My first allotment was in Treherbert, the place where I was born. My cousin took me to the local gardening society one evening. It was a talk about growing vegetable and afterwards there was a buffet and raffle. I won the raffle, a box of homegrown vegetables. My cousin lent over to me and whispered: “You’ll have to join the society now!”.
It was here where I learnt how to grow vegetables along with my Alan Titchmarsh book on how to run an allotment. The site had no toilet but did have running water and a stores. The stores opened every Sunday from 10:30am until 12pm, whatever the weather the doors would be open. During the Summer it also opened on a Wednesday evening. This was a great community.
Sadly I have no pictures or videos of my time on this allotment.
I left the site when I decided to move to Cardiff for my career. When I left my plot was transferred to the next person on the waiting list, a man called John who had moved to the area from England. Years later in 2024 when I returned to the village to live I found a plot of land to rent as an allotment. Neighbour told me that the last person who rented the site was a man called John who had moved here many decades ago from England. A rather fitting circle I thought.
