve been involved I’ve kept and updated a spreadsheet which has the individual codes of each product that we order from each supplier. By doing this it means that ordering the wrong items has been greatly reduced. I also keep track of when we last ordered each item, and if we think that there might be very little stock of a particular item left, I can check back on the date that the last order was put through and pull a report to check sales from that date to the present. Sometimes we might think we’ve little stock though by checking we can see we should have more, and a more thorough check of the cabinets in which we store items brings about a small amount in the bag of whatever we have left; often it’s been hiding invisibly behind a few other large packets of other stock. At the end of the week we’ve a friend and past work colleague of mine, Gerald Dickens, bringing his two shows Mr Dickens is Coming! and Doctor Marigold to the Great Green Barn. Now, for the events there’s always a bar at the back serving wine and soft drinks, plus some snacks, so we also need to ensure we’ve enough stock for the bar, which Richard and myself will run. I also need to do some socials and a newsletter which will be going out tomorrow. So, getting ahead of the game I decide to try and sort this all out before lunch, which largely I do.
After lunch, I do another hour at my desk, and then get to the allotment to look at all the plants that are on my plot and leftover from the Gate Sale on Saturday. There's a whole load by our communal shed, which people can take and leave a donation for in a jar; all monies going towards the allotment associations funds. The plants now on my plot will either be planted out into communal areas of the site or into the wildlife area and along the river bank, or if they can remain in pots until next year, like young fruit bushes can, they’ll be looked after by myself and a few other people. During my mooching of the plants and occasional very heavy showers, I noticed that my wheelbarrow was missing and couldn't quite work out where it was. I searched the whole plot twice before realising that I used it for the Gate Sale on Saturday - moving plants that had been overwintered on my plot since last year down to the tables. So, down I went to the communal area where all of our site wheelbarrows are kept, and sure enough there was my wheelbarrow tucked in between all of them. I quickly repatriated it back to my plot!! At this point, a person who’d been ill and unable to come to the Gate Sale but had asked me to keep some plants for them turned up, so we had a chat and I helped her to her plot with the plants… then another plotter turned up who I'd promised some of my squash and courgettes and cucumbers to, and was delighted to geta lovely red lettuce in exchange… and then one of my immediate plot neighbours turned up and asked whether there were any fruit bushes left, which of course there was, and she bought six of them… So, step by little step the funds being raised from the Gate Sale are increasing day by day. Anyway, given all of this activity on the plot and lots of people and chatting, plus lots of heavy rain showers, I didn't actually get round to doing the things that I’d planned to do, so the plot remained festooned with various boxes and plants and drugs. Maybe tomorrow… Sweet Red Pepper Twice-baked Potatoes I knew we had some really large potatoes so I thought I’d do twice-baked potatoes; something I really like yet something I rarely do. I pricked the potato all over with a fork, and then put it in our microwave on high for eight minutes, and then turned it over and cooked for another 4 minutes which for this size potato meant it was cooked through. Using a clean T-towel I removed it from the microwave, put it on a chopping board and cut it in half. Cradling the uncut side of the potato in the T-towel with my hand, I scored across in two different directions almost to the edge, and not deep enough to cut through the skin. I then used a spoon to take out the cooked potato and added it to the bowl which already had three or four tablespoons of leftover homemade tomato pasta sauce (which I now remember I made for supper yesterday!), half a chopped red onion, two chopped long red peppers, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a heaped teaspoon of miso paste, and some cracked black pepper. I gave it all a gentle though good stir. I’d already grated about 80g of cheddar cheese, and added half of it to the mixture and gently stirred it through. I then spooned the mixture into the now empty cups of potato, which I’d already put onto a baking tray. When all the mixture was spooned out between the two halves I topped off with the rest of the cheese, and baked in our combi-oven at 180c for 25 minutes. A nice few salad bits completed this yummy meal. Weather: Grey, breezy with some heavy showers, and around 17°. Breakfast: Lidl Rye Bread toasted, with Flora ProActiv and yeast extract Lunch: Hmmmm… can’t remember Supper: Sweet Red Pepper Twice-baked Potatoes, lettuce, cucumber, radish and lightly vinegared beetroot Up early, work work at my desk then editing A Week at the Plot at the other desk.
We have a work social tomorrow morning at the site, so I popped to Lidl to get oat milk, biscuits and apple pies. Back home, and a chat with Vanessa as the staff member rota’d for today is ill, and Vanessa cannot be there between 10.30am and 1pm so we are going to have to shut, so social re “Unforeseen circumstances’ and also a poster to put on the closed shop door. There's someone picking up a whole Spanakopita too, a Greek Spinach & Feta Pie, so that needed to be rearranged too. Richard decided to make lunch - AND do a video of ot. A One Pot Pasta which was rather delicious, though it was also rather a HUGE portion!! I could have done with half as much for lunch, though of course ate it all... waste not, want not... or should that be waist not... Of course, we had it with grated cheese. We usually have grated cheddar, parmesan is a rarity in our house, just because it is. He will definityly do this again, maybe adding some more peppers, and swapping ingredients around... I think beans would also work, from a tin. The rest of the day was the usual; plot, supper, feeding and injecting neighbour's cat, As Time Goes By, and then some Top of the Pops, an episode from March 1985, and then an excellent episode of Have I Got News For You… David Tennant and Miles Jupp… brilliant humour. Weather: Sunny and breezy again. About 17°, and slightly warmer overnight, 8°. Breakfast: Bran Flakes, yogurt and banana Lunch: Richard’s One Pot Pasta Supper: Microwave Mixed Veg Omelet, lettuce, cucumber, radish and leftover Lemon Potatoes and a bit of mayo  27 April 2025 (Sunday)
A cup of tea and to my desk - early… I needed to edit in the segments of A Week at the Plot I recorded yesterday. As the week always seems to fly by, when editing often I find myself saying “Did I only do that this week?”. And on editing, as we’re occasionally asked… We use Premiere Pro for editing our footage into finished videos to upload, whether to socials or YouTube; it comes as a package with a few other useful apps. It does cost money each month, though we’re both used to it from years of editing and also from our jobs; my case current, Richard’s case prior. Over the years we’ve tried other software, though always seem to stick with Premiere Pro… maybe that’s why it’s premiere! After editing, and a breakfast of toast, ProActiv spread and yeast extract, it read a chapter of my book and then went off to the plot - after several hours there of chatting, working, tidying, lending, gifting and receiving, it was time for home and lunch. Earlier in the week Vanessa had given me a SØDT seeded loaf that hadn’t sold at the weekend; usually if one does not sell it goes in the freezer though this one didn’t, and I was pleased to have it! As soon as I was home on Wednesday I put it in our freezer, taking it out last night to have today… toast for breakfast and something on toast for lunch, which Richard ended up doing, so it was cheese. Yum!! We also had a small bowl of Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup, which is our Instant Pot Carrot & Lentil Soup recipe with some mild Madras curry powder and a frozen block of ginger added alongside the bouillon - delish! Back to the plot after lunch for an hour, whilst Richard took a nap… and then home to read a few more chapters of my book before making supper, some screen time and then bed. But… Just as I was getting to the main gate and about to leave the allotment a fellow plotter came in and we got chatting, as one does. He mentioned he had some asparagus to pick for his supper… and then I remembered there’s one magnificent stalk to take home and split between us. Just one, though at a good, firm twelve inches it wouldn’t quite be a mouthful, though undoubtedly still a joy! I’d already had one a few weeks ago, though I ate it myself at the plot - it had been slightly nibbled by a slug, or a snail, so I was sure Richard wouldn’t want a bite! Anyways… back home, supper to make, and a few more chapters to read… though I left the last couple for bed. I really savoured those last two chapters of The Beautiful Mystery, and happy with the ending whilst looking forward to the next in the series, it was soon time for lights out and sleep! Weather: Sunny from the off. Hitting around 18° mid afternoon. Overnight we’re still dropping to around 7° though. Breakfast: SØDT seeded loaf, Flora ProActiv and yeast extract Lunch: Cheese on SØDT seeded loaf, and a small bowl of Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup Supper: Spinach Microwave Omelette, Homemade Potato Salad, lettuce, lightly vinegared beetroot, cucumber and a few bits of allotment grown asparagus  26 April 2025 (Saturday)
We were both up early; me at my desk very early to edit together yesterday's A Week at the Plot footage and upload to Planet Vegetaria. Sunday Chat filming day, and whilst Richard started editing it together I made lunch of homemade hummus - a staple in our house which freezes REALLY well! I’ve popped my recipe below. It’s also so easy, and you can use your own cooked chickpeas instead of a tin, just ensure if they’ve been frozen they are well defrosted. After lunch, I was at the plot doing the usual watering, checking on germination, tidying and weeding… at the end of my work there, sitting on my wooden chair outside the shed and mulling wending my way home, I checked the time on my phone… 5:03pm. My eye wandered to my left, spying the overgrown flower border bed… Into the shed I went, and grabbing my kneeler, putting my gloves back on, and laying my hands on a big 30l tub, I got to work. Half an hour later the bed looked very much better - at least I can now see the plants for the weeds! LOTS of weeds still to pull, and especially sturdy roots of tufted grasses and that pernicious Cinquefoil, though I can take my time doing some each week. It will never be perfect, though in reality very, very few things ever are! Whilst cooking supper I read another chapter or two of The Beautiful Mystery. I’m now at that stage where I’m keen to finish it, though don’t want to as I’ve enjoyed reading it so much - a bit like when you meet a friend irregularly and after hours of chat you know you need to leave and make your way home, though at the same time you want to stay and chat for just that little bit longer. If youi don't know the Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series, I highly recommend them! Supper was followed by some TV, and we stayed up late, both fully engaged watching a fab series called 40 Hidden Music Treasures at the BBC… we watched volume two and there's volume three too, so two others to watch! Happy Days!! My Hummus Recipe I drained two cans of chickpeas very well, and added them to our food processor (keep a few tablespoons of the liquid - aquafaba - for if you want to use any later) and four cloves of garlic, roughly chopped. I actually used a block of garlic from the freezer - I heated it through in the microwave to bring it to a steam, just because I don’t like eating vegetables from the freezer without cooking them. In next, one tablespoon of Marigold bouillon powder (use a teaspoon of salt if you prefer) and five tablespoons of lemon juice (love fresh lemons, though I always have a large bottle of bought lemon juice in the fridge, which I use for this). If you like your hummus less lemony use only four, and if you like it extra lemony use six! Blitz this all up in the processor, or mash with a fork if you are doing by hand - doing this by hand you can keep this as chunky as you wish, or not, though it will never be smooth like you get in the shops. I’ve not used a stick blender for this, though I would be interested to know how it works so please let me know, or I’ll give it a go myself at some point. The fridge always has a large tub of tahini, which is sesame paste, and four generous tablespoons goes in, and I blitz again (or carry on mixing and mashing if doing by hand). Scrape down the sides of the processor bowl to ensure all is incorporated, and blitz till smooth, or until you have the texture you wish. If you like your hummus thinner, add some more lemon juice or a tablespoon or two of the drained aquafaba from the can. I portion this up into plastic Tupperware or similar and freeze; I do 150g servings for two. It will keep in the fridge happily for several days, and in the freezer for several months. In the summer if I take out a tub at breakfast it's defrosted by lunch, and I give it a good stir. In the winter it might need a quick wizz on Defrost in a microwave, or bring it out the day before and pop in the fridge to fully defrost. I don't have a photo - though when I find one or make the next batch I will add! Weather: Overcast start to the day, and remained so much of the day with the afternoon being bright and much warmer. Breakfast: Bran sticks, yogurt and sultanas Lunch: Homemade Hummus, Pitta, carrot batons, cucumber slices and a little leftover coleslaw Supper: Lidl Vegan Cumberland Sausage, roasted carrot, parsnips, onion and potato wedges with an instant onion gravy |
Paul SavidentFollowing on from A Guernsey Gardener in London, I've decided to try and write a regular blog, and we'll see how it AND 2025 go! Archives
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