The day the baby rats were discovered and we needed neighbours to deal with them....
Our plot neighbours on Thursday 10 October
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making progress
grass growing, cardboard and compost down....
looking more like an allotment
End of September and we have something that looks like an allotment. Had a wonderful four hours of working on Sunday in the sun, with Helen, cutting nettles, pruning blackcurrant bushes, stamping down the seeded grass bed, and taking down a rotten cold frame - more evidence of Mr Rat. We had a great bonfire of the bad weeds, rotten wood, and other stuff at the end... So easy to be happy and relaxed working in the fresh air. Lots of our plot...
Rats and ants
We found a rats nest and an ant-heap when we were tearing up the old allotment and all its bedsteads, pots, baskets, sacking, broken cold frames, rotten wood. A strong smell, urine and worse. A soaking stinking wire basket - yes an in-tray sort of basket, lined with bubble wrap, and newspaper - in an old cold frame. This had made a beautiful warm home for mr rat. This was right next to the ant-heap, which we broke into by accident -...
the plum chutney!
Made a chutney with some of the vast amounts of plums from the four plum trees...
Clearing the allotment
Clearing the allotment, half a ton of metal plus two car loads of plastic and rubbish Two days of hard work by a total of 8 people (thanks to Jamie, Lawrie, Ellie, Matt, Cuan, and Gary - we got the place just about cleared by the end of August. Made £54 on the metal from the scrapyard. burned two big bonfires. took three car loads of rubbish to the dump. and took loads of plums too, to turn into jam and chutney....
The bonfire August
and we lit a hottest bonfire - something so satisfying and also gleeful about a good blaze. A safe blaze of course, but one of the plum trees did suffer a bit at the edges.
About Maggie
Maggie Mellon (CQSW, MSc, Dip Child Protection) is a social worker with many years’ experience in both Scotland and England. She has been vice chair of the British Association of Social Workers since 2014, and also chairs the Association’s Ethics and Human Rights Committee. She was formerly Director of Services for Children 1st and Head of Public Policy for NCH Action for Children in Scotland. Chair of the Scottish Child Law Centre from 2009 -12. Currently non–executive Director of NHS Health Scotland and a member of the editorial Board of Scottish Justice Matters. Maggie now works independently as a consultant on social work practice and public policy.