27 Dec “My first allotment around here was at Knotty Ash.”

My first allotment around here was at Knotty Ash, in 1985. I shared it with a mate off the buses. I moved to Bowring Park allotments around 1990, which is where I met Tony Hill. In 2006, I moved again, to Cabbage Hall in St Helens, which is where I am now. When I first took on an allotment, there were plenty of empty plots. There really wasn’t the enthusiasm for growing that there had been through the 1960s and 70s. At St Helens now, there are 60 on the waiting list and people can wait seven or eight years to get one. The average age of allotment holders has dropped too. So there are people who can share expertise to the next generation.