Life on the Radio2 Adopted Allotment

Life will never be the same on an allotment nestled on a hillside in the Rhondda Valley since its adoption by Jeremy Vine show. How did this transformation take place? Radio 2 had an hour special on allotment gardening and at the end of the show Jeremy said, maybe tongue in cheek, that he would like to adopt an allotment and would interested listeners e-mail into the show saying what they liked about allotment holding. After much coaxing by my wife, who reckons I spend more time at my allotment than I do with her, and my two boys I duly e-mailed and after several interviews I went live on air on July 4th 2003. It is a strange feeling standing on my plot speaking to 5 million listeners over my mobile phone live on air. This has been repeated three times since. The interest this generated sparked articles in the South Wales Echo and cumulated in a camera team from BBC filming and interviewing me on the allotments for a show going out in Autumn called ‘I LOVE WALES’. This allotment will feature alongside four other gardens including the National Botanical Garden of Wales. There has also been a web site dedicated to the plot and for one day only it had a page on national ceefax. This has sparked a lot of interest in the locality of the allotments and has resulted in an increase in demand for plots. This is the part, which satisfies me most an upturn in interest in allotment gardening. I have been gardening at this site since a very early age when my father took me to his plot and gave me a small corner to plant a few seeds. At 13 years of age I took my own plot and now 45 years later I am still cultivating it. The allotment is a community of people with like interests and is full of real characters with always a story to tell and some good gardening advice to pass on. I learnt many good tips as a youngster growing up on my plot amongst gardeners with a lifetime of knowledge to pass on. This is passed on to the novice gardeners who take on plots now. Gardeners are not secretive about their good tips and are ready to help all newcomers to our wonderful pastime. People say it is all hardwork! Gardening is hours of pleasure in the open air and gentle exercise. It only becomes a chore if you let it become so.