VP Now Available in Wiltshire Magazine

Summer in the city

Opening of the Aker Brygge season.

April 9th


193: Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor after totally acing the eveningwear toga competition.


1865: Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia ending the Civil War and helping to launch NASCAR.


1992: A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug trafficking, racketeering, and proliferation of acne.

April is Go!

I always feel that March is the prelude and April's the full blown symphony as far as my seed activities go.



I don't have a greenhouse and the coldframes are stuffed with overwintering pretties, so April's my main month for sowing. I hadn't quite realised quite how much there is to do this month until I decided to put all of April's packets into one box, so I can just pick it up and go whenever I need them. The main reasons why there's so many are:

• I use lots of different leaves for salads and have a large wodge there at the back ready for successional sowing


• I've gathered quite a few different packets of various native flowers together during the clear out of my main seed tins ready for some light guerrilla gardening


• I've decided to grow my own Nigella seeds for curries and bread making, plus lots of different Basils for pesto and pasta sauces


• I always have too many different seeds anyway

As well as the massive salad and guerrilla gardening stashes, there's the cucurbit stash of cucumbers, courgettes, squashes and melon seed which will be sown much later this month, when my window sill's cleared of the current germinating batches and the weather's warmer. This week will see the seed potatoes planted and I'm in the process of chitting my peas and parsnips as usual, plus starting off the saved chilli seed from last Autumn.



It looks like little and often is the only way I'm going get through that lot. Wish me luck!

If you're not reading this on vegplotting.blogspot.com, Blotanical or your own web reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader, then the website you're using is a blogpost feed scraper. Why not go straight to the source instead? That's vegplotting.blogspot.com

Last to Go
All non-essential government workers will be on furlough if there is a shutdown. Which means the only people working in Washington next week will be the hookers.



Japan Worst is Over?
The Obama administration says Japan's worst problems are over... especially since the White House has decided not to send Tim Geithner back to Tokyo.



Gay Survey
A new study shows that only 1.7% of the US population is gay. Of course, the survey was conducted by some guy who still thinks the Village People are straight.



Hospital Profits
The Henry Ford hospital system in Michigan raked in $60 million on profits in 2010... mostly be making all the dying car executives pay in cash.



California Screamin'
180 local California governments actually increased pay and pensions even as the 2008 financial crisis was unfolding. Government workers hate it when banks screw the public more than they do.




April 8th


1730: Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated. Everyone there is still arguing over where to get the best bagels.


1918: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City's financial district… they are later shot by the grandfather of Sean Penn.


1975: Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager… like black people haven’t had it bad enough, now they’re responsible for the Indians too?

Vacation

I'm on Spring Break with my family. See you next week!

Shutdown Consequences
There's still no deal to avoid a federal government shutdown. If there is a shutdown, it's not clear exactly where air traffic controllers will go to sleep on the job.



Colombia Trade Deal
President Obama has sealed a trade deal with Colombia... it's his first deal for Colombian products since he was in college.



Portugal Problems
Portugal has formally asked for a $129 billion bailout. It needs the money so badly, it promises to accept the cash today... immediately after the country's daily national 3-hour nap time.



GE Solar Plans
GE says it will build the largest solar plant in the US. It will use it to power the lawyers and accountants working 24/7 to make sure the company continues to pay no taxes.



Police Chief No Deal
Philly's police chief is not going to Chicago after the city refused his $400K per year salary demand. It turns out the only people willing to overpay for a bad product in Chicago are Cubs fans.




April 7th


1933: Prohibition is repealed... America celebrates and doesn't wake up until 1934.


1971: President Richard Nixon announces his decision to increase the rate of American troop withdrawals from Vietnam... so they can come home and spy on Jane Fonda.


1992: The Republic of Srpska announces its independence... from vowels.

ABC of Chippenham: Locally Sourced

I was really pleased to see this sign outside the station cafe last week. I believe Chippenham to be slightly slower on the uptake re locally sourced produce and food miles than some of the other towns nearby.



There are a few notable exceptions: the farm shop close to where I live for one, plus the greengrocer in town sells produce from our local market gardeners in Bromham whenever possible. Sheldon School has had a March food festival as a pupil led fund raiser the past couple of years.



The Revolutions restaurant uses fresh, seasonal local produce, as does the recently opened Bridge Brasserie across the road. In fact they cheekily tweeted they'd take any spare garlic of mine when I said I had an excess of it recently ;)



Steamers shows just why station cafes should be independent. Thank goodness Chippenham station is too small to have received the attentions of the chains found elsewhere. I love the play on words with the cafe's name; the regularly changed art displays on the walls by local artists; and the fact that it doubles up as an internet cafe as well as serving the town's daily commuters. It also serves great coffee and bacon baps!



This is for ABC Wednesday and is the twelfth in my themed round of posts about Chippenham.

If you're not reading this on vegplotting.blogspot.com, Blotanical or your own web reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader, then the website you're using is a blogpost feed scraper. Why not go straight to the source instead? That's vegplotting.blogspot.com

Pelosi's Warning
Nancy Pelosi says Republican budget cuts will force millions of seniors into starvation... which will totally cut the workload for the death panels she set up under Obamacare.



CAT Stays Put
Despite huge tax increases, Caterpillar says it will stay in Illinois for now... mostly because it can't afford the gas to move out.



No Deal
Despite hours of Oval Office meetings, President Obama has failed to get the Democrats and Republicans to make a deal to avoid a government shutdown. That's because the Democrats keep trying to ammend the president's March Madness brackets and the Republicans keep asking to see his birth certificate.



Shutdown Worries
A government shutdown could create real hardship for millions of Americans... which means retired GE executives and UAW workers will just start holding up drug stores for their free viagra.



Furloughs?
A government shutdown could affect millions of American travelers with national parks shutting down and road repairs halted. But the guys in charge of inspecting Southwest's 737's will just continue not doing their jobs.




April 6th


1199: King Richard I of England dies from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder... and the fact that they ran out of soft soap in the castle mens room.

1888: Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to South Carolina to establish Clemson University... as a front for a couple of hard-drinking frats and a football tea

1973: The American League begins using the designated hitter. Meanwhile, Broadway shows continue to use switch hitters.