A Sun-baked Baker’s Dozen

Although the weather had cooled slightly for our work party, when 13 volunteers, including two first-timers, worked hard all morning at West Beckham Old Allotments, it was still hot and sticky, so we took plenty of breaks to take a gulp of water and a breather in the shade.

There was plenty to do, so we split into two teams. One group, including one of the new volunteers who had come armed with his father’s wonderful antique scythe, scythed and raked the margins around the paths.

Another team launched an attack on the Dock seedheads, cutting them back to prevent the seeds from germinating so that the Docks don’t overwhelm the developing wildflower meadow.

Meanwhile, Trevor and Nick separately put in the miles traipsing around the site: Trevor mowing the paths, and Nick carting buckets of water from our huge water butt to refill the drinking ponds, which were completely empty due to the hot weather.

Whilst we worked or chatted over a cup of tea and a doughnut, we were able to enjoy some of the wildlife that calls West Beckham Old Allotments home: a Common Field Grasshopper discovered by the dock-bashers, migrating Swallows swooping over the meadow feeding up before their long journey to Africa, the jewel colours of Viper’s Bugloss and Bird’s Foot Trefoil.