Veg Plotting

You want everyone to keep the allotment site tidy So you have some very helpful notices made so plot holders know what's what Arrange them prominently so they can't be missed Wait for a blogger with a camera to spot the notice is now more of a 'do what I say, not what I do' Et voila! This notice has been on site for years looking quite normal, but has fallen victim recently to the stormy weather. It's a very minor casualty compared to what some parts of the country are experiencing (and my allotment neighbour whose plot currently resembles a lake), but it felt good to see some storm damage which made me smile for a change. And some sunshine!

This is quick reminder about this weekend's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch from the unlikeliest of spots: the ladies loo at Bridgewater Services on the M5. I spotted this advert above the hand dryers at the end of January last year and I saved it especially for today! Forget the dates you see in the picture, the ones for this year are the 25th and 26th January. Here's to finding an hour this weekend with plenty of birds :) The ladies loo at Bridgewater Services seems to do a nice line in odd juxtapositions: here's another one I took for Sign of the Times .

Decide your local company needs to get out and about a bit more Take a pitch at Chippenham's Art in the Park event Set up your informative display Wait for a blogger with a camera to notice your product isn't quite needed on the day in question Et voila! It was definitely ultra-warm in Monkton Park last Saturday; the hottest day of the year at that point!

Set up a specialist gardening supply company Hide it away on an industrial estate well away from prying eyes Decide you really want people to know it's there Wait for a blogger with a camera to spot your advert on the roundabout by the estate where she lives Et voila! I've just started to get to grips with hydroponics, so expect more on this subject and possibly Bill and Ben to come :)

Start a local farm shop which stocks plenty of fresh, seasonal veg Add a very popular cafe to your business offering Seeing it's raining and unseasonably cold, tweet what a treat a hot chocolate would be Wait for a tempted blogger with a camera to spot there's a new type of veg on the block Et voila!

Operate your typical edge of town supermarket kinda store Decide something quite different is needed Tell your customers something's happening Wait for a blogger with a camera to notice the sign says in tiny letters at the bottom left: Image for illustrative purposes only Et voila! Since when has an image not been used for illustrative purposes? ;) However, since I took this picture on 28th January all has been revealed. Last week the store had a massive revamp and there is indeed a wondrous new array of vegetables, fruit etc. on offer. It's going to take time to work through all the things I've not heard of :) It turns out Chippenham's Morrison's is one of six stores chosen to pilot the supermarket group's brand new strategy . The link takes you to this week's article in the local paper which tells you more. If this is a success, it'll be coming your way too. Such power in the hands of Chippenham's people! ;)

Publish a popular weekly newspaper for the Wiltshire area Have a regular Your Memories slot which has photographs from days gone by Ask readers to identify and locate the house shown in the latest photograph Wait for a blogger with a camera to spot a house in the Property section in the same edition looks very familiar Et voila! I hope my email to the Gazette and Herald got passed on to Nigel Brown so he can investigate further...

Build your supermarket on one of the town's most popular estates Make sure there's a large, warm welcoming area to get shoppers in from the cold Add several features designed to help them spend more money Wait for a blogger with a camera to wonder since when have coins not been cash ? Et voila ! I know I'm being a little unfair as these are a feature of many a supermarket outside of Chippenham, but it was only when I was in my local one that the penny (literally!) dropped ;)

Form a company tapping into the increasingly lucrative accident compensation market Recruit a number of sales people to bring in the business you need Provide them with a mobile advertising unit just right for temporary high street installation Wait for a blogger with a camera to spot it has an in-built trip hazard Et voila ! Note that the usual blogger with a camera can be seen further down the street on the right. My thanks to NAH for spotting the possibilities and taking the photograph :)

Times are hard, so come up with a new initiative to bring life back to your town's high street Give it the snazzy title Chippenham Alive! Advertise the key businesses involved in the initiative Wait for a blogger with a camera to notice the sole advertisement in the town centre is in the window of an empty shop Et voila ! Chippenham Alive! is the new monthly late night opening initiative, designed to counteract the effects of recent high street closures and massively hiked parking charges. The reaction to the first opening last month was mixed. There was quite a lot of publicity in the local paper, but it would appear not so much on the streets and participating shops themselves. Here's hoping tonight's late night opening which includes the Christmas lights switch on fares much better.

Set up your dental practice Decide to raise awareness of a particular health initiative Create a simple poster for your window Wait for a blogger with a camera to notice the second poster is definitely needed after displaying the first one Et Voila! Joking aside, please do get checked out. Whilst we're on the subject of adverts, you may have noticed a new bit of blog bling at the top of the right hand sidebar. My thanks to whoever nominated me for The Horticultural Channel 's inaugural awards. I'm really chuffed, amongst some very fine company and I wish the best of luck to my fellow nominees. You can go along and vote here - there's lots of your other gardening favourites nominated in the other categories too :)

Start a vintage sales area at your garden centre Acquire some wire salmon fish traps for said area Display them prominently so the blogger with the camera is intrigued by the marriage of two of her interests: fisheries research and gardening Wait for her to notice that the suggested re-use isn't quite as desired Et Voila ! The price was quite eye watering too.

I don't usually go with press releases, but I received one last week for the re-launch of a certain garden shopping channel which made me giggle and I feel is more suited for today. Here's the Royal Flower Philharmonic Orchestra playing Mozart's 40th Symphony to an audience of flowers, plants and bulbs ;) If you don't mind looking at an advert (thankfully it's not too much in your face), then here's the full version in sight and sound. Or if you'd prefer just to hear the music without the explanation of what was going on, then you can do that here . And there's a summary of the research re plants responding to music including the work by Dorothy Retallack referred to in the advert. Keep an open mind if you take the link as the article opens with talking to plants before going on to summarise some of the research on this subject. Is it the carbon dioxide in our breath or the frequency of our voice (or indeed both) which is having the benefici...

I've been meaning to write this post for a while because I'm in the process of compiling a new Page for this blog about my policy regarding advertising and links. Some of you may have noticed a new Sponsors section on the right, which shows I'm now taking some paid advertising. I've resisted going down this route for 3 years because I appreciate the blogging community and it's been very easy to do so previously because it's clear that most of the many companies who do get in touch haven't read my blog at all. However, I was shocked late last year when I reviewed NAH's and my accounts to find just how much my blogging is costing me in terms of travel, entrance fees, arrangements for Meet at Malvern , postage for giveaways etc etc. Of course I would have done quite a lot of these things anyway as they're so enjoyable, but it's also true that blogging has intensified these activities: probably doubled them at least. So after a great deal of t...

Start a blog Meet local blogging friend who has a thing about quirky 'adverts' Blogger with a camera spots something contradictory about adverts in financial advisor office Et Voila ! This was in the financial brokers office [North Wilts Credit Union - Ed ] next to McColls (post office) and Lee's fish bar off Hardenhuish Lane. The contradiction made me giggle. This is a guest post from Mark at Views From the Bike Shed with a little light editing from me (hope you don't mind!). Thanks Mark, your email was most timely seeing I've had quite a few family matters to sort out this week.

Operate a railway station in a small rural town Get all concerned about health and safety Put up informative signs warning passengers how fast trains can be when they roar through the station Wait for a blogger with a camera to notice the train symbol is rather old fashioned for these modern times Et voila! We do still get the odd steam train rattling through Chippenham, but it's around 50 years since they made up the regular service. We are on the main line to London after all ;) Fingers crossed it doesn't snow for my trip to the big city next week...

Start up your local computer business in a small rural town Think about ways in which you can show off your expertise Install a webcam at the side of your shop Wait for a blogger with a camera to realise it doesn't quite show off the town at its best Et voila! I'm not really being fair as the company is located right behind where I took this photo, so they've had to work with what they have. I'm sure they'd have had all kinds of problems in getting permission to show off the Yelde Hall or the Buttercross in the marketplace at the other end of town. Besides, Brunel's railway viaduct is a grade I listed building too. NAH thinks it's an extremely useful webcam as it allows Westinghouse employees to see if they'll be held up in traffic on the way home. I on the other hand am used to looking at webcam views such as this one in Sydney . Chippenham's webcam updates every 10 seconds showing what's going on at the traffic lights at the b...

Threadspider and I took a trip to our local garden centre recently and saw the 'cataloguespeak' I discovered earlier this year has now found its way into the descriptions on display there. Here's a fun quick guide to the meanings behind what the signs say... Vigorous - will swamp all your other plants nearby Best eaten fresh - doesn't keep or cook well Crops heavily - you'll have much more than you'll know what to do with Unique flavour - tastes so bad you'll need to mix it with something to disguise the flavour such as chilli or ginger, or sweeten it with a whole bag of sugar Bright light in winter - you'll need to leave the light on all day, especially as we've also advised you to keep it on a north or east facing windowsill Fast growing - will engulf your house in just one season Ideal for cooking - it has no taste or is sour when eaten fresh. May also have a unique flavour Challenging - impossible to grow, so don't bother Uncommonly...

A rather surprising item we found on the menu at the local Indian takeaway whilst visiting NAH's aunt in Poole earlier this year. Although I'm a trained freshwater biologist and so I usually take finding strange river beasties in my stride, even I didn't like the thought of eating this dish!