The Return of the Plot Inspection?

 

Like many sites we suspended plot inspections back in March and put in measures to support those isolating, shielded and with problems. Plot buddies helped maintained a small number of the plots to ensure when the plot holder returned, they didn’t face a jungle and a mountain of a task. The site always remained open albeit with several new rules to ensure everyone’s health and safety.

Today we continue to now face a winter of new tiered uncertainty and challenges. We have dealt with changing the site locks and reissuing key and collecting rent and issuing shares and are preparing to hold our first committee meeting. But is it now time to reintroduce plot inspections?

A small number of plots remain on support, but many have returned to their owner’s hands. However, of the plots who did not request support or want it, not all have been attended or continually maintained. So, we have a decision to make, and one probably facing other sites too. Do we resume plot inspections now, as we normally would, or leave it till Spring? If we leave it till Spring are we sure that the situation will be back to normal by March?

If we inspect today, we can ensure all plots are ready for winter, waste is composted, the plots are weed free and all are awaiting Spring sowing and planting? There are obviously winter crops and those over wintering, but the rest should be cleared. Some will cover the unused areas in tarpaulin, others with manure and some just dug over all ready for Spring.

The question is do we, or do we not, have inspections?

If we don’t a small number of plots will remain as they are today and will be even harder to get into shape in the Spring. A small number of plots today are in an unacceptable state. Some covered in  rampant bindweed and couch grass and their paths have been neglected. These will certainly be harder to clear when those weeds become reinvigorated. Some who have failed to get on top of their plots this year face a real task next year if they do not clear the plot today. Some would question if they should retain the plot when we have a 250% over subscribed waiting list today?

I do not have the answer, it is up to the committee to decide. Allowance can always be made for the genuine case and we have a couple of those. However, if some want to work the plot as a patchwork quilt (a small square a season) perhaps it is time for them to downsize or move on. Those who do not have the time will probably never have the time. We have already reached 10% allocation of half plots and this looks likely to increase.  

However, it’s ironic that several plots have again attracted my eye this year. Four are worked by octogenarians who have continued to turn up regularly in all weathers and whose work ethic and plots are a joy to witness. I hope I can show the same commitment when I reach that age. The schoolchildren’s plot which was maintained by the caretaker during the school closure has once again seen the return of the kids. The doctor’s plot which has been shared with her NHS key worker colleagues as a respite from their constant pressures is looking the best it has in years. In fact many plots are now looking the best they have for some time and have certainly been productive this year.

Plot inspections are always hard as we are not always aware of the circumstances as to why the plot has not been fully worked. We also have to acknowledge that different ethnic groups not only grow different produce but maintain their plots differently. But all plots should be cleared at the end of the season.

Normally plot inspections cover the plot’s total growing area, the maintenance of adjacent path, the storage at the back of the plot or lack of rubbish collected.

We normally give a failed plot 14 days to fix it or appeal against it. If the failure remains and no appeal is upheld then the plot holder is given 14 days notice. However, if we decide to fail a plot this late in the year it would appear only fair to give them say six weeks to fix the issue. This extension is needed due to the shorter days, more volatile weather and the fact that rubbish has to be cleared also.

Whatever is decided I am sure the message will get out that inspections are on the agenda again and that is enough to motivate some.

Sharing What You Grow

‘So, what are you going to do with all this food?’ asks a neighbour whilst eyeing up the large carrier bags in my hands which are literally bursting with produce from the allotment.

‘We eat it, freeze some and give some to friends and family’ I reply watching his eyes calculate the amount and what all the different produce is in the bags. ‘Would you like some courgettes and beans?’

‘Well I’ve never seen courgettes like those, how do you cook them?’ he says quickly accepting four large yellow courgettes and a handful of French beans.

After some cooking hints and tips he leaves with some tomatoes and potatoes and I have somewhat lighter bags.

‘Better come home at a different time and by a different route tomorrow,’ says Lottie with a broad grin.

‘I don’t mind sharing some stuff’ I reply.

‘Mugged, and you know I eat those beans,’ says Lottie under her breath.

Lottie puts her nose to the ground and I can hear her chuckling under her breath all the way home.

Dogs only share inside the pack.

‘Not so much today?’ was Annie’s greeting as she examined the bags and started to take out the vegetables for their wash and brush up. I didn’t say anything but caught Lottie smiling in the corner of the kitchen.

At this time of year we all have gluts and famine at the allotments as everything tends to mature and ripen at the same time. You sow every few weeks but it still keeps coming at the same time. It is impossible to eat it all and you find a mountain of salad alongside another mountain of vegetables and then there is the fruit. We certainly eat well and fresh and buy little from the shops from early Spring to late Autumn and then during Winter the freezer supplies us with all those bags of goodies that we squirrelled away during Summer.

We wash chop and freeze in lots of small bags of tomatoes, courgettes, spinach, kale, cabbage, French beans, beetroot etc. The lettuce doesn’t take kindly to anything but being eaten fresh.

The last couple of years my Vice Chair has come into her own with her community programmes and has been brilliant at collecting excess produce donations off plot holders and supplying a local community kitchen but as simple as this sounds, it is often far from easy. All the produce from our community allotment at Crossrail roof garden is donated. However just collecting the produce from plot holders and getting it to the kitchen at the right time and in the right state can prove hard.

Donations can often be that overgrown courgette that resembles a marrow, or other vegetables which maybe are past their prime. Also kitchens want certain produce that they are familiar with and the sight of even a patti pan may not be greeted with the expected enthusiasm.

It was great to see my neighbour’s reaction when she came back to her plot last week after 16 weeks of lockdown. They have been getting special food parcels every week as well as home deliveries but a bag full of fresh produce off our plots plus a large bunch of sunflowers put a broad smile on her face. But she did ask what to do with the patti pans!

My daughter is Chair or a women’s shelter and a Director of a large homeless charity and I asked if they wanted excess produce. The response was interesting and was dependent on what produce, when, and if the cooks knew what to do with it to make dinners the clients wanted to eat it. Fresh was also an issue and I realised that convenience often could trump fresh.

We set out this year to donate more excess and learn from previous experience as to where, who and how to make a difference and to step up the internal awareness on the plots. Folk like to give but want to know where its going and who is benefiting. We had several discussions with community groups and one really was interested in not only taking the donations but also into using them to help training their clients into cooking with them. We also spoke to Cross-London organisations with a view to potentially widening a relationship to other sites which obviously meant dealing with the associated logistics, communication, and supply. If a pilot was successful, then it could be potentially roll.

Then came the pandemic and lockdown. This effectively scuppered this year’s ideas as the focus shifted to maintaining the allotments and looking after those unable to work their plots. We also weren’t allowed access the Canary Wharf plot during lockdown and our big plant giveaway and seeds swaps were impacted. Also, my appointment as London Representative for the National Allotment Society was deferred so effectively scuppering those discussions this year.  As lockdown eases we are just starting to look at some localised donation opportunities again but the one we used last year is still not back up and we may have to be more ad hoc in any donations until a new normality starts to take shape.

Meanwhile Lottie tucks into her doggy biscuits, meat and French beans. Her favourite vegetable is broccoli, even the chopped-up stems!

Do All Allotments Have the Same Opportunities and Challenges?

The current pandemic has given so many allotment holders up and down the country, exercise, sanctuary, social friendship and interaction and some fresh produce if lucky within a lockdown void and also demonstrated the value of allotments within the community.

As we all grapple with the social and economic impact and the route back to some sort of normality outside the allotments, we all know things will be different tomorrow. It is therefore vital that allotments are fully supported, and their role within the growing, health and welfare and educational infrastructure is acknowledged further and strengthened.

The public purse and resources will be under increasing pressure and it is hard to predict the implications this will have on allotments tomorrow. Many allotments are managed by local authorities but will the resources to do this as before still be available?

Many civic allotments have ‘temporary’ status whilst others have separated themselves from the local authority and are now self-managed, and land leased to them. Is this the future model for others to now follow? The remaining allotments are classed as ‘private allotments’ and outside local authorities and the allotment statute and the future security of these will always be a risk.

Allotments, whether they are statutory, temporary or private should be registered as Asset of Community Value (ACV) under the 2011 statute. This doesn’t secure the future in perpetuity. It doesn’t provide 100% protection in the five years of its terms, but it does grant certain rights to be consulted, bid and more importantly fires a significant shot across development bow. It also forces the allotment body to think hard about what it does, what it gives to the community and its environmental, health and well-being credentials and makes the local authority evaluate and respect these formally.

Today we all use the term allotments and probably have a different picture in our mind what they look like and who uses them. The rural allotment is very different to the urban one which may vary significantly to the metropolitan inner city one. They are all allotments but it’s like we are all looking into the same house through different windows. Some will see a kitchen, others a bedroom and if asked to describe it can only describe what they have seen. However, it’s the same house but viewed from different perspectives.

If we look at our allotment here in the middle of Docklands and Canary Wharf in London, we see allotments sitting in the middle of an urban farm smack next door to the densest residential housing in Western Europe and in Tower Hamlets itself which has the densest housing per square kilometer in all the UK. There are literally thousands of flats all sitting on top of each other reaching up to the sky.

Many of these new boxes have a very small private balcony and communal small manicured grassed area below. No gardens, none or little opportunity to grow anything unless in many cases the plants like wind and high altitudes as some tower blocks are over 50 storeys high.

So how do these tens of thousands of families in this mini Manhattan experience growing, cultivation, the physical and mental health and well-being and fresh natural produce from plot to pot?

The plots we have in many metropolitan sites are called full plots but are often less than half the size enjoyed in many other areas and our half plots …. but they produce sufficient food and are fully utilized.

So, in areas of the country we have relatively short waiting lists, large 250 square metre plots and even folk allowed to have more than one plot. In our area we have often less than 100 square metres, huge waiting lists and no one is allowed a second plot. It’s the same house but from a different perspective.

The question we return to is describing that house in same way and understanding that we are all at different starting points with different opportunities and priorities. We may be diverging in the routes we may each have to take and speed we must travel, but we all share the same aims, enjoyment, community spirit, health and welfare benefits and much more.

This is why a national organization is important and can support local organisations and their initiatives as well as national ones with equal weight and understanding. No site is an island, and almost everything we may wish to do has been done before and if not, some else wishes to do. It is this strength that the National Allotment Society have the potential to bring to all our tables.

Managing an Allotment Site in Lockdown

So as lockdown eases will we get back to a more normal life on the allotments?

Since lockdown we haven’t had a Committee meeting and the allotments have literally been run by email, Whats App and the odd face to face. Our Secretary has been performing all the administration in isolation up North, our Site Manager has been in isolation caring for his mother and our Vice Chair has been looking after her mother, growing 400 plants for our plant swap and maintaining our community allotment. I have been juggling several balls and also maintaining my neighbour’s plot who has been in isolation. To top it all the barrels on the locks on two gates broke and we ended up having to change the locks and reissue keys top all plot holders. Lockdown has proved a hard time but the plots in the main have never looked better. Our guidelines were implemented early and have been followed by all.

All but a few plots are now being worked by their plot holders and the vast majority have been ever present throughout lockdown and although the social distance has now been reduced, this has not been a problem on the plots.

By reissuing keys and changing locks we proved to all we can change things and distribute stuff to individuals and still not compromise social distances and the health of all. We are fortunate to have a large pavilion and it looked good with a snake route of chairs for folk to follow and we also have two doors and so an entry and exit door. We also went cashless for the first time and will remain so into the future.

Three months is a long time. After all, its only just over three months since all our world’s changed with lock down. So, what will the situation be in three months from now?

In three months, we are scheduled to perform our rent collection days and the distribution of new shares and tenancy packs. We should also hold our AGM. But can we do all this, or do we need to delay and when is the last day to make that decision?

The rent collection and share payments should not prove a big issue and it is hoped that many will now be by bank transfer leaving the rest to card payments on the day. Distributing the new share certificates and tenancy packs should be a repeat should be on the same day and similar to the key distribution, not a problem to perform.

The big issue is the AGM and associated Committee meetings. First the committee must formally approve the accounts, agenda, and report to the AGM. This can be done virtually but there are several items we need to discuss and agree prior to the AGM. Again, we can do this even if this means getting the agreement offline then holding a small meeting that complies with the quorum rules. We then must issue call in notices, distribute certain papers, and comply with our nominations and election process. All sounds simple but involves lots of admin and conforming to schedule.

As an incorporated entity we don’t have the latitude we had previously to just cancel the AGM today as it must be held within 15 months of the last one so must be performed by the end of the year. We have yet to get formal guidance from the FCA on our obligations re accounts sign off and AGM actions in these circumstances.

Today, will all members be willing to attend an AGM? Can we facilitate all or must restrict numbers? Even if we get the required 25% quorum is the potential exclusive of others democratic?

Some will say, ‘Do it all by Zoom.’

But not everyone is a Zoomer, internet savvy or even connected.  There are many who rightly today wish to observe the social bubble guidelines so that presents a problem on all meetings. There is also the more vulnerable, high risk and ethnic groups who understandably would wish to avoid the risk.

With a virus which is unpredictable and could flare up at any time in any place we have a situation in which all plans must be fluid.

Finally, we are just an allotment.

Rent and distribution of shares etc. will take place but it is increasingly difficult to see an AGM at the beginning of October.

The temporary restrictions on fires will have to remain but the question of plot inspections may have to be revisited but take account of individual’s situation.

Since the lock down our waiting list has increased by some fifty people and on average we are now getting four applications a week to what was a list which was close to 200% oversubscribed

As the pubs, restaurants and cafes reopen this weekend we watch on with interest.  

Working in Lockdown at the Allotments

We are all a bit Covid 19 worn out. Newspapers cover every aspect of it starting at the front page and ending on the back Sports page. TV do not restrict it to the News but spread it across the schedules between repeats and old films and subject us to those Skype ‘talking heads’ from their own homes. It’s interesting to see what the homes look like, or what they want us to see. Zoom has become the big Social media winner facilitating exercise classes and conference calls. But has much changed down on the allotment?

It was soon made clear that allotments were exercise and could be attended but as with every allotment up and down the country we all had to quickly adapt and implement new temporary guidelines and rules. The farm which surrounds us went into lockdown around its core animal areas so restricting our site access but bringing home the need to exercise common sense and protect ourselves and others. Our allotment at the new Crossrail gardens at Canary Wharf became out of bounds and still is today. We had to work with Canary Wharf Group as we still grew the plants but could not plant them as things were on hold. It has been like growing for Chelsea, or several Chelsea’s without the show.

Meetings were cancelled and some would suggest little missed. Seed swaps and Plant swaps had to change but still were.

There were more notices pinned to noticeboards, gates and sent via email. We found ourselves generating notices as things evolved but thankfully are now able to consolidate these onto one A4 sheet (see the consolidated sheet at end of this article).

When folk were uncertain, worried, and often unable to attend their plot there was little point in plot inspections and they were cancelled.

We had to establish who was ‘shielded’, who was caring for someone in the high-risk category and who for whatever reason were wishing to stay away. We then established if those plot holders were happy for use to organise ‘buddies’ to look after their plots so when they did return it wasn’t a jungle and back to square one. Today we have around a dozen plots being looked after and authorised via our Secretary in advance. (T the top of the article is a picture of my neighbour's plot which is being looked after while they are unable to get to the plot).

We quickly restricted site access to plot holders and their children under 16. Fires and BBQs were banned. Social distancing, cleanliness processes, non-sharing of tools and use of water trough and tap guidelines posted.

One challenge many faced in the early weeks was getting compost and other essentials when the stores were closed.

Weeks later we have most of the site looking better than ever, and folk helping each other out. There have been some issues, but these have been quickly resolved and this is with our Secretary in isolation and stuck up North, out Site Manager in isolation with his mum and others juggling many challenges.

Coming out of lockdown it isn’t going to be hard. We are pleased to state that to date we have not had any casualties to the virus.  Some may choose to not come back to their plots but I expect the majority will and a new normal life will pick up.

The things we have probably learnt through this is the value allotments bring to our physical and mental health and wellbeing, the neighbours and community we can rely on to help and the privilege we have in having our plots when many others have so little space.

Applications to join have sky rocketed over the last period and surly it now time local authorities, together with housing associations, care groups, schools and others started to take a holistic strategy on use of open spaces and community growing, education and care.

Important Consolidated Notice 14/05/20 With the continuation of the current Lockdown it is important that we all follow the temporary measures that we have put in place and that are in line with both Regional and National guidelines.

YES keep working your plots, YES keep social distancing, YES use gloves if possible 

NO fires or barbecues, NO visitors

1.     No visitors are allowed without written authorisation from Secretary, (please supply plot and name details), which will not be unreasonably denied but not be brought to suite on all visits. Registered plot holders can continue to attend their plots. No social access will be granted.

2.     Children under 16 may attend with their parents as long as they reside at same house and must be supervised at all times and not go wandering around the site and onto on others plots.

3.     No fires or BBQs are permitted until further notice

4.     Over 70s or either have an underlying health issue, are pregnant, or have received a ‘shielded ‘ notice from government should notify inform the Secretary and follow guidance and information updated daily by the government and are not encouraged to attend and it will be at their own risk and they will not be insured.

5.     Social distance must always be adhered to 

6.     Please pay attention to the notice boards on entry and take note of any notices posted as information can change on a daily basis. 

7.     No Working on other plots is permitted unless authorised in advance.

8.     Gloves are recommended on entry and retained during stay.

9.     Cleanliness is vital so please do not share tools with others and only take water from the troughs and avoid touching ballcocks. Use the taps that are on site provide clean water for medicine and washing hands but please wipe the tap handle clean after use.

10.Access to upper plots is currently restricted to upper gate

If you are unable to work the plot due to government restrictions and would like someone to help maintain it then please contact the Secretary, Site 

Bees and their own Deadly Virus

Today we live in a world that has been paralysed by the Covid19 virus, but are we alone or are other species under equal pandemic attack?

It is estimated one third of the world’s crops depend on pollinators, so bees are a crucial part of the food chain. With loss of their habitat and climate change the Honey Bee is in decline, not just in the UK but globally and it now appears that this is being compounded by a virus attack which is killing their numbers and wiping out whole colonies.

A study published in the respected scientific journal ‘Nature’ has highlighted that Honey Bees are under a threat from a virus called Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV). The worker bee first shows signs of hair loss and erratic behaviour becoming somewhat discombobulated, balding and then shunned by his fellow workers before he dies.

Like Covid 19 in humans, the infected bees can carry the virus for up to six days before showing symptoms, raising the chance that they interact with others at forage sites and spread the virus to other colonies. There is no social distancing, no face mask, no glove and sanitiser.  There is also no known treatment for CBPV and beekeepers who suspect they have signs are simply advised to increase the space around the colony to create some ‘social distancing’. The undertaker bees will of course try to remove dead bees from a hive but at some point, like with the Health Service and humans they can be overwhelmed by the quantity of corpses they need to evict and may also succumb to the virus themselves.

Bees are a global farming business with colonies and queens often crossing borders. In the US only 0.7 per cent had CBPV in 2009, but by 2014 it was 16%. Italy experienced a rise from 5 per cent in 2009 to 10 per cent only a year later. China has seen a jump from 9 per cent to 38 per cent. A third of the bee population has been lost over the past decade. The disease has spread across England and Wales in only a decade and is now being reported in Scotland.

Since 2000, one sixth of the England and Wales 230,000 colonies have imported queens and analysis by a team at Newcastle University of Honey Bee imports from 25 countries suggested that the virus was nearly twice as likely to occur in apiaries using imported bees. Data collected from 24,000 beekeepers show that the virus was first recorded in 2007 in Lincolnshire.

Honeybees and Bumble bees are ‘social bees’ and are the best known or recognised bee species today and are the bees that are farmed in apiaries. However, there are some 250 species of bee in the UK with some 90% of bees being ‘solitary’ not ‘social’. Importantly there is little known today on the impact of CBPV on the 250 odd species of Solitary Bees be they mining, mason, cavity, cuckoo or leaf eating bees.

It is sobering to realise what virus attack similarities exist today between man and the bee.  

Below: Pictures of some of the little pollinators at work on the plot this year.

   

     

The BIrds

The one thing that we have gained temporarily from the current lockdown is the sound of silence. Gone is the everyday background noise that constantly invades our lives. Here in the heart of London we can enjoy the birds singing in the late Spring sunshine.

The early morning walk across to the allotments is now filled with the sounds of the many songbirds that live on the Mudchute Park and Farm. We may not be able to distinguish all the various songs and their singers, but Britain certainly has got talent.

The bench on the plot is under a fir tree and today you can hear the pinecones cracking open in the sun. At first you wonder what the noise is as you will have never hear it normally. Then the Goldfinch who is sitting on top breaks into a song. He misses a few notes and does an excellent key change, but it’s a bit on the rock style for me. Robin sits in the middle of the bed with his wings over his ears complaining about the racket and as if he were on the panel of judges he proclaims in his black and red fronted tee shirt and LA tan, ’That’s not singing. Next!’

I never thought of the bird songs competing like some X Factor contest, but many are similar and distinguishing them and naming that artist and the song can be tricky.

We are blessed with Robin, a Song Thrush and Wren. I am sure I can detect the Nightingales distinctive and mixed notes and hammering percussive sounds but it is hard to pin them down when, like an orchestra warming up, they sing at the same time.

Not all birds are blessed with ‘The Voice’. The button is not always pressed, and chairs don’t always turn around. Some birds do not even make the auditions and their talents lay elsewhere. Take the Magpie; his plumage is both distinctive and attractive, but he cannot sing. Like his carrion brothers he rarely ventures onto the plots as they have more business on the farm since we do not service their dietary needs. So thankfully we are sparred their macho squawks.

There are of course the Pigeons. They just waddle around pecking and pretending not to be there but can’t stop cooing on and chattering to each other. A bit like Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough’s Cissy and Ada chattering clutching their handbags, they talk a lot and saying nothing and here there are no punch lines. Their eyes are for ever searching out the next meal and they love their veg and can strip a bed in no time at all. Fortunately, they don’t like performing in front of crowds so if the plots are being worked, they go and find another spot to have their natter.

The Farm has many working birds and occasionally you hear a cockerel making his morning cry. You look at your watch and realise it’s 11am and wonder if he has had a long lay in or missed the early morning alarm call. Hang on, he is the early morning alarm call! Some obviously work harder than others!

‘The Birdman of the Mudchute’ works on the upper plots and like Burt Lancaster in the film he is devoted to feeding the flying minstrels. He probably, unlike me, knows them all by their first names and like Gareth Malone has his own choir and practice times. Now, what will that TV show be called?

Among his choir are the latest new band to hit the streets with their new sounds. They are like the punks of the 70s, the new wave of the 80s or the hip hop rap stars and introduce their sound with aplomb. It’s not some much singing but a continual chorus of grating high-pitched caws. Enter left stage The Ring-Necked Parakeets. They even dress differently and have gone for a kind of glam rock bright green outfit. If you cannot hear them you can certainly see them. Apparently, they are making it big south of the river but still to have a big hit up here. Fortunately, they haven’t taken up residence on the Mudchute and are busy taking over nearby neighbourhood estates and residence in their large Plane trees.

Walking down some streets is quite an experience as you hear them cawing above you. You see their massive communal housing squat at the highest point of the tree, step over the rejected nest twigs and guano and try to avoid flying deposits. The roofs and bonnets of the cars on these streets resemble a paintball target. Now it may be fertilizer to some but we don’t want that on the veg at the allotment do we! 

So, after the auditions, the semi-finals and the final, can we promote the songbird choir and celebrate their songs and singing and look forward to their Christmas number one.  

Sharing and Swapping Plants and Seeds

Every now and again you come across someone who not only goes that extra mile but does it with a smile and performs it perfectly.

Our Seed Swap had to be cancelled due to the current virus, so seeds went into the boxes on the gates and were replenished on a regular basis. The seeds were as varied as any collection and anyone wanting to grow something different was given the opportunity to do so. Who says they can’t get seeds today?

This year we have our brand-new community greenhouse which primarily was to provide a consistent flow of plants to our remote allotment at the new Crossrail Station gardens at Canary Wharf. Whilst the stores were working normally it was fully kitted out with bags of compost, manure, seed trays etc Obviously, the Canary Wharf allotment is now subject to strict controls which we are working under with the Canary Wharf Group and whilst this goes on we have more plants ready that we now need to share among our plot holders.

I asked today just how many plants we were giving away to plot holders and was staggered when i was told about 400! Tomatoes, beetroot, mange tout, strawberries, kale, spring cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, raspberry canes etc. Some are already given away and on the plots, some ready today others will be available in the coming weeks. The quality is very good, and novices and experts can all benefit.

As Chair I am so proud of the work and dedication shown and the tremendous effort of what is a very small team who selflessly think of others before themselves. This year we are going to all enjoy a bumper harvest and maybe one or two things we never thought we would be growing!

Our Site Manager is in isolation for the lock down, but his plot like a number of others in a similar position has been dug over prepared, It will now be stocked with plants and even maintained by a buddy plot holder for when he returns. It is important that we work as a community and look after those who are restricted today and give them something to look forward to later this year.

Its uplifting to see the allotment community spirit and people thinking and looking after others.