Month 1 finished already!

I have just finished potting up my seedlings that are under the lamp in my attic. I am concerned that my leeks look nowhere near as advanced as others that have shown pictures on the NVS forum. However mine have only been in since boxing day so I suppose that the extra month and a half of growing is showing.

It is the first year that I have grown shallots from seed and they really have taken off. I am growing matador from medwyns as I am looking for an alternative to hative d noitre which are extremely expensive. I think I saw £12 for 6 bulbs and I know Dan Unsworth from the allotment diary blog said they were expensive and that he wasn't happy with the quality really. Is there any reason why this variety is so expensive?
Its also a sad week for anybody who follows Simon Smiths blog as he has taken a break from blogging for a while due to other commitments. I can certainly understand where hes coming from as time seems to become extremely stretched at times for us all and something has to give. I will miss the twisted humour and very helpful advice on a fantastic blog that's success I can only hope to emulate.