Page 12 - ALG Issue 4 2018

General
Allotment Shed of the Year Competition
Shield Total Insurance and the National Allotment Society teamed up this year to find the Allotment Shed of the Year, and what a difficult job it was to choose a winner! We had so many inspiring entries. Plotholders just love their sheds and they sent us some amazing pictures and told us very eloquently what their shed means to them.
However, Sarah Jones, Matt Cox, Neil, Claire and Rufus from Birmingham are the proud winners of the £250 prize. Their shed has an open view of the Rea Valley, they see the weather change over distant hills and track the advance of the clouds. In the middle of winter, four adults and a toddler fixed doors from skips, old floorboards, shed panels, and UPVC windows to build their sanctuary. All elements recycled and reused; another life for planks of wood long forgotten, on a plot long abandoned. New life from old, like compost, like leaf mould
in soil. The shed is where they work, plan, and rest, while outside the potatoes grow, the courgettes germinate, the rain falls and occasionally, the sun shines. A place for
a cup of tea, a bit of respite from the rest
of the world to sort the seeds and store
the spades and forks and rakes. Inside is
a table found in a garden, chairs from a pub (they all have a seat), a blackboard for messages and plans, a to-do list. Some sheds are very neat and tidy. Some are from Argos. Their shed is unique! Runners-up were:
• Jackie Birch, whose well-equipped shed
includes a radio and disco ball for those
party moments.
• Patrick Lees who, at the close of day
sits and sips his tea, listening to the local seagulls, can almost hear the waves lapping on the beach... in Redditch.
• Stephen and Janice Bennett, whose home from home shed is not only a place where they can lose themselves in their passion for gardening, but a place to sit and contemplate, read and relax as well as make tea for their many allotmenteer visitors!
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WINNER
Sarah Jones, Matt Cox, Neil, Claire and Rufus