Page 53 - ALG Issue 2 2019

Yorkshire
Yorkshire and parts of Humberside
REPRESENTATIVE
Mr Tony Heeson
25 The Broadway, Balby, Doncaster DN4 9BS 01302 851557 tonyheeson@msn.com
MENTOR
Tony Urwin
Yorkshire & Humberside 0845 250 1292 turwin.nas@gmail.com
True story or urban myth?
Welcome to our new members...
Haworth,Cross Roads & Stanbury Parish Council
Southey & Dist Allotment and Gdnrs Guild Three Lane Ends Allots Society
6 Individual Members
Rotherham
ramblings
As I write this, the year is one month old, and at the moment I am still not ready for the growing season.
The new raised beds are almost ready and the seeds are all purchased. The seed potatoes are chitting pretty (I couldn't resist that one), but there is something missing and until it
is in place, I won't feel comfortable. It will be difficult to begin any of the tasks related to a successful (ha!) growing year. There will not
be the urgency or the feeling of necessity in planting seeds on time or preparing the ground for tender plants until that special ‘something’ happens. I've been obtuse enough, and it's time to reveal the ingredient needed to begin the growing year properly. It is (drumroll)... an unreasonable demand. When I say demand, they usually come in the form of a question or request and begin with “why don't we...”, or a suggestion: “couldn't we...”, or more ominous: “don't forget that this year we...”. I put we in each quote, but ‘we’ all know it is really YOU, and, however polite and innocuous it would seem to be at face value, it is, in reality, nothing less than a command, and furthermore carries an underlying threat of consequences if not obeyed. Call me masochistic, but I need this veiled threat, and see it as a sort of challenge.
Can I rise to the occasion and complete the ‘unreasonable demand’? Can I surpass all expectations? And occasionally, dare I ignore such a ‘rubbishy request’, and just deal with the eruption when it happens? We won't know the answer until the task or tasks are revealed, but one thing is certain, there will be tasks. And, with girded loins, I cry ‘bring it on’. At least then I can go about things with a smile.
Mike
If you are interested in renting an allotment in Whiston contact Mike on 07802 196688 or mike@leaffield.co.uk.
Early in the 1960s a newly built house was bought in one of the better parts of Sheffield. It was detached, with large gardens to the front, sides and rear. A nice house.
The proud new owner determined he was going to make the garden the best-kept in the area and that it was to be the finest lawn in the district, the envy of all his neighbours. So he set about digging, levelling, riddling, raking and rolling the ground. This took several weeks of hard work as it was a big garden. Finally it was just as he wanted – perfect.
Next morning he went in to town to visit the local seedsman and asked
for ‘a stone of your best lawn seed please’. The seeds were duly taken home and with great care were spread over the carefully prepared ground,
at the prescribed ounces per square yard. Finally, sprinkled with a fine spray of water to give the seeds a good start.
He then sat back in anticipation.
Within a few days he was delighted to see the first flush of green and day-by- day it got greener and greener - but then he realised something was not quite right...
The dilemma he faced was:
1. How much alike grass and lettuce
seeds are.
2. What do you do with thousands of
Webbs Wonderful seedlings?
Alwyn Dean
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 53
RaDAA
Yorkshire on the move
Yorkshire Allotment Gardeners Federation used to hold its meeting in the Frenchgate Centre, immediately adjacent to Doncaster Station; very convenient. It has now changed ownership and was no longer available. However, we are still investigating the possibility of the future use of this room.
As an interim measure a sports club in Rotherham was booked for the latest meeting (where we had this year’s AGM). Invites were sent out under our new title NAS Yorkshire; it must have made an impression, we had double the number of delegates we normally have. How good it was to have that new blood present, as it led to a lively meeting.
A new incentive was agreed upon in that the several federations in the
region would offer representative officers from another federation to attend their meetings. Dates will be exchanged and also published on our and the NAS website. I am quite excited about this move as it should lead to some uniformity of approach and exchange of ideas. It was also decided to investigate the possibility of forming other groups in the four ridings of Yorkshire (some Yorkshire folk will be telling me there are
only three). Yes, I know, but for all intents and purposes it fits the logistics better and hopefully would attract more attendance. Officers of these groups will then attend a central NAS Yorkshire meeting. I am about to create a map of all our associations in Yorkshire so we can identify clusters for the forming of these proposed groups.
Phil Gomersall, Chairman