Totally off topic, but how about this?

I recently decided to take up archery.

I duly did my one hours training one-to-one with an instructor, to learn the basics and the safety aspects.

I was using a loaned bow, which only had a draw weight of 14lbs.

I found it quite easy to use, so when I had my own bow made up (you have to have them made to fit you and the arrows have to be tuned to the bow) I went for 28 lbs draw.

To put it in perspective, you have to have a 50lb draw to shoot outdoors at 100yard targets, but it takes quite a while to build up to that weight.

Anyway, I turned up at the club night a couple of nights ago and was parked at one end of the line and allocated a target so that I could practice.

I found it much harder with the heavier draw, but I plugged away at it and fired a few sighting shots, to get the range and distance.

I had just fired off 3 arrows that looked pretty good, but I couldn’t really tell as I was looking at the arrows end on, when the secretary turned up. She was there to collect my membership subs, so I went into the office to pay, and as we went in, the folks in there were going mad about somebody’s shooting, looking through the window and asking whose arrows they were……

I looked through the window.

They were mine

I only hit the bull about twice more all evening – talk about beginner’s luck!!

I have been very remiss for the last few months, and haven’t updated my blog (slapped wrist, bad boy)

I have been even worse with my own website though, as that hasn’t seen anything new for two years!

My excuse is that Home Farmer pay me to write a dary each month, and therefore they should get first crack of the news.

All that is changing though as the “Urban Farmer’s Diary” is coming to an end and I am taking on an exciting new hat, writing about new products fresh on the market, and feld testing these as well as some old favourites. I’m also hoping that my piece may take on a “Watchdog” type thingy if any readers are having truble with faulty products or broken promises – the power of the press and all that! I have been promised a free hand to write wahatever, so PLEASE let me know the sort of thing that you would like me to be poking my nose into!

The new series won’t just be gardening-related, it will deal with anything that might be of use to smallholders and Home Farmers.

In the meatime I promse to try (I did say try) to keep these pages here up to date with my activities on the allotment…….

A fox got into my runs and killed all my beautiful Coronation Sussex chickens!

It chewed through nylon trawler netting covering the runs, which has kept them safe for 5 years……

I have 2 bantam coros left, one is is sitting on bantam eggs, and the other  has 11 LF chicks about 2 weeks old.

Only time will tell if there are any coros amongst them.

I could cry, all those years of work down the drain.

What is the definition of frustration?

Being a cabbage white and banging your tiny head against netting, when your favourite cauliflowers are the other side of it….

What is the definition of satisfaction?

Being the person who put up the netting, and watching said butterfly batter itself for 5 minutes before flying over to somebody else’s veg patch……….

I was pottering around on my allotments this morning, still half asleep. I entered the chicken run to check on a broody bantam to see if her eggs had hatched (the ones in the incubator at home had hatched overnight) when suddenly it became very overcast, on a bright hot and sunny day……
I suddenly realised that I was standing in the middle of ten thousand swarming bees from my neighbour’s hives, clad only in baggy shorts, equally baggy boxers, and a short-sleeved shirt.

I can tell you one thing – it is guaranteed to wake you up, very quickly!

I really don’t know what is going on here in the east of England.

I have been watering my crops for weeks!

People who say there is no such thing as climate change should try coming here to see the effects.

What litle rain we get doesn’t penetrate the soil, and even after a downpour on Friday the strong wind had dried the soil off again within ten minutes. The clay soil in my garden is like concrete.

Oh well….back to the watering can……