Just came back from an absolutely glorious holiday on Islay - went down to the allotment for the first time (missed 2 weeks). I was weeding and planting away, when the miserable so-and-so who has the allotment next door to me came out of his house and said words to the effect of: "I've been waiting for you - to tell you that I want you to get a move on weeding your plot!"
Last year, the rant was about "middle class know it alls, who read something in the paper and think that they can come down here with all their organic nonsense." He then explained the need for endless rotovation and spraying to keep things in nice, serried rows. Nature - what place has that?
As you can tell, that side of my allotment is a cheerful place!
Everyone else if nice though - at least there's that.
He should come to our site i'm surounded by knee high weed sites as not many plots have been taken. Some people just like to moan wait until your talking to him one day and point out a weed on his plot haha
Perhaps you should have pointed out, they are not weeds, they are your crops ! The only people I pay attention to are the committee members ... fortunately, we have a cheerful crowd down here.
Good job he's not next to me! You should tell him he's welcome to weed your plot while you are away! ;D
Oh dear mrphil, if he's that grumpy with you chances are he's not popular with anyone else on the plot either.
One of my lottie neighbours is a grumpy soul - I've stopped saying hello, as he glares back. He sits outside his shed on a chair and glares at his neighbours. One of his lottie neighbours was putting up a fence between them, and he laughed when there was a nasty accident. His neighbour has moved right up the other end of the plot to get away from him - even though he invested a fortune in fencing and cultivation. Mr Grumpy put up a rough pile of bricks and stones between the end of his plot and the communal path, spilling over onto the path and making it difficult to pass. I have greatly enjoyed moving the 'wall' back stone by stone so everyone can get in and out again ;D Most plotholders just steer around him and I ignore him now - life's too short.
I suppose I'm just saying, there's always one. And of course you'd never sprinkle wild flower seed over your neighbour's plot in autumn, would you? ::)
It's funny isn't it, how close neighbours and even close allotment holders always find something to grouse about... I love my neighbours on one side, the nicest, sweetest most helpful people, but on the other side, they are loud, and just seem to want to know your business.
I have a lovely old feller on one side of my plot and although he hasn't got my name right once, he's nice, we exchange crops, he has some of my apples and he gives me blackcurrants and other things. The other side the plot is split in half and the top half belongs to the couple who live behind my plot. And they are not the type to want to exchange pleasantries, unless you say hello, they just get on with it, which is a bit sad.
But the bottom half has been taken on my a youngish lady, who is using it as a stress reliever and she has made a d**n good job and is friendly. I do find a lot of gossipers on the plot and you have to be careful who you agree with or disagree with, but its all fun. The only ones I don't like are the ones who slag the women off ... and there are quite a few old blokes who do that... even one on the committee!
But we ignore them, mostly it is a wonderful place to spend a few hours, in fact I had a hard days work, then went over for a couple of hours weeding and I feel all relaxed and mellow again (but with aching back and sore fingers!!)
Oh I love my allotment!! Had a huge bowl of strawberries for tea...mmmm!
Well... what a surprise... I never knew the word d**n counted as a bad word, but it is nice to know there are rules like that on here... shall watch my language in future!! Tee hee!
Quote from: misterphil on June 19, 2006, 11:26:44
"I've been waiting for you - to tell you that I want you to get a move on weeding your plot!"
I'd just say "Think yourself lucky your not next to a vacant plot as it would be over run with weeds" You moaning of fart ;D
Being extremely angry generally I would be waving my 7lb lump hammer at him and and pointing out some of the threads that I have seen here about bodies in manure heaps and grinding bones for fertiliser :P
Quote from: Roy Bham UK on June 19, 2006, 22:10:57
I'd just say "Think yourself lucky your not next to a vacant plot as it would be over run with weeds" You moaning of fart ;D
He he, a man after my own heart ...
I sympathise Phil, you always get one person to spoil the happy atmosphere. They have just got to be grumping about something. What a cheeky blighter to talk to you like that! What you do on your plot has got nothing to do with him... he should mind his own business! Think he just sounds like a lonely old man taking his gripe about his life out on you! He is more to be pitied. Hope you just forget about him and get on doing your own thing, enjoying your allotment. :) busy_lizzie
i hope you said 'thank you very much for asking, my holiday was wonderful. it's lovely to be back on the allotment though after the break, isnt it?' smile and turn away and get on with your business.
if he has a heart left, he would feel ashamed by this.
we dont have anyone quite as bad on our plot but there is one grumpy pair at the bottom of the allotment - I am always super nice and smiley with them so they dont annoy me!
It's good to know there are nice people like you around Svea. I'm afraid my language would have been a little more colourfull and would not have got past spellchecker!! I'm afraid I have very little time for people like MrP's neighbour and usually end up telling them so. Life's too short to have to suffer people like this. Lance
Dunno whats up with you lot.. He might have a reason for being miserable ... like not getting conjugal rights or summat.. Poor lad... Ray
Oh, misterphil, do try and take it with a pinch of salt, you just enjoy your allotment and don't let him get you down :)
I have reasonably good fellow allotmenteers, not grumpy but some characters!
One chap ALWAYS collars me to discuss politics, in great depth and with immense vehemence (I hasten to add he's angry with politicians in general, not me!) and another chap will NOT stop chatting from the moment he arrives until the moment he leaves - very difficult to get away and actually do some gardening without hurting his feelings. The only one who is slightly sour is a chap who just doesn't agree with the way I do things, but he only tends to ignore me rather than be grumpy, thank goodness :)
When people talk to me rudely I act as if I simply haven't noticed, and answer the pleasantry they never made. I stick at this, it seem to confuse them which is very amusing.
I have gone to extreme measures and have found the joy of allotmenteering at 6am no one to fall out with there then. so peacful and a great start to the day
oops did I accidentally spray all your crops with "organic" weedkiller, how silly of me.....
Life is far too short to let other people spoil what we enjoy. I try to be pleasant all and sundry and generally find that the miserable folk give up in the end and are civil at least. Can't bear to waste my energy on agro.
(but I did think that SS's idea of sprinkling wild flower seed was brilliant ;D)
i thought it was a good idea too. that way he'd have less time to grump. ;)