I’m not saying we get too much rain at this time of year but I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough!

I really need to get some digging done but it’s just too wet. But on the plus side, I heard on the radio the other day that the hosepipe ban has just been ended…

I was looking at the river Rother the other day and I can’t remember it being so high. I’m going fishing for grayling next week but I don’t hold out much hope of great catch – rain-swollen rivers are always harder work for fishermen.

I was given an extract from a letter written between brothers back in 1875 talking about the mud in Sussex around the river Rother, in which one brother recalls all the local dialect names and terms for mud and its spreading. I thought I’d share it with you as it seems quite relevant at the moment – and you never know when you might need to know if you’re ‘slubby.’…

There is cledgy for earth that sticks to your spade, whereas clodgy is mud of a wet field path, but gawm is the foul-smelling mud while gubber is the black rotting mud.

Don’t forget slub or ofttimes slob are both for thick mud nor slab which is the thickest mud while sleech is the mud beside the river Rother.

Now slogh us a muddy hole, I’m sure you have dug one of those, while slurry is just diluted mud.

Slubber is to slip on mud and slubby is the result – to be caked in mud.

However slummocky is to be made dirty with mud while spannel to have a muddy floor, and again a place is ike if mud is everywhere.

Now something you and me did to Mum – ‘stabble,’ that is to walk thick mud into the house, while grom is to have made a place messy with mud, but stoach is the mess that cattle do to a wet field or poach when they leave pockmarks from their hooves.

Stug is watery mud to rhyme with pug, a kind of loam.

Forgive me if I missed a few but don’t forget when you are back in Sussex listen to someone who says “that path goes across a swank”, or you’ll end in a bog.

I’m unsure when I last wrote so much useless information.

Meanwhile, back on the allotment, a job you could do if you have some shelter from the rain – although it’s a bit late – you can still get away with planting daffodils and tulips.

There are bargains to be had at the garden centres where they are pretty much giving bulbs away. I bought a load of bulbs for tête-à-tête daffs (pictured left) the other day and am going to plant them into pots this weekend.

When planting daffs in pots I like to cram them in, usually in two layers.

Put some broken pots or rocks at the bottom of your pot (to help with drainage) then a layer of compost, then a tightly-planted layer of bulbs, another layer of compost then bulbs and top with compost.

You can then top this with horticultural gravel which helps prevent the compost jumping out when they are watered or it rains.

Now sit back and wait for a blast of glorious yellow in the spring.