Allotmenteering

We finally got the nod from the council, regarding our request for an allotment at the Witts Hill site. Lasts year we had helped out and shared our friends patch but it was right on the other side of the city and difficult to frequent as much as was needed.

Allotments are great places for the kids to get used to digging, growing and weeding, they enjoy the freedom and open air. Witts Hill is only a fifteen minute walk away from us, so we set off to see what we had been allocated.

Our space was on a slope at the bottom edge of the site. Plastic sheeting had been laid down by the previous owner, to suppress weed growth but this was mostly shredded to bits by the storms and largely unusable but at least some of the earth was fairly bare.

At our friend’s allotment, we constructed a rustic fruit cage, out of coppiced hazel. It proved quite a success, so we had already decided to replicate this plan on our new plot. We chose a suitable spot and got digging to define the edges and remove weeds, roots and grass.

The children were assigned an area to keep for themselves, they love the allotment and set to work keenly and with fairly few squabbles. The kids are also great for fetching wood chippings and water, not that we have needed much of the latter recently. Cucumbers and strawberries seem to be their favourite crop to plant – perfect for a summer picnic I guess.

Digging grassy ground over can be back breaking work and the official advice is to work in small portions. Many people watch too many TV gardening shows and think that it will be easy; they get a nasty shock when the hard work kicks in and often give up before they get any benefit out of the land. Cold and wet weather can also put off less determined and hardy allotmenteers.

Being walking distance from the house is a real advantage and I soon had the fruit cage plotted out and fruit bushes in the earth. I got some stout Hazel poles and, from a rather precarious perch, hammered them into the corners. Meanwhile, the plot next to the cage was being thoroughly dug over by Sarah who also planted some strawberry plants.

The children were busy planting onion-sets in their own patch and my son also planted his young apple tree; he has nurtured this sapling from a pip. I planted a pear and a nectarine tree that I found reduced and lonely in a store; Sarah assures me that the nectarine will never bear fruit in the UK climate, but it does already have very attractive flowers and the label says it will be provide plenty – so I guess we’ll wait and see.

My other jobs seem to be attacking the mass of bramble bushes and stinging nettles at the bottom of the allotment and collecting enough scrap wood to make a shelter/shed. I’m considering nettle beer and aim to train some of the brambles, so that we can collect a decent blackberry crop this summer. A compost heap is inevitable…

Tough Work All That Digging

On any allotment site, Heath Robinson rules; you really do see the best of British eccentric behaviour, inventiveness, cunning recycling and shear resourcefulness at work.

Beautiful Springtime

Despite the British weather doing its damndest to convince us otherwise, Spring is gradually turning the corner.

Crocuses have put on particularly handsome displays this year. I love the way that the swathes of colour filling the roadsides, shift shades, from one week to the next.

Daffodils are now beginning to brighten the verges, waving their fresh bright yellow trumpets defiantly at the relentless streams of dirty traffic.

The plum blossom and blackthorn came out strongly but has been looking a bit battered after recent weather conditions (the Beast from the East). But it is still a good marker to note where plums may be plentiful, when the Summer finally arrives.

While enjoying the colourful displays that brighten my damp rides to and from work, I am now looking forward to more warmth, sunshine and green leaves in the hedgerows and trees.

I'm also looking forward to April, when delicate Bluebells fill those secret woodland floors with magical carpets of azure.

Mansbridge Community Orchard Funding News

We Need More of These

We are very happy to announce that the Mansbridge Community Orchard has received a generous amount of financial backing from the Southampton Airport Community Fund.

We Always Need More Funding and Volunteers

We will use the money to purchase tools, training and equipment for use in the orchard and other orchard related projects. Primarily we will buy fruit picking and processing equipment (like a shiny new apple mill and cider press) but we will also invest in tree pruning training and tools.

We Need More of These

Fruit tree renovation can be a lengthy process; this is because it can only be done by degrees and during certain periods of the year. Given the number of trees in the Mansbridge Community Orchard (around 50), we believe that five years is a fairly optimistic target, for returning the majority of the trees to good health.

We Need More of These

 Last year was spent clarifying our position, mapping the area as well as keeping most of the brambles and ivy out of the easily accessible trees. All the efforts culminated in a wonderful Apple Day event, organised by the Southampton Woodcraft Folk, who have taken on an active role within the orchard.

We Need More of These

The Southampton Airport Community Fund has also promised us volunteers. We will organise another introductory Orchard Blossom Walk, when the trees come into flower (around April-May). Around this time, we will also set up a meeting for anyone else keen to get involved.

Why I Cycle

Never Photograph Yourself While Cycling - It's Dangerous!

Ever since I was a young child, I have cycled. Now, several decades later, I still enjoy the trouble free parking and the freedom to slip past traffic, through parks and shortcut down paths. Within the city it is very often faster and easier to ride than to drive.

A Ten Mile Bike Ride In The Forest of Dean

Children love to go on a bike ride, they can cope with surprisingly long distances and as long as the route is safe, I really enjoy watching them swishing along getting fitter and stronger. Bikes are cheap too, you can get a nice second hand bicycle for next to nothing and after a service they ride as good as new.

Bike Ride!

I have always used my bike for pleasure and as a great fun way to keep fit, and this becomes more important as I get older. Thanks largely to Bradley Wiggins and the rest of our Olympic heroes; we are now seeing an upsurge in cycling on our roads. The roads are also gradually becoming safer, with more cycle lanes, paths and better awareness.

Always Wear A Suitable Helmet

Cycling, as opposed to driving, is also a splendid way to save money. Not having a car can save you about £5000 per year off your annual bills. I don’t mind spending money on my bike and equipment, because I save so much by using it. A few years ago we decided, as a family, that we could cope with only one car. I now pedal to work most days; the journey is about 4 – 5 miles each way, depending on my route. I arrive puffed and with my blood is pumping - I feel awake and alive.

All Wrapped Up

It is obviously necessary to buy suitable protective clothing, when cycling through the English Winter. Even if it pours, I don’t arrive wet when I am properly equipped. I took the precaution of covering my bike in retro-reflective tape, making it very visible at night. It now lights up like a Christmas tree in car headlamps; it looks pretty cool in bright sunlight too.

Be Bright!

Bike lights have come on in leaps and bounds since the advent of LED technology, and they can now be as bright as car's. The batteries last ages too; I have not replaced mine for over a year. Bright clothing, is the obvious choice for the cyclist; wearing dark clothing, or riding without lights at dusk or night time, is asking for trouble.

Zooming Onto the Bevois Boardwalk

One other essential item that I really enjoy is my air-horn; it is as loud as a claxon and will easily make oblivious-fools-crossing-the-road-while-texting-or-wearing-headphones, jump out of their skin and then (hopefully) back onto the pavement. It is simply charged by my bike pump and yet I can now easily compete with car horns.

We Painted That Bike Together

 When you commute by bike every day, you soon get to know the most dangerous places on the roads. Places where drivers try to pass you, where there is not sufficient room. Places where drivers tend to accelerate to overtake you, only to break and turn left. Places where drivers do not look left, as they zoom across roundabouts regardless (on these occasions, the horn really helps). 

Southampton Sky Ride

I now have a helmet camera and have been recording the fun I have riding to and from work. I will shortly edit it all together and post it in here (number-plates and all) for people (and traffic police) to see. 
Of course, you need to be constantly vigilant when riding, we all make mistakes, and everyone will miss something, or misjudge the situation occasionally. Online discussions between cyclists and motorists can become quickly polarised, with the same silly quarrels being batted back and forth. It’s worth remembering though that most adult cyclists, also own cars too, they are riding as a lifestyle choice.

Big Clock Tower Tour



The Iconic, Art Deco Guildhall



When civic chiefs decided to open a new museum in Southampton, it was frequently portrayed as a tribute to the Titanic. This tragic catastrophe had a massive effect on the city due to the large number of workers from the city that lost their lives in the shipwreck.

The Iconic, Sea City Museum

Although the new venue does devote lots of space to the fascination that surrounds the disaster, it’s good to see that the displays also truly celebrate the city’s ancient and modern relationship with the Solent & Southampton Water, hence the Sea City moniker. We had a good time when we visited and the children enjoyed themselves as much as the adults. It was also nice to get inside our beautiful Art Deco civic building again.

The Iconic, Art Deco Clock Tower

While nosing around I spotted a leaflet proclaiming tours of the Guildhall clock tower and made enquiries. This iconic tower can be seen from many places in town, even from the Cobden Bridge. I knew the kids would love this kind of thing as they both relish clambering up lighthouses when they get the opportunity.

The Iconic, Art Deco Lamp Post

Sadly, the indiscriminate regulations of the city council stipulated that children needed to be over the age of 12, even though the trip was no more dangerous than ascending stairs in a house and far less risky than tree climbing. These are activities that both our kids are more than capable of performing without incident, although they do often seem curiously reluctant to climb the wooden hill to Bedfordshire… 

The Iconic, Art Deco Spiral Staircase

After an inexplicably comprehensive health and safety monologue, and an interesting talk about the history of the building itself, you ascend the tower, one floor at a time, via several sets of offset iron spiral staircases.

The Iconic, Art Deco Clock Face

Eventually you reach the clock… Well, actually it’s all electric now and you couldn’t see the original clockwork mechanism because it’s all hidden in a wooden shed that Andy, our guide, did not have access to.

The Iconic, Big Bells

On the floor above the clock you can see the bells that chime out, Oh God our Help in Ages Past at midday; they are duly huge. From the bell room I was hoping to be able to take some panoramic photos of the city and I did manage a few but my attempts were hindered by further health and safety obstacles.

The Iconic, St. Mary's Football Stadium

Rusty metal grills had been fixed over all available openings and I had to press my camera into inch square holes and hope for the best.

The Iconic, Southampton Docks

After a talk about the bells we had to descend from our chilly eyrie, all the way back down to the Sea City museum. I did enjoy the visit, and the panoramic view gives a very different perspective on our proud city but a few simple changes would have made the whole experience far better…

The Iconic, Oceanographic Institue

1.       My children are currently 7 and 9 they would have very easily and safely coped with the climb and enjoyed this tour very much. 12 seems a completely arbitrary age to allow visits from. Trinity house have a simple height limit that children hit about age 6. Allowing children to attend this tour would be a fun way to improve their local historic and geographic knowledge. It might even enhance their sense of civic pride.

The Iconic, Geothermal Heating Plant (left of picture)

2.       The original mechanical clock should be on display, this is a missed opportunity and I would have loved to see it. I’m sure the others would have enjoyed this too; it is a large part of the reason for attending the tour.

The Iconic, Art Deco Staircase (again)

3.       Removable shutters should be available at the top of the tower to allow panoramic photography. If there is a danger of dropping cameras, netting or shelving could be fitted below or a simple sign, warning people not to hold items outside. Alternatively, at the very least, clean(able) windows should be fitted. Even periscopes / telescopes could be used to take photos through.

Cormorants on the Itchen
(I spotted them on the way home from the Iconic Boadwalk Cycle Path)

Spring Flowers

Most people associate Spring with blossom and flowers.  But the seasons do not suddenly change, rather they segue, sliding from one into the other and occasionally back again. However, the wheel turns relentlessly and the more times we see it rotate, the more we become acquainted with the sequence.

Although the months slip and slide and what happens during their passage can vary; within a tolerance, we can predict, roughly, what will appear at a given time.

January brings delicate snowdrops, for the galanthophiles.

February fetches up the shifting colours of crocuses.

March trumpets in yellow daffodils on the roadsides and then Blackthorn (Sloe) and Plum blossom in the hedgerows and trees . Having said this, I have already seen my first Plum blossom of 2013 and recently in Devon we saw a deligtful roadside bank with Snowdrops, Crocuses and Daffodills all in bloom at once.

April fills the woodland floor with Bluebells and Cherry blossom bursts from the trees.

April-May brings the Apple & Pear blossom as Spring eventually draws to a close. May-Day heralds the start of the Summer; with Elderflowers, ready to be turned into champagne and cordial.

Something else for me to point out, is that I'm still eating delicious apples that we picked last September/October and stored in our shed!