Quick visit to plot

[lottieguy]

Hi Ya, had a quick visit to plot this morning as it's blowing a hoolie and I wanted to check all is ok. On arrival I noticed my compost bin liners waving in the wind and thought I am sure I left bricks on top to hold it down. I sorted it out checked the water butt lids and shed roof and all seemed ok. I pulled a few carrots and walking back to the car noticed a plot holder near by had put up a new compost bin and on the lid were some bricks. I thought they look familiar, Well 3 years ago a builder friend gave me a cartload of second bricks that no good for building and they had misfired in the making. He showed me and the difference is quite pronounced. I had a look and they are my bricks he must of helped himself during the week. What a cheek. Had he asked I would of helped but to take from me and use them on his is not on. I can tell all the bricks I have got by the way they are cracked. I have had water butts go missing but a quick look around I found them took them back, as I had the lids they had left, and when they got uppity I pointed out that unless they work in a certain area like me they would get them with the markings on them like this. I have had bags of horse manure ready for composting go missing aswell. The cheek of some people. It is annoying. I will help any one but find it quite irksome when some just help themselves as though it's a right. Still it takes all sorts I suppose. I have even come across some one taking nails out of a pallet I'd broken up to build compost bins right in front of me with out asking. I must admit I was gobsmacked. I am recycling he said, but if they need tatty nails like that then have them I would only chuck them away. Perhaps I am to helpful as I have supplied people with all sorts of things from greenhouse glass to shallots, seeds etc. They must see me as a soft touch. Oh well rant over calmed down now so Happy gardening to all.

[dimogga]

Blinking heck! That's worst that our place!

I'd collected some paving for use as edging and had stored them on the carpark as they were for a communal project and we had to decide where to use them.
Anyway some of them disappeared and the old bloke had pinched them for round his rhubarb. So I moved the rest to my plot until they got used.

Another time the same old bloke pinched one of the pallets I'd scrounged. He dismantled it and then it disappeared.

This is the same old bloke who cobbled together one good lot of greenhouse glass from two greenhouses and then stacked the broken bits up on the carpark and refused to take them to the tip.

I've had people pinch muck from my heap before now too - that's a bit harder to prove, but I have thought about spraying it all pink.

[Big Gee]

It's bad enough getting grumpy because of storm damage, but to discover the work of a cheeky thief in the process just adds steam to the pressure cooker doesn't it?

It's funny, people who take on allotment plots on sites often believe it's a gardening commune or kibbutz. They think everything is there for everyone to take what they like. The odd thing is, it's the ones who never bring anything on site that are usually the ones who help themselves.

I've had a 'New Age' type couple come on site and the first thing they did was 'borrow' a barrow & start using my heap of top soil for their plot! Someone pointed out to them that it belonged to me and they just cheekily turned around & said "oh we thought it was for anybody"! Another one took all my woodchips that had just been delivered - when I told him that I wanted it replaced he was quite indignant, but said he would. Six months later nothing had turned up, so I told him he'd have to pay for what he took. He wouldn't hear of it - so I told him I'd bill him and he would have to pay - he said "you can bill me but I won't be paying it". I told him if he didn't he's land up in the small claims division of the county court - he just laughed.

Six months later again he'd had a bill and five reminders. He got a county court summons. He even had the audacity to go to court (assuming I guess that they wouldn't act on it). He landed up with a county court judgement against him for £186.00 plus the costs I recovered for taking him to court. A strange breed aren't they? If he'd asked me for some wood chips I would have gladly given him some for nothing!

[dimogga]

 "oh we thought it was for anybody"!

Heard that one several times!