its not easy being green - new series

[red]

did anyone catch this last night (UK) ?

one thing that bothered me was the family that wanted to grow organic but only had a little garden.. and then next the Strawbridges have 'secretly had their name down for an allotment for months' - the family n question were really surprised when they were told they were getting an allotment as they had been told there was a really long waiting list and allotments were like gold dust.
Don't you just get the feeling that they 'pulled some strings' and some poor sod whose turn it really was lost out....

[pskipper]

Hmm, 5 years and still waiting, it didn't make me happy

I was also wondering how green it is having a giant heated indoor swimming pool in your new zero carbon house!

[Thomzo]

I thought is was a bit irresponsible. After all an allotment is for life, not just for Christmas!

Mind you, if I had a topless bod like that digging one over for me, I might even be tempted.

Did notice the bit about the waterwheel though. Must tell Paddy!

Zoe

[quercusrobur]

did anyone catch this last night (UK) ?

one thing that bothered me was the family that wanted to grow organic but only had a little garden.. and then next the Strawbridges have 'secretly had their name down for an allotment for months' - the family n question were really surprised when they were told they were getting an allotment as they had been told there was a really long waiting list and allotments were like gold dust.
Don't you just get the feeling that they 'pulled some strings' and some poor sod whose turn it really was lost out....

Havn't seen the program yet, but I'm actually on the committee of the allotment site that was used in the program ( www.wlcsallotments.org.uk), no strings were pulled (or if they were I want to know where my bung is!!!) and as far as i'm aware the family didn't jump the queue. At our last committee meeting George our site manager reported that our waiting list currently stands at about 6 people, and turn-over is fairly fast - quite alot of people take on plots and give them up again a few months later. There are quite a few vacant allotment plots in the Southend area at other sites, so I suspect Mr strawbridge was employing a little poetic licence as is the wont of TV presenters, journalists and the like. I think I may even appear briefly, i was down on the plots whilst they were filming and even managed to blag a roll-up off of James, the 'fit' (according to the ladies it seems...) digger, which Dick made me hide when the cameras were pointing in our direction!!

[quercusrobur]

OK, seen it now, downloaded from UKNova, I must say that the program seemed to focus far more on the rich folks and their impressive build project rather than the lowly Hunts and their humble allotment, in fact the latter folks seemed almost incidental, i wouldn't be suprised if we don't see them again in the series.

Dick seemed far more enthusiastic, at home with and able to engage with the Keenans on their level, a shame because personally i'm far more interested in how us 'little people' without much money or resources can take steps towards more sustainable and low carbon lifestyles. If the show is going to primarilly focus on the main meal of the grand, money driven build project with the efforts of us common struggling folks being thrown on as little more than a garnish then in terms of empowerment and inspiration I feel its rather a wasted opportunity.

[red]

ok I stand corrected then - but i think it might have been more usefull to say 'allotments are easy to come by in this area, and we got one just like that'
The fact the bloke was surprised about the lack of waiting list means either he wasn't trying very hard to be organic etc, or an allotment is a bad idea for him for some reason, or the facts have changed.


I was pretty disappointed with the program - as you say it focuses on the 795K new build..., and not much on the more everyday family. right.. now about reality and the rest of the population. But then this is a hang up of mine regarding the inebg program - the original series, they were able to buy a 500k property, and do it up, and feed all those students all summer.. and have a full time veg growing person and 2 people on sorting out engineering and projects. If I had those sorts of resources.. i might find being green a dang sight easier!....

[quercusrobur]

ok I stand corrected then - but i think it might have been more usefull to say 'allotments are easy to come by in this area, and we got one just like that'
The fact the bloke was surprised about the lack of waiting list means either he wasn't trying very hard to be organic etc, or an allotment is a bad idea for him for some reason, or the facts have changed.

Yes the program didn't do much to dispell the myths that allotments are hard to come by - in some areas they are there is no doubt, I have friends in London who have been on waiting lists for ages and they are indeed like gold-dust, but in other areas sites are under serious threat due to under-subscription. Our site is basically full, but there is another allotment site about a mile or so down the road that is very under-utilised, probably 70% of the plots are vacant and returned to wilderness (not that that is such a bad thing!!! BTW I have a longer term 'forest garden' project slowly happening at this wilder, more 'edgy' site). The couple on the show actually live just a few hundred yards from the Springfield Drive allotments, so I'm surprised they didn't at least wander over at some point to see if there were any plots available, and the ever cheerful George would have sorted something out for them...

[quercusrobur]

ok I stand corrected then - but i think it might have been more usefull to say 'allotments are easy to come by in this area, and we got one just like that'
The fact the bloke was surprised about the lack of waiting list means either he wasn't trying very hard to be organic etc, or an allotment is a bad idea for him for some reason, or the facts have changed.

A simple comment like "No, in many areas allotments are lot easier to come by than you might think! Contact your local authority to find out which plots are available" to follow up Mr hunt's incorrect assumption could potentially have made a huge difference to the generally embattled and beleagured allotment movemnet using only 3 or 4 seconds of airtime. Instead we are left with the impression that Mr hunt is very priviledged to have the BBC pull some strings 'cos he's now a star of TV land, and emphasising like a self-fulfilling prophecy the central message of the show that "Its Not Easy Being Green! (unless you're middle class, well connected, highly articulate and have got loads of cash to spare)" . Wheras in fact its piss-easy to get an allotment in Southend as long as you can be arsed! And if more folks were able to be inspired rtaher than disempowered by this show we could see massive upsurges in demand for plots which could put authorities into some quite tricky positions - as far as I know the law still stands that local authorities have a statutory duty to provide plots if six or more rate payers demand them...

[pskipper]

It's good to know that no strings were pulled. I have to agree about the 795K house though, much better to have been following someone hand making a 10K one!

[red]

Wheras in fact its piss-easy to get an allotment in Southend as long as you can be arsed!

well,I'm sorry if I jumped to the wrong conclusion - i'm sure you can see why I did. I am glad thoughthat nothing underhand went on.

Sadly, now I am left with the conclusion that the featured family cannot be that serious about growing their own organic veg, if they did not attempt to get an allotment. Then again, the program seems to have twisted some facts, perhaps the family only wanted to do the water recycling etc.... who knows...

[quercusrobur]

Sadly, now I am left with the conclusion that the featured family cannot be that serious about growing their own organic veg, if they did not attempt to get an allotment. Then again, the program seems to have twisted some facts, perhaps the family only wanted to do the water recycling etc.... who knows...

I'll let you know how their plot progresses! However it did seem that the plot was rather thrust upon them rather than something they decided they wanted to do! There may be all manner of reasons why they didn't want an allotment - time, the coommitemnts of a young family, fitting it in with work, etc, etc - it was quite a big and daunting plot for someone inexperienced, and the dig over by Jmaes was by necessity superficial - practically the whole plot was done in a morning in the pissing rain IIRC, and though it looked nice and clear within a week or two couch and other perennials will be showing their pretty faces again. Its a common pattern I've seen on that allotment site, some young family will take on a plot, dig the whole thing over, smile smugly at me doing my permaculture thing amongst the weeds and general chaos i laughingly call my allotment plot, guess what, two weeks later, back come the weeds on their pristine plot and they are never seen again! And thats people who made a consious decision that they wanted to have a go at the allotment thing rather than being suddenly dropped in at the deep end when all they'd asked for was a few hints and tips on how to make their small back garden more productive... Anyway, good luck to them, they seemd like a sweet family when I briefly met them.

[Welsh Girls Allotment]

I thought it was a bit unrealistic the way the plot was supposed to have been cleared in a morning, surely this would give people a false sense of the work involved and when they get to to the nitty gritty themselves may be put off that they are unable to clear the plot that quickly.

I agree with swimming pool hardly eco friendly, although the £750 k house build will be interesting, to me it belongs on Grand Designs not INEBG

[quercusrobur]

I went and had a look at their plot yesterday - still seems to be being worked, though of course much of the weed growth has returned. What I did forget was that they got a brand new shed thrown in - lucky blighters!

[catalyst]

i am being sent a copy of this from one of the moderators on their forum. so, not seen it yet, but looking forward to.