A final farewell.

So, up to where it all began on a grand scale - the allotment.
Luke used to have a website - weeditandreap.co.uk - which showcased his and his best pal, Tim's achievements on the veg front. Once Luke had discovered the joys of tomato growing in the back garden it was a small step to him getting an allotment. We took Tim and his girlfriend, Michelle, up to show them the allotment to see if he was interested in joining Luke. He oohed and ahhed about it for a while; said "no" then "yes" and they were off. All this was back in 2006 and for several years they spent every Saturday sweating over the sod, so to speak. Although they both then progressed to bee keeping it was Tim who fell in love with that hobby and is now a proud owner of 70 hives. You'll see more of Tim in the birds and bees article.
Anyway, things got busier for both the boys and little by little they found less time to spend on the allotment. For the last year they've done nothing with it and in a great part, our house move was led by the need for a larger garden in which to grow our own fruit and vegetables. Now we've made that move we would like to give up the allotment in order to decrease the huge list of veg-growing wannabes and let somebody else have the joy of veg.

So today's visit to the allotment was basically to collect our tools and suchlike. It was a sad sight, all their hard work has disappeared under an abundance of weeds. But in the midst of it I found a huge artichoke head - a real architectural statement which I hacked off and brought home to sit in a glass vase. Of course I had to wait for the bumble bee to finish collecting pollen off it first. In the hedgerows we collected a pot full of juicy blackberries, half of which I've washed and frozen and half of which I've cooked with some cooking apples. I also tweaked off a bag full of scarlet redcurrants which I've washed and frozen on the stem - this way I can use them for cooking or decorative purposes. Half a bag is going over to Tim and Michelle's house tonight for them to enjoy; our last harvest from the allotment.