Features
Chris Hunt
Our auditor, Chris Hunt, sadly passed away suddenly last month, aged 57. She was a wonderful, bubbly woman who did so much, so willingly, for the community, including the residents' association newsletter and the knitting and sewing circle (which she started) in the...
Communal areas working party
Sunday 15th May dawned sunny and bright. An ideal day for the planned clear-up of communal areas. There was a good turn-out and, thanks to a superb effort by Jan and Julie the previous day, we managed to smarten up the site within an hour. That left plenty of time for...
Mohammed digs behind the blossom
Spring arrived late this year in Smitham allotments. First the cold and frosts, followed by rain, rain, cold, and more rain. It’s said to have been the coldest April since 1913, and it was also one of the wettest here. Most of us failed to get all the potatoes in by...
Best in Croydon!
Pauline Ben-Ari has been awarded Best Newcomer 2014 for her plot by the Croydon Federation of Allotments (CFAGS). Not only does it look fantastic but she also has a wide range of healthy produce that would put most of us older hands to shame.Well done Pauline. The...
2014 Barbecue
This year’s barbecue was held on Sunday, 29th June and was as successful as usual. There was a good turnout despite the prediction of unsettled weather, but the sun shone and the rain stayed away until the food was gone. It is always good to see the children there and...
The Year of the Poppy 2014
We have been doing our bit to celebrate the centenary of the D-Day landings by growing poppies on the allotment (and I thought we were going into the opium trade - Ed). Jan and Julie took these amazing photographs as a permanent souvenir.
Joe celebrates 54 years as a plotholder!
On Friday evening Joe Callanan and a few fellow plotholders held an impromptu party to celebrate the anniversary of Joe's becoming a plotholder. He was given his plot at 1 o'clock on 12th July 1959. The occasion was enjoyed by all with a few celebratory refreshments...
First Impressions – a year with an allotment
The phone call came out of the blue. 'Dad, I have taken on an allotment, would you like to give me a hand?' 'Yes of course' I said, without stopping to think what this might involve. My experience of growing vegetables was confined to container grown Tumbling Tom...
2012 A difficult year
2012 has proved the most difficult year in the allotment that any of us can remember. We lost our first - and sometimes second - sowings of carrots and other crops due to the cold and wet April and May. Perhaps this was inevitable as we had a hosepipe ban which...