:(
It's tomorrow. The "man from the council" is coming to inspect our plots tomorrow. I have ben on a night shift and have just got up to go and strim the shameful bit where weeds have overtaken me!
This happens every year. You get a letter commenting on your plot.
Why do I feel like i am about to take 11-plus, O levels and a degree all at once? Cant sleep, scared they will say "must try harder" etc etc!
Wish me luck?!
;)
Amazing how different local authorities are, to my certain knowledge no-one ever inspects ours ???
Good luck, remember to shine your wellies ;)
Katy know exactly how you feel, somehow these people seem to be able to make you feel so small, and as though you have committed a terrible crime. Your name will be headlined in the local paper, people will be stopping you in the street to remonstrate, children will be pointing at you, and woman will gather in alleys to gossip! ;D Why oh why, does it make you feel so bad after all it is only an untidy plot and you are doing your best! ??? If you know the allotments officer and it is really bad, sometimes it is a good idea to get a letter in to him before hand explaining why it is not up to scratch. It works on our site. Try not to worry. It doesn't mean you are a bad person - you never know you might be pleasantly surprised! :)
Now take a minute to commiserate with me, as I too am feeling in a tizzy! I have been doing my stint at the Allotment Society Shop today - I have to do it four times a year, and I hate it as I am just not confident handling money. We had a terrible rush on and I got so flustered that the Treasurer has just rung me to say I am £15 short with the takings. :-[ :o How embarrassing is that? Perhaps it wasn't my fault, but perhaps I just gave wrong change to someone or more than one, whatever, I feel such an idiot! It will give a few of the harsher people on the committee something else to tattle about! :-[ busy_lizzie
When the town council inspect/judge our allotments I walk around with them as a representative from the allotment association they phone me to give me the date of the inspection before this date I walk around noting any that are not up to the standard that allotment holder would normally be at and ring them and ask if theres a problem if there is I explain to the councillors, we all get to know the plots that are well cared to there owner but to every one else look a bit of a mess. We have one lady who has self set flowers with little patches of veg so you have seeding flowers ,flowering flowers and veg which can look a real mess but look closely and theres no weeds!! our councillors get annoyed when you get a 10 pole piece with 6 beans 6 sweetcorn 8 potatoes and all the weeds strimmed and left on the ground a 5 pole piece would be plenty and another person could enjoy having a allotment at present I have 13 on the waiting list. The judging is for a large silver cup that a local left in his will plus a large amount of money to be used for funding recreation in the town the plots are judged on neatness and variety 9 times out of 10 the winners retired!!
Quote from: busy_lizzie on July 23, 2006, 15:01:31
It will give a few of the harsher people on the committee something else to tattle about! :-[ busy_lizzie
Ohhhhh busy_lizzie, if any of them give it a thought I bet it's 'there but for the grace of God ...'
Bet it's not a new situation for the treasurer either.
Surprising how these little slips torment us though eek :-[ so commiserations and a huglet :)
What a good idea ugly, leave a cup (and a sum of money?) in your will to be presented to most improved allotment - another way of helping preserve the allotment spirit?
Katy I got a snotty letter shortly after taking my plot on. I wrote an even snottier one back explaining my situation and got a written apology. HAH!
You'll be fine. Don't let them get you down. Tell them owt they want to hear!
I'll bet I'll get another letter after inspection this year as my plot is so big and it is so weedfilled that parts are running away from me. I'm not sharing it though...not after all the hard work of clearing up someone elses rubbish on my own with no help from anyone...other than OH when he had the time. Anyway I keep filling it up with chickens heehee!
BL,how awful for you. I'm not confident with handling money either,except when it's OH's ;) I understand how you must feel,I'd be feeling pretty worried too...but like you said it might not have been your fault anyway so cut yourself some slack. Don't give yourself such a hard time! What would you think if it happened to someone else? Probably nothing much more than "Oh dear!"
'Inspections'! :o Good luck, Katy...
Our site is under-used so no one would dream of coming round to tell plot-holders off, least of all our very nice allotment man from the council!
;D
Update: it's not til Wednesday, phew! So have a couple more days to whip it into shape! My plot's not all that bad, there are two bits of grassed over ground which will be done over the winter and the rest is looking ok.
Many thanks for the support peeps! Think I was having an attack of night shift heeby jeebies!
;)
It is natural to feel a little off and you were probably tired. You can whip into shape for Wednesday,I am sure. Good luck!! :) busy_lizzie
we have juding for three months on our site its a killer but i love it, i dont do anything different when its judging time, i carry on with what i would normal do.
last juding next month should get the results soon after.
On my first plot, managed by the council, I had signed the contract etc, TWO WEEKS later I got a letter from them saying that the ground wasn't cultivated I was in breach of contract. I rang them about the timing of the letter and the reason nothing was yet growing and their response was a lackonic "oh, it's a standard letter (yawn)". Don't worry about it, essentially; you're doing you best to get things sorted within your timeframe.
The plot next to my old plot was a mass of brambles that closed the paths between the plots and started to try and take root on my plot. The holder obviously got a letter the same time as we did as they were on site that same weekend to try and sort things out. When I left the site a year later, his plot was just as bad, if not worse.
My neighbour was (how do I put this without causing offense, ermm...) a very venerable gentleman of advanced wisdom. His wife was younger and obviously in full possession of the marbles and wanting to support her beloved's long-term interest. Good for her.
One does wonder when there comes a time whereby a plot permanently becomes too much work (at any age; through priorities, work, health etc). Do the plot neighbours help out / the council or association suggest giving up the plot? With the number of sites that have waiting lists and seemingly neglected plots, how does one release the plots back into circulation?
On my site the Council leave everything like that up to the committee, and only write to people whise names are passed to them. They then take it on trust and write without checking, which has caused problems in the past when people had vendettas going. All that's in the past though, and people who've been around for donkey's years and genuinely can't manage are left in peace. My neighbour's well in to his 80's and can't cope, but I can't imagine him getting a letter, and I'd be up in arms if he did.
i'm the dreaded plot inspector!!! at least i got roped into doing it this year by the rest of the committee. 'your good with people' 'people are less likely to belt you' (5ft 1 and 7 1/2st theres not a lot to aim at)
a notice had been up giving a months notice of what was expected, and i felt terrible walkin around scribbling down,
1. not cultivated, - why have a full sized plot and not grow ANYTHING, just strimmed before the inspection, but after the weeds have seeded and blown into your neighbours.
2. overgrown - pure jungle that no-one has gone near.
3. outside plot at the path needs weedkiller - (free from the committee hut),
or brambles etc need tied in.
the result was a lot of people got a bog standard letter asking for a specific improvement. people don't hate me as i didn't write anything that wasn't true.....i also got a letter. ;). three people who have paid rent for the past three years and not turned a spade on their plots have given them up, so the waiting list has gone down. and people who have either really well kept plots, or those who'd strimmed or covered whatever ground they'd not got round to yet, got a pat on the back letter. no-one got an official letter from the council, and I'm still not doing the next one. :P
Don't blame you, that must be the most hated job on the committee task list. I just refuse to go on the committee, that way they can't goad me into doing owt like that. :D
Good on you for giving it a go though ...
Weedbusta, your committee are right, you are good with people. The personalised letters was inspired. I think it is the standardised anonimity that gets most people gnashing their teeth.
Our site is allegedly full, with a waiting list - but define full. I think our council (Hounslow, bless them) defines that as everyone is paying their rent.
A school has rented the plot, next door but one from me and it has been uncultivated for 3 years. Six weeks before the end of term, two teachers and 3 kids came to have a look, kicked the charred remains of the shed, scratched their heads, asked my advice on where to start and then promptly disappeared (something I said??)
Is it really so difficult to efficiently manage a dozen sites across the borough? Grrrr
you're right there, full means everyone has paid their rent, which is really is a small amount of money. i do feel that it's unfair to have people on a waiting list when there are so many uncultivated plots on our site. if you've not got around to tackling your plot in THREE YEARS , are you really going to do it at all.
people come and go for different reasons, some lose interest, or realise its a lot more work than they origionally thought. some people think they've got to get their plot immaculate in one season because the people around who've been there for years don't have a weed in sight. (i think they have plot fairies that come out at night). i try to give out the same advice i was given, clear a bit and plant it up, when you have a rest sit facing all your good work, try to keep on top of that and start to clear another bit. cover or keep strimming the rest and it doesn't matter how long (if ever) it takes to get the whole plot going. it's meant to be enjoyable.