I didn’t make it to France. An accident on the M11 and an airline with a customer service policy leaving much to be desired put paid to any roamings in the streets of Poitiers. Instead, the coastline of Norfolk beckoned. This area has to be one of the nicest places in the UK for soothing the soul. The villages on that coast remain unspoilt by the lure of the fast food establishments, widened roads and horrendous pub singers provided ‘solely’ for your entertainment. If you want to hear nothing and see some amazing scenery, it’s the place for you. (There is also some great mackerel to be caught in the summer months, contact me and I may tell you where,…. ).
Back to the working week of promoting Spareground, I have emailed a number of UK allotment and vegetable growing forums who have given a lot of positive feedback on the Spareground project. What has been interesting from this is realising that the Landshare project has yet to officially be launched, so as we move quickly into March, there are people signed to this scheme who have no idea if they will be ‘matched’ with a landowner or not. March is the time when windowsills should be heaving with chitting potatoes and plant seedlings.
One wonders if the scheme which promises so much will be able to deliver in equal measure and within time scales reflective of the course of nature.
Spareground has signed up to the Landshare project as a group having similar aims and philosophy so I don’t mean to sound critical of what is ideally a great scheme. I just feel that a lot of people may have missed the growing opportunity for 2009. With the high volume of media coverage it has received, perhaps in hindsight its initial autumn 2008 campaign was a little too late.
At Spareground, our way of working is to leave people list their land or find their land requirements and sort themselves out. There are simple ‘guidance notes’ under the FAQ section on the website which should help people establish their arrangements with each other and essentially, keep it simple. We don’t want to over complicate the Spareground website or the way it is used; simplicity is indeed the key.
http://www.spareground.com/
Until next time……
Friday 27 February 2009
Thursday 19 February 2009
We plough the fields and scatter
The spring is fast approaching and thoughts are turning to the lighter nights, the arrival of lent and no doubt to the new seeds and plants and the preparative digging for the garden and allotments.
Being an allotment holder myself, I know it’s a back breaking time, especially if you have clay soil like mine, more suited to modelling pots from than growing things in. Even so, I know I am a lucky one.
The number of people desperately seeking allotment space is at a record high. The Allotment Society reports conclusively show the demand completely outstrips the supply of allotment space throughout the country. Not really surprising with the current economical climate and a renewed desire to go back to basics, a cause championed by a number of celebrity chefs. The phrase of “knowing where our food comes from” is one bandied about with such frequency; one begins to wonder if there is anyone in the country who doesn’t know where their food comes from!
It is a welcome change however, and nice to know that more and more people are keen to buy something that was grown two miles up the road more than something grown in Kenya, flown here, stored for x weeks and then sent out the shops (no doubt with any flavour or nutritional content long since depleted).
As part of this change in thought, the desire to grow your own has taken over and the resources for such are few and far between.
Today’s news report by the National Trust further backs this up with the Trust reporting a collaborative effort with Landshare to provide up to 1000 new allotment plots by 2012, an initiative to be commended and supported.
Spareground also offers opportunities for advertising or seeking land or unused gardens for such purposes and hopefully one day, we can collaborate with the bigger groups such as Landshare and the National Trust to promote this.
For now, we can at least provide an additional source for such listings and keep our fingers crossed that it too will generate its own momentum and interest.
www.spareground.com
I am off to France tomorrow so no blog entries for a few days.
Until next time,……
Being an allotment holder myself, I know it’s a back breaking time, especially if you have clay soil like mine, more suited to modelling pots from than growing things in. Even so, I know I am a lucky one.
The number of people desperately seeking allotment space is at a record high. The Allotment Society reports conclusively show the demand completely outstrips the supply of allotment space throughout the country. Not really surprising with the current economical climate and a renewed desire to go back to basics, a cause championed by a number of celebrity chefs. The phrase of “knowing where our food comes from” is one bandied about with such frequency; one begins to wonder if there is anyone in the country who doesn’t know where their food comes from!
It is a welcome change however, and nice to know that more and more people are keen to buy something that was grown two miles up the road more than something grown in Kenya, flown here, stored for x weeks and then sent out the shops (no doubt with any flavour or nutritional content long since depleted).
As part of this change in thought, the desire to grow your own has taken over and the resources for such are few and far between.
Today’s news report by the National Trust further backs this up with the Trust reporting a collaborative effort with Landshare to provide up to 1000 new allotment plots by 2012, an initiative to be commended and supported.
Spareground also offers opportunities for advertising or seeking land or unused gardens for such purposes and hopefully one day, we can collaborate with the bigger groups such as Landshare and the National Trust to promote this.
For now, we can at least provide an additional source for such listings and keep our fingers crossed that it too will generate its own momentum and interest.
www.spareground.com
I am off to France tomorrow so no blog entries for a few days.
Until next time,……
Monday 16 February 2009
Six Nations
This is probably one of my favourite times of the year and one of the inspiring reasons to start up Spareground in the first place.
Last Saturday’s action in Cardiff was watched in a pub in Chesterfield with friends. Nothing can ever beat actually being there in the Millennium Stadium but the pub doesn’t do too bad a job!
What can I say about the match, well, I am just very glad Wales won! I was quite anxious all week with the media’s prediction of Welsh runaway victory; after all this is the Six Nations and anything can happen. However, it was a cracker of a game and good on England for proving their critics wrong.
As with any sport and any team, you have your highs and lows and thankfully for me, it’s Wales’ turn. As a Welsh person who has lived in England for over 22 years now, I know only too well how it feels to be on the supporting side of a low Wales against a dominant England and probably on more occasions than I would probably care to remember.
Even so, I have always loved this tournament. In my eyes, there’s nothing to match it in terms of its unpredictability, the excitement, the buzz of a match day morning and the match day rituals, the intensity and the stomach churning nerves of the whistle at the kick off.
This year has the added incentive of those elusive 35 places on a plane to South Africa in the summer for the British and Irish Lions tour. Each week, the media and rugby forums thrash out the predictions of those test places based on the performances in the recent round of the Six Nations games. Sport just doesn’t get better than this.
The popularity of this tournament means the areas of Cardiff, London (Twickenham), Edinburgh and Dublin are rammed with visitors for just the match day itself or more often than not by those wanting to make a weekend of the whole thing; the rugby, the pubs, the eating out , the whole shebang. A welcomed injection of cash into the local economy!
You will now rightly be wondering where the Spareground part is going to feature in this and I would hate to disappoint so here it is.
Resources for car parking and also for accommodation can be listed on the Spareground site.
Regardless of whether you have a driveway for one space outside your house, a garage, or you own office premises with parking for a few to several cars, list them free of charge to rent on Spareground. It’s entirely up to you what you charge, but a reasonable day fee will see your offers taken up by those who can’t afford the extortionate prices of many ‘official’ car parks.
The story is the same for accommodation, if you have any rooms available in your house, a flat you can rent for short periods, or you own a small B&B or hotel, list it on the website. (If you do rent out your own property, make sure you are covered in terms of your insurance/mortgage provider).
The Spareground site has no intention of distracting business away from anyone, only to provide alternative arrangements which may better suit the budgets of potential visitors.
The next time you are on your way to the rugby, have a look on Spareground and see if there are cheaper (and closer!) parking or accommodation options available. You can also create listings asking for what you want so at no cost, why not give it a go.
http://www.spareground.com/
Until next time…
Last Saturday’s action in Cardiff was watched in a pub in Chesterfield with friends. Nothing can ever beat actually being there in the Millennium Stadium but the pub doesn’t do too bad a job!
What can I say about the match, well, I am just very glad Wales won! I was quite anxious all week with the media’s prediction of Welsh runaway victory; after all this is the Six Nations and anything can happen. However, it was a cracker of a game and good on England for proving their critics wrong.
As with any sport and any team, you have your highs and lows and thankfully for me, it’s Wales’ turn. As a Welsh person who has lived in England for over 22 years now, I know only too well how it feels to be on the supporting side of a low Wales against a dominant England and probably on more occasions than I would probably care to remember.
Even so, I have always loved this tournament. In my eyes, there’s nothing to match it in terms of its unpredictability, the excitement, the buzz of a match day morning and the match day rituals, the intensity and the stomach churning nerves of the whistle at the kick off.
This year has the added incentive of those elusive 35 places on a plane to South Africa in the summer for the British and Irish Lions tour. Each week, the media and rugby forums thrash out the predictions of those test places based on the performances in the recent round of the Six Nations games. Sport just doesn’t get better than this.
The popularity of this tournament means the areas of Cardiff, London (Twickenham), Edinburgh and Dublin are rammed with visitors for just the match day itself or more often than not by those wanting to make a weekend of the whole thing; the rugby, the pubs, the eating out , the whole shebang. A welcomed injection of cash into the local economy!
You will now rightly be wondering where the Spareground part is going to feature in this and I would hate to disappoint so here it is.
Resources for car parking and also for accommodation can be listed on the Spareground site.
Regardless of whether you have a driveway for one space outside your house, a garage, or you own office premises with parking for a few to several cars, list them free of charge to rent on Spareground. It’s entirely up to you what you charge, but a reasonable day fee will see your offers taken up by those who can’t afford the extortionate prices of many ‘official’ car parks.
The story is the same for accommodation, if you have any rooms available in your house, a flat you can rent for short periods, or you own a small B&B or hotel, list it on the website. (If you do rent out your own property, make sure you are covered in terms of your insurance/mortgage provider).
The Spareground site has no intention of distracting business away from anyone, only to provide alternative arrangements which may better suit the budgets of potential visitors.
The next time you are on your way to the rugby, have a look on Spareground and see if there are cheaper (and closer!) parking or accommodation options available. You can also create listings asking for what you want so at no cost, why not give it a go.
http://www.spareground.com/
Until next time…
Friday 13 February 2009
Opening remarks
Friday 13th February 2009
Probably unlucky for some but it's the first day of my blogging career!
My initial aim is to operate this blog in conjunction with the website
http://www.spareground.com/
This website is one of the new kids on the block and one which will no doubt be of benefit to the majority of people at some stage in their lives.
It operates on a very simple philosophy; using the space we already have here in the UK.
Who knows, later down the line the same approach could be implemented in any country.
All of us at some point have wondered; where can we park near that venue? is there somewhere to store my motorbike over the winter? anyplace to store a caravan? is there available accommodation near that tournament? can I find vegetable growing space in the middle of the city?
The Spareground website wants to address this and become the website people use to find the space they are looking for. The site is in five categories; property, parking, storage, land and 'other'. (We have the 'other' option available as we dont want this site to be constrained. There will no doubt be other space uses which we may not even have thought of as yet).
On top of all this, it's nice to have a blog! I have always envied those who profess to having one and now here I am joining up in the hope of writing some of my remarks on Spareground and it's progress (no doubt interjected with my hilarious anecdotes and opinions on life in all it's splendour!),
Probably unlucky for some but it's the first day of my blogging career!
My initial aim is to operate this blog in conjunction with the website
http://www.spareground.com/
This website is one of the new kids on the block and one which will no doubt be of benefit to the majority of people at some stage in their lives.
It operates on a very simple philosophy; using the space we already have here in the UK.
Who knows, later down the line the same approach could be implemented in any country.
All of us at some point have wondered; where can we park near that venue? is there somewhere to store my motorbike over the winter? anyplace to store a caravan? is there available accommodation near that tournament? can I find vegetable growing space in the middle of the city?
The Spareground website wants to address this and become the website people use to find the space they are looking for. The site is in five categories; property, parking, storage, land and 'other'. (We have the 'other' option available as we dont want this site to be constrained. There will no doubt be other space uses which we may not even have thought of as yet).
On top of all this, it's nice to have a blog! I have always envied those who profess to having one and now here I am joining up in the hope of writing some of my remarks on Spareground and it's progress (no doubt interjected with my hilarious anecdotes and opinions on life in all it's splendour!),
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