You must be mad!

My hired help for the day (aka my parents) were a little taken aback by the state of the allotment and the rest of the site in general. I did point out just how much better the allotment is now compared to when we took it on!

Once they got over the shock, I set them to work - Dad on the hedge and Mum and clearing some rubbish and digging. Having considerably more knowledge than me about gardening (not difficult!), they told me I'd dug up a load of asparagus (b*gger!), I have some blackcurrants (fortunately I'd not cut all of them down, so may be able to salvage something there) and that the tree on the border of the plot is a plane tree.

Another huge chunk of hedge was removed, and apart from the cuttings of this covering a considerable area of the allotment it's still difficult to tell. More digging took place, the bath was moved to the side of the plot and the remains of the bonfire were removed.

Despite it being a nice day (Sunday) here, there was only one other person on site as far as I could see, but whilst conditions still allow I'm continuing to make as much progress as possible. So after a couple of hours of amazement at being charged for the first year, having no help in clearing the plot or the hedge and having no help in disposing of any of the rubbish (including some asbestos I found) - i.e. from the council - I took the parents back home and cooked them roast beef in payment for their services whilst they entertained their grandchildren.