Page 24 - ALG Issue 4 2023

creative plotholders
An Allotment
Fit for a Viking
Kettering in the East Midlands is
not the first place you expect to see a washed-up Viking Longship. But visitors to this well-run allotment site (NAS Deputy Rep Russell Attwood
is site secretary) are often halted in their tracks by the vision of a semi- submerged Viking vessel!
Plot owner Ryan Abrahams has long had a fascination with all things Norse, reinforced by watching the Vikings TV series. He is also very handy with a saw so, not long after he took on a five pole plot next to his friend Andy, he set about turning a vision into a reality.
Armed only with discarded feather edge fence boards, some drawings, wood stain and screws (he works
for Screwfix) he began by building a miniature Viking Longhouse – AKA shed – complete with Viking thrones for himself and Andy, opening windows, a skylight and raven carved facias.
The boat followed not long after. Crafted using a hand saw and more upcycled fence boards, the materials are scorched for an aged effect. The ship comes complete with a curved bow (Ryan says that was the trickiest bit) a fabulous dragon figurehead and carved decorations.
He started it in February this year. Ryan says it has been a very therapeutic process and is keen to stress it is still a work in progress: “Next, I want to create a wooden walkway next to the boat that
looks like a dock. The mast will suspend ropes to grow runner beans up, and I plan to build raised beds for vegetables inside the ship. Next year I will be much more focused on the planting.” Ryan is also presently researching flowers to find the perfect shade of blue to plant next to the ship and represent the sea.
Thanks to Ryan for showing us his fabulous plot. As he has suggested, we would love to provide an update when his planting plans have come to fruition!
Next, I want to create
a wooden walkway next to the boat that looks like a dock. The mast will suspend ropes to grow runner beans up, and I plan to build raised beds for vegetables inside the ship
24 Allotment and Leisure Gardener