Page 47 - ALG Issue 3 2021
P. 47

                                  Centenary Musings
Thoughts of a former Allotment Treasurer at Rowley Fields Allotment Society
I was married to Judith on 13th July 1974, and together we bought a house in Collingham Road, Leicester. Our next-door neighbours, Nora and Bert, were well-established members of the Society, with a plot adjacent to their house. Nora was a real plants woman, with a vast knowledge of not just vegetables, but flowers and shrubs too. In 1975, Bert asked me if I would like
an allotment because plot 31, adjacent to my house, had become vacant. Immediately I said “Yes” because for many years my father had a private plot on the Forest Road site, which we knew as the Black Pad. This site was taken over by compulsory purchase order, but my father continued with his interest in gardening, and I helped with the digging.
I think that Tom, who lived opposite in Collingham Road, was the Secretary at this time. I cannot remember the
exact year I took over as the Treasurer.
I probably volunteered because no-
one ever wants to do this job. So, I started collecting the rents, counting the money, and taking it to the bank
on a weekly basis. The old shed was adjacent to the plot at the top of the hill, but there were no windows, so it was especially dark. John Branney became the Secretary. He worked as a lecturer, and he had lots of skills that were useful to the Society.
Sometimes, it was very slow work on
a Sunday, especially if no-one came to pay their bills. One such Sunday, Jack Coates was walking near to the hut with his dog, and had a ferret hidden under his coat. So, I watched him put a net over a hole near a shed on the plot, put a ferret into an opposite hole, and within seconds a rabbit was struggling for
life in the netting, with the dog barking ferociously. Jack disposed of the rabbit very quickly and I imagine was soon preparing this rabbit for dinner!
Arthur E Manger
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          Allotment and Leisure Gardener 47
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