New Faces on the Allotment

Taking on an allotment for the first time is a fascinating business. We inherited a half plot full of fruit from a couple of ninety something year olds who could no longer manage it. The very first day we visited we came home with a bag full of rhubarb. More than that the allotment is a place of peace, a focus for community and a mixing of the generations.

The wonderful thing about an allotment is that people talk to one another. We dont really know what we are doing. So we talked to Steve and June on the next plot. She whispered into her hand ‘We dont really know what we are doing’. Aah a common feeling I thought. Then Jack came up. Now we have heard that raised beds are the thing. So I spent a few days making six eight by four raised beds. It felt good, like you were in control. There were paths to walk on and beds you could reach all around you. Anyway Jack came up. ‘New way is it,’ he said. ‘Been reading books I spect’ and he went on to tell us to watch out that we had the tetanus, because his friend died a few years back just after cutting his hand. So we went on. Loads of young uns now on the allotment, on bikes, whole families. And they are all very friendly. I guess it is about wasting time together. That’s how we really make friends in life.
So our allotment is proving great fun and very friendly and the strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries and blackcurrants are all coming on a treat thanks to the work of those who came before us.

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