We held a party on Saturday and twenty small, excited children attended. There were balloons and bouncing, ball pits, castles and cake.
I loved how the children shared with one another; one little boy went round ensuring that 'they all ate up their sausage rolls' and another child handed me a fairy cake 'as I did not have one'.
Today will be spent outside in the (woefully neglected) garden. The strange weather made the grass grow so much, it would make good hay.
We have several of Rosie's trees to plant and now that the moon is favourable, we will choose their place to grow.
We have been looking at the areas of illegal resumption (which we still pay full rent for) and will take down the discarded fences then assess what to do with the land.
Here is a photo of two acres which has been illegally resumed. It is known as a game 'strip'.
It did not have a 'crop' last year so was left to waste.
What a waste.
I reckon this 'strip' or let's not beat about the bush (no sardonic pun intended), field. Let's call it a field because that is what it is.
This two acre field could provide quite a few homes with fresh food.
What an excellent birthday present to be able to share what we have with others, perhaps from town or on low incomes who would benefit from working in fresh air and growing their own produce.
No expensive import taxes on out of season food which may have flown half way around the world and it is good ground. Our best ground, in fact.
Two acres to share or two acres for one man to neglect and perhaps hold a shoot for a small party of wealthy guns one or two days of the year.
We both pay rent for these two acres, shooter and farmer although the estate appears to have forgotten that our family still live and work here.
What better legacy for the field, the community and local economy than a permaculture area where people are welcome to grow their own food? The ground has been well manured by a gazillion pheasants so nitrogen rich and excellent for proper edible crops suitable for for humans.
We are up for it if anyone is interested.
I would love to see a difference on my 53rd birthday. A lot can change in a year.
For the better.
If you can't work the land can't you stop paying the rent?
ReplyDeleteThis would have to be battled out at the Land Court due to the overly complicated agricultural laws which exist in Scotland (which are swayed in the landowner's favour) and would be very costly indeed.
DeleteWell, two happy birthday wishes to you...and, yes, change for next year would be great....which groups do you know if who would help you?
ReplyDeleteWhat a silly situation, although I guess it's typical of most places: the rich make the laws to suit themselves.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday...
I've got a permaculture certificate and if it was three years hence I'd be sorely tempted to take up your suggestion, but I'm doing a carpentry apprenticeship until 2015.
Hopefully your situation will have omproved long before then.
Thank you for your birthday wishes, it was a lovely day with friends and sunshine.
ReplyDeletethe fly in the web - we have decided to begin with the idea and through time, we are positive that the right people will find us or get to hear of the gardens. There are about 4 1/2 acres in total which could be put to good use although there may be an issue with two of those acres....
workbike - I absolutely agree that it is an absurd situation whereby you pay rent for 125 years then the land is taken by stealth but the landowners still take the rent and no paperwork can justify their theft.
Imagine if it was the other way round!
Congratulations on your certificate and I may be wracking your brain as we commence as it is new to me but feels like the right thing to do.
My goodness, if it was the other way around there's be ten lawyers on the case right now, probably paid for by the state.
DeletePermaculture is easy and hard. It's basically stuff our grandparents did instinctively mixed with more recent science like plant succestion which boils down to watching what grows naturally and working with it. Perfect for people of an idle bent like me.
Wrack away if you like, but bear in mind I live in a different climate to you, although the principles are the same...