The daughter asked me to drop off a donation to the local charity shop when she bought round the laundry and ironing for the washing fairy on Tuesday evening.

Having managed to get the washing and ironing into order, I went off for a walk around the local charity shops after dropping off the goodies. I was amazed at the lack of stock available in many cases and the number of shops with notices in their windows appealing for goods. Definitely there is a shortage of all items from clothes to bedding to be had. Although I came home with a quilted spread that I had been looking out for over a number of weeks, I came down to having to resort to buying new when looking for a king sized bedspread that would match the decorations in the daughter’s bedroom. Luckily I came upon just the right item at half price as it was an end of line and I had a £5 token to deduct as well. She was well pleased when she collected the laundry tonight.

But she also wants a fitted sheet and pillowcases too. I have not seen above 1 pillowcase in my travels today. So once I have been to see if the shop in the local town really does repair broken zips in teenager grandson jeans then I will go and have a search to see if I can manage to match up the bedding set with something suitable on special offer.

In the meantime I am eating out of the store cupboard to use up the tins and jars that are stored there. On doing an inventory yesterday I discovered a treasure trove of items for a vegetarian Xmas pudding hidden in various corners. The items would be well out of date if I had kept them till next autumn. So I have made a third pudding since mid December and it will be divided between three households. 

I have been doing a comparison of prices for when I am ready to replenish the shelves in two or three weeks time. It is very nice to see that prices are being rolled back to a previous date so that we can all save money. However, if a tin of own brand baked beans is 31p for 215 grams in one supermarket and 36p for 225 grams in another, exactly what is the saving? Especially as the first price comes from a supermarket that expects you to spend at least £25 before it will charge you to deliver, whereas the second price is from a supermarket just down the main street that expects you to spend £15 before it will deliver free within the town boundary and very local villages.  Maybe what looks like expensive prices 10 minutes down the street is balanced by the cost of delivery elsewhere.

And finally we are being warned about our old friends the price comparison websites which do not always give an accurate picture of insurance for cars, houses and house contents because there is not accurate information on the excess people must pay if they make a claim.

Talk of buyer beware and customers confused. It is a hard life being a canny, frugal customer.

Well that was the implication of the first nice lady who stopped to talk to the two of us fit pensioners who were patiently clearing a vertical, bramble ridden bank of tin cans, pop bottles and other assorted rubbish.

Look we had washed this morning, we were clean, we were working hard unsupervised and we collected two black bin bags of assorted rubbish which were so full we could only just carry them. All this within ten minutes walk of the starting out point. And we didn't stop in the time we were working.
No we didn't finish the area we had available in the time allotted despite working over the hour. But then neither did the other three who came back from further down the road with even more bags than us. They discovered a litter mine it seems.

Good heavens Madam - we do this every Monday morning for an hour, weather permitting, year in and year out.

It would seem that the economy is in a dreadful state, all the banks are bankrupt, there are no jobs available, all companies are laying off employees, the housing market is a major disaster area, the government doesn’t know what to do for the best and that we are all going to hell in a handcart because we are damaging the environment beyond repair.

On the other hand we are being told that everyone still wants to go on holiday, that instead of buying a house that is already to the standard that we want we are staying put and improving what we have, that more people have access to grants to ensure that their property is properly insulated to help us use less on the heating front, that more people are growing their own vegetables and that there is a greater interest in mending, repairing, reusing and that people are buying more energy efficient items when they do buy household goods.

The media tells us that people will give up buying organic and environmental products because of the expense. Hmm – I wonder who is pushing their interests when cleaning with washing soda crystals (and that includes your laundry) and white distilled vinegar is suddenly more expensive that the chemical brews on the supermarket shelves and less good for the environment. I wonder what will happen when the EU manages to get through bans on pesticides and more food becomes organic? Then what will the media have to say?

So there are too many clothes shops all selling the same items, there are shoe shops selling shoes that last a day at cheap prices (and ones that sell shoes that cost more than my weekly income), there are lots of gadgets that we can perfectly well manage without (like I would desperately love an iPhone that I don’t need). Estate agents are leaving our high street like there will never be houses to sell again. Well that won’t hurt – no town of 14 thousand people needs 4 estate agents. Charity shops have found that people are wearing out their clothes instead of trading them in and that the goods that are being given are of lower quality. Of course my dears – we can buy cheap and cheerful in the supermarket and at Primark and their prices match yours.  I wonder whether we shall start to see the decline of the charity shop in the face of freecycle, car boot sales, swap parties, people wearing out or mending their clothes and cheap clothes from other sources?

It is my belief that we need less news and comment from the media because it no longer keeps us informed in a neutral manner. It simply cannot be relied upon!

On Sunday it was a case of finishing the cooking to take with me today to London for a final Xmas feast. Think 48 mince pies and completing the last vegetarian Xmas pud. The local family took a share of both as there was too much all round for the three of us who will eat tonight.

The daughter has had me doing a diet sheet for three days as she needed someone unhealthy to study for part of some course. She too away the results and seemed quite happy that I had fulfilled the stuff that she needed.

I’ve done a fast run to the allotment this morning to fill up the compost heap before I go to London. I went by way of the local community partnership that deals with improvements to the town and associated issues to explain that someone couldn’t find the castle that we have although they were within 60 yards of the turn off to it – it could have been the trees in the way! That has gone on the list of signage that is needed in the town – bit hard to mislay a rather large castle though.

Last night was the community partnership on local transport and there were quite some issues raised. Could be more involved in that side of things perhaps. It was properly interesting with buses, trains, local bridges and signs. We have an elderly bridge over the river that is well past its sell by date but not to be replaced for 25 years. Money I think.

Monday morning with the town Ground Force team was called off due to weather and illness which was a shame as the area that was listed for work needs attention. Still – next week perhaps.

Today I travel to London to stay overnight for a meeting tomorrow.

Come Friday I might have time to get to the work that needs doing on the allotment – rain and weather permitting!

The delivery of the last seasonal requirements for the allotment arrived this morning. Everything is on site now for the season.

The day was pleasant, not cold nor rainy, not snowing or blowing. I had a chat around and caught up with what is going on. But it was too wet underfoot to get on with digging in the remainder of the Hadrian’s Wall of Compost that was delivered in the autumn. And there I was all willing to get stuck in for a couple of hours of proper graft.

I’ve bought the seed potatoes and the shallots, picked up a box of wild flower seeds and acquired the spray that will be needed as soon as the growing season starts (beware all ye creeping buttercups and vigorous dandelions – your time of tenure on my allotment may be a lot shorter than you expect).

Two items I forgot in the main seed order – Florence fennel and comfrey. But the garden centre manager says that the seed representative is due in next week to stock the seed racks. Allowing for the weather forecast for the next few days, unexpected hiccups and me being away for a couple of days mid-week, we’ll make it the week after then. I gather there won’t be any purple carrots or other ones of interesting but different shades but the garden centre will be more interested in what it can sell than in the oddballs like me.

The only thing that remains to be done tomorrow morning to set the year off is to go down to the Prudhoe Gardeners’ Association Head office (new wooden shed behind one of the local pubs!) to pay the allotment rent for the year.

6 of us spent the best part of an hour clearing rubbish from round this area of housing in the local town. There’s quite an area of land down the steps behind the housing on the corner.

Eight full black bags later plus a collection of empty paint tins and avoiding an awful amount of dog mess, I’d say that there are plenty of people who don’t give a toss about their environment.Most of the rubbish was beer cans, alcoholic drinks bottles, pizza boxes and crisp packets – there was a broken umbrella and a traffic cone as well.

With regard to the paint cans, there were enough of them to make a trip to the local waste disposal site worth it. And for those who can’t be bothered to take their drinks cans and empty pizza boxes home – well council has agreed to install a rubbish bin at the top of the walkway – in the area in the photograph. It would be nice if you droppers of rubbish could actually use it when it’s in place.

I wonder what else I shall learn about the messy ways of the town population over the coming year as the ground force team is new to me.

Despite the fact that it has been extremely windy overnight and all day, the temperature has risen considerably above freezing point.

A smart walk down to the allotment with some items for the compost heap turned into a proper work session. It was pleasant enough on the allotment to get out the shovel and the wheelbarrow. I capped off the compost heap that I hope will be fine for marrows and courgettes with a layer of well rotted offerings from behind the shed. This heap is now covered and to be left to warm up as spring arrives. It is actually showing signs of rotting well internally so worms, warmer weather and time should do the trick.

I used the remains of the rotted heap as a base and covered it with items that are going to take quite some time to rot down from elsewhere on the plot. I have a suspicion that come this time next year I am going to have to find a shredder for things which have not rotted down in that corner. However that can be dealt with this time next year. If all else fails, the very twiggy stuff can be extracted and burnt. Wood ash is acceptable on the compost heap but at the moment everything is too green or too damp for a fire. It was also well mixed with stuff which will rot given time. And the area now cleared is the start of the working compost heap for this year.  And yes, the sun did actually put in an appearance towards the end of my stint on the plot. But after three hours I wasn’t going to start the next job on the list.

So now it’s a case of getting on and getting the bought in compost dug in to raise the level of the growing areas. Ho hum – about another 50 sacks to go before the growing season. You can see why I decided not to start off on this job today!

There were some surprised faces to see someone actually doing something on one of the allotments. But the explanation about a compost heap being prepared for marrows and courgettes was well understood.

The gentleman who keeps pigeons over the hedge on the allotment downhill has been busy with his growing areas. Last summer he had a major clear out of one corner when he found that rats were sneaking into his crees from the nice safe hiding places he had given them. Today I was given a tour of inspection of his nicely edged growing areas, the new path and access to his side of the hedge as well as a sneak preview of the new growing corner – two loads of scrap metal came off it he said and rather a lot of black bin bags went home to the wheelie big. But the plot really does look well and prepared for the spring planting. He may only do tatties, cabbages and onions but he usually gets a good crop. He did well with tomatoes last year too on a fence that is supposed to divide the pigeons area from the growing area. But that’s another story!

I have just received my second cold weather payment of the winter. So that means that the temperature has been at or below freezing point for seven continuous days over two different periods since November.

Excuse me but it is winter and we should expect it to be at or below freezing on a regular basis shouldn't we? If my state pension doesn't cover my need to keep warm surely that means one of three things:

1. The pension is set at the wrong level and the system needs an overhaul.
2. I should have made more provision for myself when I was working.
3. Heating prices are too high or the housing stock is inefficient to heat.

I appreciate that the government is taking action to try and persuade people to save up for their pensions as in 2 above (how you do that on the minimum wage is another matter mind you). Something tells me that 3 holds the key. If houses had been built over the past 50 years with the knowledge from other countries which build for hot and cold climates, we should have lower heating bills.

The price of heating is always going to be expensive now that it is in the hands of private providers who are also expected to provide the infrastructure to give us the power we think we need. I suspect that higher prices will give people pause for thought about how they use the power that is available. And whether they need to use the power. Or whether they prefer to keep warm and watch their spending elsewhere.

How the state manages to balance its books when there are the cold weather payments being an unknown cost every winter is a interesting point. Perhaps the government thinks that pensioners will use the money for other things rather than heating if they are given too much to spend all at once?

Buying cheap does not always pay. It certainly hasn't proved frugal for me. I've been buying cheap for a number of years. I had a review of spending in spring 2008 and found that I had not been shopping in a cost effective manner.

It is a true saying that the poor can't afford to buy cheap clothing. I had tried it in 2007 and it has cost me money in 2008 to replace items which have not lasted even for the year. The moral is that a few items of good quality are better than a larger number of items that cost less and don't last. Better a few items to mix and match than a larger number of cheaper outfits.

OKAY so your friends will have seen your clothes before but if the clothes are nicely kept and suit you - so what? I could have spent the wasted money on other things or saved it. Lesson number 1 for 2009.

Lesson number 2 is that soda crystals will wash your laundry just as clean as the fancy detergents in pretty packets that cost a lost more. Now there is a cost saving. Soda crystals can also be used for those greasy cleaning jobs. The moral is that not everything granny should be forgotten - even if there are some things that should be left in history.

The other lesson that granny could teach us is that distilled white vinegar will clean windows and work surfaces as well as acting as a softener for laundry. Buy it in bulk and save money. I should have adopted both of these methods many years ago and have had money in the bank.

Lesson number 3 for 2009 is that cheap personal hygiene products are not always effective in keeping you clean and smelling nice. In fact some of the cheaper deodorants, scents and aftershaves are really unpleasant. They can keep people as well as mosquitos at a distance. I'm sure that you can all think of examples and situations! The savings on other cleaning products have allowed me spare cash to buy a nicer (and environmentally friendly shampoo and conditioner in 2008. My hair now looks and feels nicer, there is no longer dandruff and I have found that I am using less shampoo because it doesn't look unpleasant so quickly. This means that the cost is actually less. Now if I buy it in a five litre size through the wholefood co-op that my daughter buys from, I shall be actually be paying the same as a middle of the road shampoo from the supermarket. The result is that I am actually no worse off than buying a cheap, dandruff producing one. The same reasoning has applied to the bath gel and the soap.

Lesson number 4 for 2009 is to tuck away money in a savings account where it is can gather a little interest. Current accounts pay you nothing unless you have a large wage coming in. When you save money on the every day items such as cleaning products, it is wise to tuck it away the savings made. This eventually means that you will be able to buy items such as shampoo, bath gel, toilet cleaner and washing up liquid in 5 litre sizes. Keep your smaller containers so that you have a small one that is easy to use which you can refill from the bigger container.  This means that you will, in the long term, cut down your cleaning bills (of both you and the house) even further. If you pick a good little savings account, your savings will earn a few extra coppers. And we all know what a nice feeling it is to have some small amount set aside for emergencies, treats and going out. If you feel that you can't manage a savings account with your bank or don't have a bank account, then you can always go to your local credit union where you can be helped to save and draw your savings or even be given a loan in an emergency.  There are also accounts which allow you to save for Christmas - here is one and here is another whilst this is information on credit union Christmas accounts. And no bank ever tells you which is the most suitable one for your savings. A big lesson for me from 2008.

During 2008 I discovered that no electricity and gas supplier tells you about the best rate that they have on offer for their products. It may be that you don't need to change your supplier but to change your tariff.  There is also a lot of sensible advice to be found here. But you can do a lot of things for yourself. You can hang a lined curtain over a door which isn't double glazed and this will help heat loss. Draught proofing can be easily fitted round doors and windows. Once the final draught proofing was fitted here last winter around one of the doors around my flat and a heavy lined curtain hung over it, there was a great improvement in the warmth in the flat.  You also need to consider where you need to heat your home, which rooms and when. That you can only learn by experience.  If you are not working and at home regularly or you work from home, you can keep a thermos flask of hot water for cups of tea, learn to cook one pot meals, join social clubs, get out and about to visit your library, meet friends over a coffee, become a volunteer at a charity and generally keep active. This has all helped me not to feel the cold and to save on the heating as well as not living radios, cooker, lights, computer on when not needed as well as doing full loads of washing. Lesson number 5 for 2009 is to ensure that I take sensible precautions against having a bill that is ridiculous every quarter for heating and lighting.

And lesson number 6 is to make sure that the produce from the allotment provides vegetables and fruit for a longer period during the year.  I learned and relearned so many lessons about growing and preserving vegetables in 2008. I think that I will be able to improve the spread, variety and preservation of crops in 2009. Experience can only be learned.

It's been pleasant in the few hours of daylight at this time of the year. So I've started the new year as I mean to go on - that is, in the same way as last year.

There are plenty of odd jobs that can be done on the allotment over the next few weeks. I've some strips around the edge of one growing area that need turning and clearing and composting to expand the growing space.

The wooden planks can be stacked elsewhere on a space that usually gets used for tubs in the growing season. This will allow me to attack the creeping buttercups in the area as soon as the spraying season arrives.

The clearing of the extra strip will use up some of the compost behind the shed and the rest can be added to the newest compost heap as it is not as well rotted down as I had hoped it would be. However it will help the strips that need renovating if I dig a trench and let it rot on that way. This leaves an out of the way corner for stacking of large tubs when not is use as nothing will grow in that shaded spot and would get in the way when hedge cutting also.

The question of the present wooden structure referred to as the cold frame needs considering. It either needs renovating and painting or moving or destroying. This decision has yet to be made.

It would leave a nice clear area for a greenhouse or a nice clear area in a sunny spot where tubs could be used. Or it could become another composting area. I believe that once upon a time there was a pigeon loft in the area from the shed, under the compost heap and down under the said wooden structure. This may mean that there could be all sorts not so far down under the soil so I'm doubtful about excavation with spade but it would be nice to have the area in use even if only for container growing.