BK - This and That
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BK - This and That
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| This site contains articles on various subjects that I am interested in. They include: growing on allotments; histories of allotments and of cultivation; the summer festivals in Edinburgh (which I typically call the August Feast); and computer performance (used to be my day job). The articles in the early versions of the site have been mostly written by me. However, you will invariably find many links to other people's articles, as I am a firm believer in the original ethos of the Internet, which is to share information. |
| Allotments & Growing - Cultivation I have been interested in growing, mainly vegetables and fruit, since I was a teenager and I have had an allotment for close on 30 years. New to an Allotment? and Cultivation Approaches are both aimed at "newbies". They are based on the experiences of a dozen plot holders on our site, including myself. I collated the information some years ago and continue to maintain and occasionally expand the articles. Garden Recipes primarily provides information on DIY sprays for tackling pests and diseases. It may be of interest to individuals who are loath to use chemicals. The first year experiences of Harriet Roach, a young mother and plot holder on our site, is a popular read (written by Harriet herself and published here with her consent). And finally, there is a page with lots of links to other useful articles and material that I have found elsewhere on the web. |
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Allotments & Growing - History I have over the years become greatly interested in both the history of allotments and the history of growing. I have penned the following pieces which I hope provide useful and readable introductions to the subjects. Both pieces include details of further reading material for anybody who wishes to delve deeper into the topics: A Brief History of Allotments A Brief History of Cultivation prior to Allotments. I am also particularly interested in the histories of individual allotment sites: History of Sunningdale Allotments (my own site in Berks) Links to the histories of other allotment sites. A reasonable amount of interest has been generated by this scanned copy of an advisory handbook for running allotments which was produced by the National Association of Parish Councils in 1951 to help councils manage allotment sites. |
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Recent UK Allotment News Sep 12th, 2011 - Return of Aminopyralid problems? An article by George Monbiot in The Guardian and a number of recent posts in allotment forums makes me wonder if the problem is returning or if these are simply isolated cases which are remnants of the original problem back in 2007 and 2008. Time will tell. Aug 1st, 2011 - New allotments to be auctioned. The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead is to sell 14 new allotments by auction on EBay. 12 are 150m2 and will have a reserve price of £300 while the remaining 2 are 75m2 with a reserve price of £150. Each plot will have a shed, a small greenhouse and share a water tank with one other plot. May 8th, 2011 - Allotment Waiting List survey. Transition Town West Kirby - in conjunction with NSALG -carried out this survey for the 3rd year. 323 principal authorities in England submitted data - Parish Councils were excluded. The major finding is that there are 57 people on the waiting list for every 100 plots, marginally down on last year's figure of 59. See the full report. |
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 | Witterings I will add miscellaneous pieces here periodically. I decided, against my better judgement as the world probably did not really need yet another tome on this subject, to produce a blog of our efforts during the 2010 growing season. It runs from December 2009 to November 2010. An unsatisfactory piece on allotments in Gardeners' Question Time reminded me of the lack of a balanced coherent debate on this subject, particularly in the media, and it prompted me to pen a piece on my views on allotments and their future: "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" in the World of Allotments. Who are the Gods of "The Beautiful Game"? a witter about soccer for a change. |
Edinburgh Festival I am keen on the arts, particularly drama, dance and the visual arts. My wife and I got fed up with beach holidays and rolled up to the Edinburgh Festival one year. We were immediately smitten, not only by the festivals (there is more than one), but also by the beauty of the city itself and we have been regular visitors ever since. I have a website dedicated to the subject, An Edinburgh Festival Punter. It started out as a vehicle for a possible book The August Feast: A Punter's Perspective on Edinburgh and its Festivals which never came to pass. It now includes news, links to previews and reviews, lots of links, et cetera. By far the most popular item on the website is A History of The Festivals. Also, non-festival tourists - Edinburgh is a popular destination all the year round - find A Potted History of Auld Reekie a useful read. |
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IT - Computer Performance Assurance Until I recently retired the field of computing had provided me with a day job for 40+ years. I shall not bore you with the complete range of areas that I worked in. Suffice it to say that in the last 25 years I worked principally in technical architectures, specialising in computer performance. Eventually I wrote a book, Performance Assurance for IT Systems, which was published in August 2004. Some background to the book plus additional free material that I penned in the succeeding years can be found on my performance web pages. |
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Site last updated on December 20th, 2011. |
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