h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I suppose I'd better complete the set. Not that I have anything very iteresting to impart, for my life is very dull.

As you can imagine, I've had a very busy time lately, with all those newsletters to deliver. Finally finished them last Tuesday. I don't know how far I walk in a day, and often think I should get a pedometer. However, it's not that straightforward, because I don't just walk: I jog, lope, canter, occasionally break into a run. When you're on the move for 6 or 7 hours, I think it's important to vary the means of locomotion, so that you're not using the same muscle movements all the time. I probably spend less than a third of the time walking: it's too slow and too tiring. I suppose I'm lucky in that jogging comes quite naturally to me - "Baby, we were born to run". Another advantage is that, after a few hours jogging, the endorphins kick in, and I often find I'm moving better at the end of the day than at the beginning.

Been lucky with the weather, I must say. I may not have been to Spain, but at least I look as if I have.

Actually, I have been to Spain several times - in one day. A few years ago we went to Pays Basques and spent a mad half hour jumping backwards and forwards across the border. And we went to San Sebastian for the day. Other than that, I haven't really been there - unless you count a couple of holidays in Tenerife.

Grace III has just been on a school exchange trip to Cartagena. She's been sick as a dog ever since she got back - I think it's Spanish 'flu. Had to miss her singing lesson this evening, so Grace I went instead. Probably not a bad thing, as she is going to be singing a solo at the world renowned Tilehurst Eisteddfod in a few weeks, and doesn't normally have individual lessons - or sing solo: she has lessons with Grace II, and the pair of them perform duets. Very good they are too, though I say it as shouldn't. They recently took an intermediate grade with the London College of Music and scored 94%, which is well above the mark required for a distinction.

How are you doing for work, Rikii? You said something a while ago about only doing 10 days' work in a month. I reckon that's about my average. Although I've done nearly double that this month, I've virtually nothing in the pipeline for April. I'm not sure how we're going to pay the bills, even though our tracker mortgage rate is going down to 1%. However, I did have a bit of a windfall today, as a result of a modest investment I made on Saturday.

On Saturdays, you see, I have to take Grace III to her string orchestra rehearsal, which lasts an hour. I usually fill that time by doing some food shopping at the nearby ASDA. MOH has the misfortune to work for them (at a different store), so we have a discount card, but she went off to work on Saturday morning with the card in her handbag. It's crazy I know, but (just one of those things) I can't bring myself to shop there if I don't have that card with me. So I went to the bookies intead, which is even crazier. Except it wasn't, because 5 of the 6 horses in my each-way Lucky 63 made the frame, and at such good odds that I made a profit of £236. That's a lot of money when you're as poor as we are.

Are any of you familiar with poemhunter.com? Egged on by el D, whom you will have encountered on the Poet Tree, Polly, I have recently posted a few pomes there. I have to admit these included a few pieces of juvenilia, of the most pretentious kind. I wanted to see what sort of reaction they'd provoke, if any. However, it is a very strange site with an awful lot of (and a lot of awful) poems, so you're lucky if you get noticed. And most of the comments and messages you do get are designed solely to persuade you to read, rate and comment on someone else's work, with a view to 'improving their stats'. Or else they're just plain kooky. Still, my piece about the Midwives of Death did attract the attention of a 16 year old.

BTW, Polly, did you look at el D's postings on poemhunter? If so, what did you think?

Folly, I hope the funeral goes as well as these things can. And you have a great day, Rikii - hope you find the new in-laws congenial. You have a good day, too, Polly, whatever you're doing - I hope the sun shines for you. (Isn't it good to see Frank posting so much? And such good stuff, too - he's a natural.)

Toodle pip,

Thanks for the chat, Tickle.
I've ben lloking at other means of a minor income. My minibussing old ladies around is OK but I feel I am beginnning to slip into their world and it very sedentary. I'd rather be in a more active job that didn't push stuff into the atmosphere. I'm also a bit dubious about the good going to a day centre does for many of them. Some of them are so advanced dementia/alzheimers wise that they don't know they've been five minutes after leaving. Big Philosophical question, that whcih I don't propose to ponder on now.
How do you get your distribution jobs, Tickle? Do you phone round or sign up somewhere?

The funeral was Ok as these things are usually. Each time I go to one it makes me more and more intent upon having one of these woodland burials. MOH and I mean to sign on to a nearby one - a burial in a cardboard cask that allows nature to take its course and you get buried under a woodland setting. You can pay extra and have a tree planted alongside if you wish so it is nourished by your remains. Sounds a spooky but we both deplore the idea of a solid oak waste of money and then carbon dioxide into the air.
They have a woodland chapel, too - you sit on logs - so its good for Christians like us just as much as new age tree huggers and must be the way to go (so to speak) for all sorts of believers and non-b's in between.

Well, got to get some lunch - There's a chunk of fish pie int he freezer - think I'll microwave that.

Bye all - have a good day

Memo to me - get us signed on for the woodland burial.

Hello my dear friends Rick, W4aT, Folly.


Coo~~~what different lives we lead! Folly, I'm a bit envious of more Spain! And lots of food and wine. Sounds great.


I do hope that our Rick is having a lovely day today. He jolly well deserves it. And his wife. And of-course his whole family. Rick lurches from difficult times to great occasions (very much like me!). He's a great guy and I hope he is feeling wonderful at this moment.

W4aT, I wish I could walk as far as you do. I used to walk for many miles but now I get very exausted. My coastal walks always end in utter tiredness.
You were brave having a bet on the horses! I wouldn't know where to start or what to say! Now we know your secret vice!
I'm very poor too!!!I'm wondering if I should spend out on an aerial for my Freeview. I had a new one just before I left Dorset but left it there. Now I can't get Freeview at all. I paid my TV licence today and wondered if it was worth bothering as I rarely watch television. I used to enjoy BBC4 and the History channel. I loved watching the Proms on BBC4.
No I still haven't looked at el D's poem. And as for our pome thread . Ah such happiness!

Frank is such a great writer. I do love him lots.

Now, what's for supper? I've never had any of those take-aways from supermarkets. And ony a few Indian take-aways from restaurants. The Waitrose Indian meals look so nice. Maybe I should try one. Folly has made me feel hungry. For now I'll eat some licorice.

Good morning, fools

And what a beautiful morning it is, too. It doesn't look as if we'll be seeing any April showers here today.

You're right, Polly, I am very fortunate to be able to get around so well by shanks's pony. Of course, I used to walk/run a lot when I was young, as it was a fair hike to and from my primary school, but most of us probably did the same and thought nothing of it. So I guess it's an hereditary thing. My father was a good walker all his life. I guess it was the only way to get around when he was young, unless you were rich enough to afford a bike. I remember him, in his mid-seventies, going to visit my brother in Switzerland, where, by all accounts, he made mincemeat of those hills. His little sister, my aunt, is still very good on her pins at the age of 93.

The other side of the coin, however, is that I'm very bad at sitting down. If it weren't for the fact that other people use this pooter, I would have it set much higher so I could type standing up. Palmerston used to do his paperwork standing up, as you may know if you heard the Prime Ministers programme about him - or even if you only heard, as I did, a trailer for it. I knew that, anyway, as I have read a lot about him. He used to have steak and port for breakfast. What a man!

Backing the horses is one of my vices, I guess, but a fairly minor one. And not a secret. I very seldom bet other than on a Saturday morning, when I have time to kill, and only two or three times a term at most, as there is usually shopping to be done. My average stake is under a fiver, so I spend less on this vice than MOH does on the lottery - and get a better return.

In the years BC (before children) when I was a highly paid contractor and had money to burn, I used to back the geegees quite often. But even then, as a general rule, the stakes were small. I've never been addicted, I don't think, so it requires no bravery to have the occasional flutter. It's a bit like doing the lottery, really, only more fun. I generally have a bet something like the one I had on Saturday: six horses in all combinations (singles, doubles, trebles, etc), making 63 win bets and 63 place bets. I don't always bother with the place bets, unless the horses are at long odds, as it's not worthwhile. Good job I did on Saturday. If the 6th horse had been placed as well, I'd have won a four figure sum. If the five placed horses had actually won, the return would have been over £60k - and if all six had won, it would have been getting on for £1 million. That's the power of numbers for you.

Gamblers are like fishermen, of course, with their tales of the one that got away. About 25 years ago, during Ascot week, I actually had 5 winners out of 6. Unfortunately, and atypically, I didn't have them in a 6 horse bet, but backed the first two individually and the last four in a Lucky 15. If, as is and was even then my wont, I'd had all 6 in a Lucky 63, I could have retired years ago. It's a mug's game really, though. As Jeffrey Barnard once put it "If you lose, you've lost; if you win, you didn't have enough on."

That woodland burial idea sounds quite interesting, Folly, I must look into it some time.

How do I get my work? Mainly by chance. The trouble is that I don't like delivering junk mail. I used to do a lot of work for a company which 'employs' loads of people and advertises regularly in the local press. It's actually a carpet cleaning business that puts out its own flyers. The owner soon realised that most distribution companies don't really 'deliver', so he set up his own. His angle is that when his minions put out someone else's material, they also deliver one of his own flyers. He generally passes on all the money he receives from his clients (and sometimes slightly more) to his distributors, which is quite good (though it still doesn't make them well paid), but gets his own advertising done for next to nothing. He has one particularly good contract, to deliver about 20k copies of a monthly advertising magazine called The Wokingham Word. I used to spend quite a lot of time 'spreading the Word', but I let them down once too often. It's not that I'm generally unreliable, but I was terribly demotivated by having to deliver his crappy carpet cleaning flyer along with it, in the full knowledge that most people probably received the same thing two or three or even four times a month.

Currently, I have two main regular jobs. One is to deliver (6,200 copies of) The Sandhurst Directory, another advertising mag which goes out every other month (you may get something similar in your area, it's part of a national franchise, I believe) and the other is to deliver (10k copies of) Woodley Town Council's quarterly newsletter. Twice a year, in March and September, these fall in the same month and I get rather busy. I came by these contracts in a bizarre fashion. Two or three years ago I responded to an ad in the local paper, and did a few jobs for a distribution company who paid an hourly rate. The idea was that they would supply me with 20 hours' work a week, which would have been ideal from my point of view. The work wasn't quite that regular, as it turned out, but I did about half-a-dozen jobs for them over the course of, say, 10 weeks. Then I finally twigged that they were operating a scam. For instance, they had the contract to deliver the Woodley TC newsletter (10,500 copies thereof) but the only person delivering it was me (about 3k copies). So I contacted all the clients for whom I had delivered stuff, and two of them now 'employ' me direct. Strangely enough, none of the victims bothered to take legal action against the distribution company, so I guess the bastards are still pulling the same stunt in other parts of the country.

As a result of delivering the Sandhurst Directory, I got a job last summer delivering a Parish Guide in the Crowthorne area, and as a result of that got another job, working on the electoral registration operation for Bracknell Forest. They put a bit of delivery work my way occasionally (which is very well paid) and I hope to be doing some work for them in connection with the European elections. But it's small beer, I'm afraid.

What I really should do is contact all the local authorities in the area, most of whom send out literature either occasionally or on a regular basis, and try to get some work from them. And that's what I'd advise you to do, Folly, if you're interested in doing some delivery work. There are two advantages to this. One is that I don't feel bad about delivering their literature (in fact, I can convince myself it's a public service) and the other is that they will pay a fair rate, unlike most private enterprises.

If you don't feel bad about what you're delivering and you're getting paid a fair rate, distribution work can be quite pleasant - as long as you're not doing too many hours a week. It doesn't exercise the mind greatly, of course - but that gives you the chance to work on your next song lyric.

If you've got this far, I apologise for wasting so much of your time. Once I get started, I can't stop. I'll endeavour to make my bulletins briefer in future.

Must go and see if Frank is still posting in real time.

Enjoy the sunshine, folks.



PS I hope the wedding went well, Rikii, and you didn't drink too much.

Thanks for the info, Tickle, I think I might follow your lead re local authorities, esp as I have contacts through my Parish Clerk's job - I can speak to a couple of people I know in Borough Hall.

Incidentally, today is the first day of Borough Hall. We're one of the new unitary authorities - Beds CC is no more, so County Hall is now Borough Hall and the old town hall - a hideous 70's block - is to be demolished - hooray.
The other bits of Bedfordshire - Mid Beds and South Beds are merging to make Central and Southern Beds. So what was a two tier, four part Bedfordshire is now two separate unitary authorities. There's bound to be some watse of money involved somewhere and heavens knows how they will sort out education, but the corridors of power in the old County Hall were incredibly bureacratic and if our elected mayor (who's been in office for about 5 years) is anything to go by, the new set up can only be better.

Believe it or not, the old leader of the Beds CC has had about 6 receptions of various sorts to thank outgoing departments and old friends in the various parish and borough councils, costing over £1M of our taxes. But she was allowed to do so under the government's agreements for these things!

Now, I must get out for a walk on this beautiful day.

Trust you are all enjoying the sunshine

Toddle pip

Fol

Hi team,thank you all for your best wishes.

The wedding wasn't as bad as I expected,we all sat in one of the larger register office rooms on the first floor,people showed up in dribs and drabs until there was about 30 of us I suppose being a tuesday with short notice put off quite a few of my own family from attending.

The actual wedding service was carried out by to middleaged women,with one sat by the register and the other doing all the talking,it sort of reminded me of my own register office wedding in the early 70's although my lad was far more composed than I ever was then he is 31 and I was a mere 23.

The bride's family we the main part of the wedding party with only three members of my own family turning out,afterwards we went to a little boozer in West Bromwich and as the bride's family consisted of four daughters and a son(who didn't turn up)I was surrounded in the boozer by loads of young ladies and of course their army of young children(ahh)having not met any of the bride's family before I was a little apprehensive yet as it all turned out they got on well with my disabled son(chronic epillepsy)and had all accepted him for what he is which as I never expected him to ever get married,a real bonus for all of us.

I trust all of you are all hunky dory my loves

Dear Rick,
I'm so glad that you had a great day. Sometimes (often) when we expect little we are most surprised and get lots! And being surrounded by young lasses was I'm sure very enjoyable for you.
You must be absolutely thrilled, and very proud, that your son is now married. I'm so very happy for you.

What a gorgeous day it has been here. I did a slow walk this afternoon and then sat on a seat in the Forest for a little while. I'm exausted now though. I'm hoping that Friday will be another beautiful day as I will be having my lunch beside the water meadows in Winchester. And I will do a slow amble beside the river, with camera in hand.

Have a happy evening~~~each of you.




XXX

Hi Poll - and Tick and Rik (sounds like a comdey double act)

Glad you've had a good day, Poll, and I am v envious of you planning a day at the water meadows in Winchester. As you know, my youngest was living there and we spent a couple of nice weekends visiting her including a lovely walk to a hill - St Catherine's? - through the water meadows which were beautiful and only a short stroll from the town centre.

I say 'was living there' as there have been big changes. She and Gordon met during thir first week at Warwick Uni nearly 10 years ago and have lived together for about 3 years. Gordon works in Winchester and, as a farmer's son wants nothing to do with big cities, -Winchester was about as big as he wants. Meanwhile, our Jo loves working in London which she has done since leaving uni. Until last summer when they set up in Winchester, Gordon's been comuting from London and got fed up with - not surprising. But Jo so loves the London life, and, coupled with that has signed on from September for a PGCE - teacher's post grad course at Goldsmith's College which is in S E London. So she has now split fom Gordon - there must have been more to it than I know, but she's not letting on - and last weekend we said goodbye to Winchester and helped her move to Camberwell, South London.

Ah well, I suppose two out of three children in happy settled long term relationships is pretty good going.

Jo now rents part of a shared house built in 1700 something, that used to be 'Grove Lane House' and was the inspiration for Dicken's 'Camberwell Hall' in his 'Sketches by Boz' which launched his writing career in 1833, so he prob visited it or even stayed there, though it has no blue plaque.
It's in a good area of Camberwell, an area that has family connections as my mum and dad were both born nearby (Old Kent Road) and lived their childhood years there, met there at the local tennis club - which still exists - and my dad's family had a sweet shop about half a mile from where Jo now lives. Dad would have been so happy to hear that the connection has been renewed.

I've just got in from a duty at The Stables - a concert by a Mali group called Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba - winners of the World Music Best Band of 2008. They were brilliant, playing some strange instruments and showing without a doubt that the blues began in Africa. Must get a cd.

Sorry, tout le monde, I'm rabbitting on a bit and it's now late, so bye byes for me.

Night night

Good morning to each of you here. I thought we were due to have rain all day but the sky is blue and it is very warm.


Folly, what a shame about your daughter and her chap. That has come as a surprise. I wonder if they will miss each other so much and get together again? I know what it is like to feel the 'pull' to the place where you (me) feels most comfortable in. Hampshire will never be my 'home'. I just want to get back to Dorset and to the peace and beauty of the area....

I did go to Winchester yesterday but the morning was very misty and mizzly. Plus I am physically and mentally exausted. So I didn't get to do my usual walk (that you have obviously done, Folly).I stayed within the town during the morning, and then sat outside the cathedral in the afternoon, on the far side (The Close) and listened to a rehersal that was going on. It was Bach's Easter oratorio. Oh it was utterly beautiful. By then the sun was shining, and The Close was peaceful and looked pretty (there were lots of folk sitting on the green at the front of the cathedral). I closed my eyes and felt so relaxed and happy.

Well I do hope that you each have a happy weekend. What are you doing at Easter? I expect that you will be in Spain, Folly! Rick, I hope you will have some of that elusive 'quality time' with your family.


XXX

Hi, folks

Isn't it a gorgeous day? We had a spot of rain overnight, but it had cleared before I got up.

Polly, or Folly, can you tell me when Lent officially ends? Is it at dusk on Holy Saturday (or whatever they call the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday - known this year as Dad's birthday in our houehold)?

I ask because Grace II gave up cheese for Lent, an act which requires enormous willpower, particularly in our house.

Must dash, have to ollect MOH from work.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Dear W4aT,

I have no idea. I take no heed of , as Ella Wheeler-Wilcox put it, 'Feast days or Fasting days'. I am not 'high' church at all. My Faith is enough. Selah.


Yes~~~another lovely day~~~warm and suuny. I've been at church half the day. And reading the other half!

Hope you all had a peaceful Sunday.,

'Night 'Night.

XXX

Hi Poll, Tickle and Rikki.

Yes, Polly, we're a bit worried about our youngest, but she's been with us over the weekend festivities - see below - and was full of fun and bounce, so maybe it's best as it is.

The weekend? MOH's 60th is on tuesday but we're going to Spain today for two weeks so we had family and friends - about a dozen each day - for meals, chats, sitting in the garden, going for a walk, etc. They came from Cornwall including my old brother, and Brighton and Devon and MOH knew nothing of it so I earned a whole feast of Brownie points. She also doesn't know that both our daughters will turn up at our place in Spain on Good Friday morn till monday - more Brownie points all round! Just off in a minute to the bottle bank!!

Lovely weekend just gone, though, with sun and warmth despite the forecast of showers. Forecast for Spain is a bit gloomy this coming week, but as it's very hilly around there and coastal, the forecast is seldom right.

My only regret about going to Spain is that I miss our church's Easter services - partic the Good Friday afternoon when the contemplative service is awe inspiring. One person hammers nails into a cross (made of the remnants of the previous year's Christmas Tree) during the reading of the crucifixion - it makes your heart leap. But then the cross is decorated for Sunday with flowers woven in all over it and bright and 'hope-full' Easter hymns - really faith confirming stuff. I'm looking forward to when MOH retires and we're not stuck with school hols to go out there.

However, while we're away, we're hoping to visit the Anglican Church in Barcelona where the local vicar moved to a couple of years ago as priest in charge - we got to know him as MOH was on the ecumenical council when he was here.

Well, I trust you'll all have a good Easter holiday and I'll be back in two weeks - I may even post a message or two when I visit an internet cafe.

Bye bye 's all round

Fol

Hello All,

I have a confession; I have been lurking here for a little while not wanting to gate-crash but I think I can answer Tickle's question re Lent.

The last week of Lent begins with Palm Sunday, which celebrates the day Jesus entered Jerusalem and the people lay down palms at his feet. The last day of Lent is Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday.

In the Roman Catholic Church, Lent officially ends at sundown on Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), with the beginning of the mass of the Lord's Supper.

Hope this helps and bring on the cheese on toast

Just popped on before signing off for my hols.

Welcome, Toots and good to have you aboard. I'm sure the others know you well enough to be happy to have your input into our little occasional diary.

I'm off now, so have a happy Easter - Polly, Tickel, Rikki and Toots!!

Hi Toots - and everyone else.

Thanks for the info. Grace II may well end up going RC this week.

Felices fiestas, Folly.

Toots! You've found us! Good to see you here.

My Baptist church has lots going on during the Easter period. But I shan't be here until the Sunday.



Sunday is a very full day starting with a daybreak service at 8am on the edge of the Forest followed by a walk. Breakfast at church is at 9.30am. The morning service is at 10.30. In the evening we have our service brought forward to 5pm. And then a very 'upbeat' service from about 7 - 9pm.

I shall miss the 'walk of witnesses' on Friday, but I actually don't agree with it. I find it all rather blasphemous --- the 'chatty' walk with banners etc and the cross which is taken in turns to hold. No~~I'm sorry but I can't imagine the Lord Jesus putting on a show such as this, or His disciples. He , the Lord, comes in the small and quiet things - not the slightly ostentatious display by well-meaning Christians.

In case I get no other chance, have a 'Happy Easter' - each of you.

Hi team('n' toots)well after sitting on my proverbial all last week I've have had a job everyday this week (including tomorrow)as usual Folly has flow the nest and is probably lapping up a little Spanish sunshine right now.

Nice to hear from you again Polly,I was saddened to hear that you are struggling to walk as I know how much you used to enjoy walking,my sister now has to fork out about 20 quid a week to get her two dogs walked by a dog walker(are you taking notes Tickle?)they charge about a fiver an hour here(per dog) s'pose as we live in a large residential area there is plent of clients for a dog walker.

I am still waiting for my special bespoke heel supports for my plantar facillitis,I have got to wait until May 29 for my NHS supports to be fitted in my pair of size 12's.

Well tickle 'n' toots what's happening

Hi Rikii,

That last post of yours was remarkably coincidental: only an hour or two before, Grace II mentioned that she was thinking of getting some dog-walking work. I'm not sure if she meant for money or on a volunteer basis. Spooky, eh? It's not a bad idea, I suppose, at the sort of rates you mention - as long as there's more than one at a time.

I quite like dogs in some ways, as long as they're someone else's. Lived in a shared house years ago, when the owner acquired a labrador pup. It was quite energetic. I used to take it for a run, rather than a walk.

When I was very young, about 5 or 6, we had a greyhound for a while. That used to take me for a walk.

I could certainly do with another income stream. I have no work at all lined up this month, apart from half a day or so on Tuesday. Should be reasonably busy May thru mid July, as long as I get some work in connection with the Euro elections (not guaranteed). And then there'll probably be little or nothing for the next weeks. I could really do with a proper job, but I doubt anyone would employ me now. MB moderator, perhaps?

Plantar fasciitis, eh? Hope you haven't got it too badly, Rikii, it can take a long time to clear up - especially given the speed at which the NHS podiatry dept. progresses things. I've never really suffered with it myself (being light helps, and I tend to wear decent trainers with good support, when I do anything very energetic) but two of our girls have had problems with it, mainly, I suspect, on account of wearing inappropriate shoes.

I must get to bed, falling asleep here.

Have a good Friday, everyone - and rest of the weekend, too.

I've been meaning to ask you gardening gurus (I guess that means you at the moment, Rik, since Folly has swanned off to Spain) What are the best vegetables (or fruits) to grow in your garden? By best, I mean things that are easy to grow but expensive to buy. I don't see there'd be much point in growing onions, for instance, since they are very cheap to buy - and we'd never be able to keep up with our consumption, anyway. But some veg seem very expensive: maybe that's because they're difficult to grow. Any thoughts?

Hi Team,well tickle I dont think it matters much what veg you grow at home,half of your time you'll be fighting against our totally unpredictable weather and the other half battling against the gardener's worst enemy pests.

I myself grow runner beans,French and the old favourite scarlet runner,for either varieties you'll need some 7ft canes you can start your seeds in pots or plant them directly into the ground either side of the canes and weed the weaker plants out or transplant the seeds to a cane that is empty.

I love growing parsnips and carrots (I dont know how any body can buy them cheaper,there are hundreds of seeds in a packet for about £1.50)carrots can be eaten from baby onwards but parsnips are better after the first frost.

Onions you mock?don't attempt to grow onions from seed unless you are a very good gardener,onion sets can be put in now and they too can be harvested at various stages,onion sets?well you could get about 200 for a few quid.

Last year we(MOH)grew beetroot(for baking like the parsies)spinnich(as the Frenc say the broom of the colon)but we bought the everlasting type where you reap some of the leaves and leave the main roots of the plants in,you can also grow everlasting lettuce that works exactly the same.

Raddishes grow in about six weeks but like a lot of veg you need to sow about once a fortnight to stop all your crops harvesting at the same time.

Me? I got some old scaffold boards(edge on)and spiked inside the corners with a bit of rough sawn 2*2 having a few raised beds now(only 3)about 5ft*10ft we seem to get quite a lot out of them,I'm sure all this waffling by me tickle wont help you in the slightest when you are up to you elbows in the soil but at least you will enjoy eating food that you have decided where it was grown and what chemicals are in it.