Wednesday 27 December 2006

Allotment Art

Allotment Mannequin (photo by Paul, 2006)What's an allotment? Sigh! It's a patch of land for hire at a small fee, where you can grow your own veggies. It's also another Brit. tradition under threat as councils decide that selling land is more important than doing what their voters want, especially around overcrowded London. Allotments have their roots in mediaeval serfdom, but officially they began with the Enclosures Acts of the early 18th century. Food shortages caused by the Industrial Revolution and two world wars made allotments life-savers. During World War II, the Ministry of Food's Dig for Victory campaign was so successful that by 1943 over a million tons of vegetables were being grown in gardens and allotments. Of course what every allotment needs is a shed and a scarecrow. What price a pig-tailed Judy Garland dancing along the Yellow Brick Road with this one?

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