A year on the allotment: April 2016

April is the time when the growing season begins in earnest on the allotment. Suddenly the place becomes a hive of activity with plot-holders digging, rotivating and make a start on planting crops...

Whilst we've done plenty of digging and rotivating, crops are still thin on the ground at the moment. We pulled out the last of our leeks at the start of April. Yes, I know they look like spring onions, but trust me, they are leeks. They actually tasted really delicious.

This April has been particularly cold, so we're behind with planting certain things out. Only the other day I had to do a double take when I saw snow and hail falling outside my kitchen window. Here's hoping May is going to be warmer so that we can catch up with seed planting.

I have planted out some parsnip plug plants, but they look a bit battered in the cold and wet weather we've been having recently. Hopefully they will perk up once some sun hits them. We also have onions and garlic happily growing away. I managed to put in two rows of spuds, but will wait until May to put more in.

We've rotivated most of the open beds on our plot ready for planting. Magoo loves to help with raking the soil, although she often declares that "it's hard work", and she's not wrong. Watering is her favourite activity, but we have to guide her away from the cans. More water is something we certainly don't need at the moment. I'm thinking of putting aside a 'muddy area' where she can pour water and stomp about in her wellies to her hearts content...

One job ticked off the list this month was painting the shed. Magoo and her cousin did a sterling job of painting most of the wood before they got fed up and started to play hide and seek. Magoo's cousin chose the colour of the paint and I think it looks fantastic, it lifts the whole plot.

Over the past year we've struggled to keep the surrounding grass from invading our beds. Mr M and Magoo have worked hard this month putting edging wood around the plot. Hopefully this will help to hold back the invasive grasses that can swamp us if we're not careful.

We've also found a great source of cheap woodchip from our local disused quarry. There is a tree surgeon who runs his business from the quarry and there's always a huge pile of woodchip for sale. You can fill a large garden waste bag for just £2, which is a bargain. We've covered the main path running up the middle of our plot so far. We plan to use the woodchip around the whole plot as a mulch to keep weeds and grass to a minimum. Lets hope it works!

April has been busy month for prepping the plot and we've got lots of jobs done in the lighter evenings. We just need a warm spell in May to get some crop growing underway.

This week I am linking up with these lovely blogs:

Country Kids over on www.coombemill.com

How Does Your Garden Grow? over on gemmagarner.com

Making Home over on www.mrscraftyb.co.uk

Beach combing, frisbee and messages in the sand

I have taken a complete blogging break over the school holidays. Magoo likes to be out and about as much as possible. Plus my Mother-in-Law came to stay for a week, so I wanted to give them both my full attention. Our holiday was filled with trips to the park, meeting up with friends, walks to the allotment, bike rides, ice creams and lots of trampolining.

We seem to be a little bit out of step with our Easter Holiday break. Most schools had their holidays around the bank holiday weekend. Ours started a week after the Bank Holiday weekend. Although it has been a bit grim and grey at times, we have enjoyed the occasional burst of Spring sunshine.

Saturday was a bright and beautiful day, so we decided to make the most of the sun and head to the beach near our home. We love this particular beach because there are lots of places to explore. Along the tide line you can often find interesting pieces of drift wood, pebbles in a hundred and one different shades and sometimes the odd fossil.

Due to high tides and Winter storms, the sandbanks were more exposed than usual. It looked like large chunks had been washed away. We could clearly see the exposed layers of sand, stone and shells in the bank. Magoo and Mr M couldn't resist having a dig around to see if there were any fossils or interesting stones to be found. We particularly love finding pebbles containing quartz because they glitter in the sunshine and look like jewels.

We took bucket and spades, beach mats and a frisbee. Magoo loves the frisbee, and spent quite a while throwing it into the air just for the fun of it. I really wanted to try and capture a photo of the neon pink frisbee against the blue sky and Welsh coastline in the distance.

We also spent some time collecting stones to write messages in the sand. I though it might be nice if another family or a dog walker found our 'LOVE' note later on in the day. I hope it survived the tide coming in...but if it didn't, there's plenty more pebbles to write a new message next time we're on the beach.

This week I'm linking up with these lovely blogs:

"Country Kids" over on www.coombemill.com

"Twinkly Tuesday" over on mummascribbles.com

"Point + Shoot" over on youbabymemummy.com and www.snowingindoors.com

"Whatever the Weather" over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk

"Let Kids Be Kids" over on letkidsbekids.co.uk

"Blogger Club UK" over on www.cuddlefairy.com and mudpiefridays.com

A year on the allotment: March 2016

March has been a busy time on the allotment. We've been visting the plot three or more times each week. There's loads to do, mainly digging and tidying up after the cold Winter months. Everyone is waiting for the soil to warm up before the planting gets into full swing.

Despite the soil being cold and wet for most crops, we did manage to plant some garlic and onions. Magoo enjoyed breaking the bulbs up into individual cloves. Planting garlic and onions is the perfect gardening job for little fingers.

Whilst we were busy planting the garlic and onions, Mr. M was cracking on with the digging. I'm glad he enjoys it so much because it's back breaking work, especially when the soil is so damp.

Once the planting was finished, we stopped for our all important picnic lunchbreak. Chunky sandwiches and tea from a flask taste so much better in the Spring sunshine.

After lunch Mr. M carried on with the digging, closely supervised by Magoo. Plus there was a robin keeping a close eye of proceedings. He darted down and ate one or two fat worms as they were dug up. It's so nice to see these beautiful native birds up close.

At this time of year the allotment gets regular deliveries of horse manure. Large mounds of the stuff appear from time to time and everyone is welcome to help themselves to it. We filled our wheelbarrow and started spreading the muck onto freshly dug soil. Magoo didn't need to be asked twice to get involved with the 'poo throwing' as she called it. We all agreed she is a pretty good dung flinger.

In other exciting news, we finally have a new shed. In my February post I explained how Storm Imogen turned our old allotment shed into firewood. Mr. M and my brother worked for over six hours last weekend putting it together. They are more fiddly to construct than you'd think. It's lovely to have a shed on the plot again and it looks great...we just need to paint it now.

This week I'm linking up with these lovely blogs:

"How Does Your Garden Grow" over on the beautiful mammasaurus.co.uk

"Point + Shoot" over on youbabymemummy.com and www.snowingindoors.com

"Making Home" over on mrscraftyb.co.uk

"Whatever the Weather" over on lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk

"Share with Me" over on letstalkmommy.com

"Blogger Club UK" over on www.cuddlefairy.com and mudpiefridays.com

"Country Kids" over on www.coombemill.com

Old school My Little Pony: a trip into 1980s nostalgia

I can't tell you how much I love the fact my Mum kept many of my childhood toys. A firm favourite in our household are the My Little Pony figures dating from the early 1980s. I loved them as a child & would save up my pocket money to buy a new pony to add to my collection as often as I could. What is truly amazing is seeing my own daughter play with them & love the ponies just as much as I did.

The ones pictured here are commonly know as 'generation one' ponies. My Little Pony continues to exist in many more forms and has been rebranded more times than I care to think about. My daughter watches the latest version of the MLP cartoon and I find it a bit fast paced for my liking. Must be getting old and I'm probably just being nostalgic about my ponies, but I feel like the G1s were the best. I only have to hear the My Little Pony theme tune from the 1980s & I get misty eyes.

The first pony I ever bought was Cotton Candy. One birthday or Christmas I was given the twin baby ponies, complete with nappies, bottle and necklaces. I used to imagine Cotton Candy was their Mum.


Cotton Candy was soon followed by Apple Jack. I spent many hours coming her golden mane...

Over the next couple of years I added to my collection. The ponies evolved to have glittery logos on their flanks, their heads were positioned to look up more & there were even unicorns towards the mid-1980s. I owned Moonstone & she was secretly one of my favourites. My head was turned by her rainbow mane & the shiny planets on her bum. I thought Cotton Candy looked a bit glum in comparison. Children can be so fickle...

Despite being over thirty years old, Magoo loves playing with the My Little Ponies from the 1980s. She gets completely lost in a world of mane-brushing just like I did when I was her age.

I'm linking up with these lovely linky-hosts:

'The Ordinary Moments' over on www.mummydaddyandmemakesthree.co.uk

Image of the Week over on www.trulymadlykids.co.uk

Happy Days over on www.whatkatysaid.com

Brilliant Blog Posts over on honestmum.com

Magic Moments over on theoliversmadhouse.co.uk

Vintage Love: 1970s GALT wooden wobbly head tortoise toy

I've had this little GALT wooden tortoise toy for about as long as I can remember. He's such a cute little thing and he sits on my hand painted dresser.

Once upon a time I played with him all the time. I used to push him across our living room or the kitchen floor and watch his little head bobble about.

Made by GALT, he dates from the 1970s.

The beauty of this toy is in its simplcity. If you turn him over you can see the mechanism. Four wooden wheels drive him along, but the front two wheels are joined to a slightly bent metal bar to which his head is attached. The motion of pushing him forwards makes the bent bar go up & down and this in turn makes his head wobble about. So simple, yet so effective & really engaging for young children.

He measures about 12 cms (including his head) by 7 cms by 5 cms tall. He is varnished and has hand painted details on the face.

At nearly forty years old, he's wearing well. I think he's adorable and have no intentions of parting with him.

If you'd like to see more retro goodies, head on over to my "Vintage Finds" board over on Pinterest...

Follow Pouch : blogging + craft's board My Vintage Finds on Pinterest.

Calico dolls made with my mum over thirty years ago

When we were small, my Mum used to make handmade dolls. Back in the early 1980s, way before online selling was born, she would sell her dolls to a local shop in town. It was a way to make a little bit of income alongside being a busy stay-at-home Mum to two small children. On the eve of Mother's Day, I want to share some photos of these lovely dolls & also share the dolls my Mum would help me make. I think these early memories of watching my Mum sew instilled in me a love all things creative.

I remember my Mum would often have the sewing machine out on the dining room table when we were little. The whirr of the machine was a familiar sound in our house. Some of my earliest memories are of my Mum letting me sit next to her & press the foot pedal whilst she guided the fabric through.
My Mum used to make two types of fabric dolls. One type was a larger calico doll with brown wool hair, carefully styled into two thick plaits on each side of the doll's head. They wore beautiful dresses with many layers of petticoats underneath, all handmade by my Mum. She also made smaller dolls with close-cropped hair. They all wore various different styles of dress. The pictures featured here are of the smaller doll wearing a ballet outfit.


Sewn in calico and with hand knitted jumpers and pretty gingham dresses, as a small child, I used to covet these dolls. I didn't really understand how complicated the work was, when I look at them now, I see how much effort went into every detail of each doll. The doll featured here has a little wrap-over cardigan carefully knitted by my Mum, she wears a dress sewn in soft cotton fabric, her tiny little felt ballet shoes are tied up with pink ribbon. There's even a tiny pair of lace-trimmed bloomers under the dress.



When I watched my Mum make these dolls, all I wanted was to get my hands on them, but they weren't intended for me, they needed to be sold in the shop. I must've worn my Mum down with pleading because she eventually gave me one of the ballet dolls. Handmade over three decades ago, she's holding up well.
Like most children, I was curious about how things are constructed and I wanted to imitate my Mum. So, as I got a bit older, probably around the ago of six or seven, my Mum would let me have some calico, wool, felt and fabric and I would try and copy the dolls she made. I have kept two of my attempts. I think I must've had quite a bit of help with both of these, my sewing skills were still developing, but I enjoyed having a go.



All these dolls are over thirty years old now. I think the ballet doll has stood the test of time & this design would still be popular with girls today. Some designs are timeless, little girls always like cloth dolls. I kept my own attempts at doll-making for sentimental reasons, in fact, it's a miracle I still have them because I've moved homes quite a few times. My early memories of watching my Mum sew almost definitely sowed the seeds of creativity in my brain...so I'm not going to part with them any time soon.
This Mother's Day will be tinged with sadness because my Mum will not have her own Mother around for the first time in her life. My Granny passed away a few weeks ago. She was also a very skilled seamstress and her love of sewing was passed onto my Mum, who in turn, passed it onto me. These dolls represent the way skills can be handed down through the generations, and I think it is important to keep that tradition alive. My daughter watches me sew and has already declared she wants to be a 'Maker' when she grows up...which sounds good to me.
So, I think this Mother's Day if you do one thing, try and make something together...make a den, make a meal, make a mess...make memories.
I'm linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts and My Best Post of the Week #MBPW over on Britmums.

Vintage love: Christmas decorations

I'm a huge fan of nostalgia. If there's one time of year where people feel nostalgic, it's Christmas. These decorations were bought out of the loft every single year when I was growing up. The pom pom robins were made by my Mum before I was born, so they are at least 35 years old. They still look in good condition considering their age. It probably has something to do with the fact that we were under strict instructions as kids to never to touch them!

The cardboard gift boxes are also a Christmas decoration from my childhood, they are at least 30 years old. Mum would put them under the tree with gifts in. Somehow they managed to survive years of manhandling by me and my brother, eager to get at the presents inside them.

I now have the pom pom robins on display in my house in the living room and the festive boxes take pride of place on the dresser in the dining room - I think they are too delicate to put under the tree. I think it's lovely for my own daughter to see decorations from my childhood - hopefully she will love them as much as I do and maybe in a couple of years we'll have a go at making our own pom pom robins...

If you'd like to see more of my vintage finds, head on over to my Pinterest board...sharing images of my fabric collection, ceramics, childhood toys and much more...

Follow Pouch : blogging + craft's board My Vintage Finds on Pinterest.

Vintage Find: Magic Roundabout cup

I spotted this small cup in a charity shop in Bristol and knew I had to have it! I loved the The Magic Roundabout as a child in the late 70s and early 80s (although I must've been watching the repeats from the 1960s). I adored everything about it, the characters, the innocent story lines and the wacky colourful world they all inhabited.

Created by Serge Danot in 1965 the Le Manège Enchanté (The Horse-gear Magic) had over 500 episodes made. It became a cult classic here in the UK when Eric Thompson (Father of the actress Emma Thompson) started writing & narrating the scripts. I know now that students in the 1960s loved the The Magic Roundabout for the underlying drug references (what was Dylan the Rabbit on?!) and the psychedelic backdrop.

But this cup represents pure, innocent childhood nostalgia and it's taken pride of place in my vintage finds collection!