The very first post!

Welcome to my brand new blog! This web diary is all about my efforts at foraging wild food from the lanes around our house and the veggies I manage to grow in our tiny yard outside. We don't have much space but manage to grow peas, broad beans, borlotti beans, strawberries, salad, herbs, jerusalem artichokes, carrots, courgettes, tomatoes and swiss chard. And we somehow squeeze in two chickens as well.

We are hoping to get an allotment this year. I think it's common knowledge that there's a shortage of allotments at the moment. It's suddenly become hugely fashionable to grow your own (Adam and I went on an Open Gardens tour last week, every single garden had a veggie patch) so demand for allotments has shot up and most councils now have extensive waiting lists, some lasting years.

I e-mailed my local parish council (Roydon) to ask to go on their waiting list, thinking that I'd get an allotment in a year or two and this would fit in with Xanthe (our youngest daughter) starting school and I'd have more time for an allotment. They told me that the next village along, Bressingham, had purchased some land which it was turning into allotments and they'd agreed to make some available to Roydon residents. I've been in touch with Bressingham Parish Clerk who thinks I should be able to have an allotment in the Autumn - I can't quite believe my luck!

The downside is the site is 2.5 miles away from home, only a 5 min drive but not doing much for my food miles. However, it's a beautiful site, on the edge of a pretty village, bordering open countryside with amazing views. I'm trying not to get too excited as nothing is signed and sealed and, as they say, there's many a slip twixt cup and lip but watch this space!