27th August 1948: Mr John Hodder and his wife, aged 86 and 80 respectively at work in their allotment in Fulham, London. Photo by William Vanderson

Allotments – Take this job and shovel it

Apr 8th 2009
From The Economist

As spring makes its usual staggered start, the Fielding Street allotments, off south-east London’s Walworth Road on a second world war bomb site, are buzzing. Plotholders—a mixed bunch of beekeepers, university lecturers, Zambian migrants and “Nyudies” (new yuppie diggers) alongside the London-Irish flat-cappers of old—are making up for winter neglect. Exotic tubers and decorative blooms jostle carrots, spuds and beans in plots that range from pocket handkerchief to half a football pitch in size. For the privilege, the allotment society pays a nominal rental to Southwark Council, which owns the land.

[Read more →]