It’s half term and our plans changed at the last minute today, partly thanks to storm Dennis – we were meeting family in Cambridge but storm Dennis meant the trains were not running on time so we rearranged. I asked the kids what they wanted to do instead and they surprised me by saying a bike ride and then a trip to the plot, I didn’t even need to bribe them with chips at the nearby pub.
First thing we noticed on arrival was the shed window was missing, the kids ran off to their secret base and left me to do a hasty repair job using string and wood to fix it back in place. Then I spotted the pond from years before had returned. And the weeds were slowly claiming back the uncovered beds. It’s been literally months, possibly even six, since I was last at the plot and I was thinking perhaps I should throw in the towel, admit that I just don’t have time at the moment for gardening but going back there today reminded me of all the reasons I love having an allotment – it’s messy and muddy, windy and wild and I hardly ever have much veg to show for my efforts, last year half the stuff I grew went unharvested as I didn’t have any time to pick or dig the stuff once it was ready but being there today and doing even just half an hour of weeding was exactly what my busy mind needed. And really we have storm Dennis to thank for us bothering to go down in the first place.