This weekend it is the Southbank Bristol Arts Trail (website link here) and for two days there are lots and lots of houses and community venues open to the public, showing art work and crafts of all kinds, for sale and just for admiring. I have spent a happy afternoon peeping into artists' houses and discovering treasures and surprises.
Alongside the arts trail, the North Street Spring Fayre has taken over the shopping street at the end of my road, and it has been carnival time, all day, with the road closed to traffic (it was markedly quiet this morning!), lots of stalls in the road, selling and inviting and informing and entertaining people passing through - and lots of yummy food on offer too.
But because I am a hardworking soul, I had started the day with a couple of hours on my newly acquired allotment, which is about a mile away, and is in a lovely open site with a clear view to the Clifton suspension bridge, and slow goods trains occasionally running alongside. I have only had the allotment for about a month, and the very wet weather has meant I have had far too little time on it so far. But I am making progress with digging, hoeing, and clearing it, and soon it will be fit for planting. Today I explored the allotment shop and bought seeds for peas and beans, chard and beet, and courgettes. And some lupins for green manure, so I can get growing on the whole plot even though it is rather late in the season to be starting out. I haven't had a vegetable garden for about 25 years, so it is pretty much like starting from scratch. But I've been very lucky in inheriting a plot (well, a half-plot to be honest) which has not been abandoned for very long and is in essentially very good condition. So I hope that I can concentrate this summer on getting to know it, growing a few easy things, and planning for a more adventurous season next year.
This is the allotment looking east....my territory runs as far as the huge rhubarb patch, half way down on the left hand side.
This was how it looked on the day I was given it, at the end of a very sunny March. Since then it rained almost constantly for 3 weeks, so I was unable to do anything at all. But in the last couple of weeks I've managed to get down several times, and now I have dug and cleared quite a bit, and I'm ready for planting. My friend Moira has already planted some potatoes (she is sharing some of the plot as it is more than big enough for me).
And this is the plot looking west, including enormous compost bins, beyond which there is another patch of about 8 ft which has been languishing under black plastic, is clean and clear, and is just longing for me to do something really interesting with....watch this space!
Tonight I'm off to hear Charles Hazlewood and the Army of Generals in a concert of Purcell and Handel at St George's. Treats all day long.
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