A Big Yellow Taxi?
This week, the words of Joni Mitchell’s famous protest song were made real, when a follower on Twitter made an impassioned plea for support. I have long admired the activities of Robert the Allotment Cat, his human minder, Betty Farruggia and her associates at the Walsall Road Allotments in Perry Barr, Birmingham. Over one hundred people of all races and religions have created a community welded together by a passion for life in all of its forms. For over a century, they and their predecessors have transformed small strips of barren earth into an oasis of productivity. The once numerous feral cats are cared for, neutered and fed. The allotments have not only provided an opportunity for those who live in the city to grow their own food and to escape the confines of urban life, but have also created a supportive community, a microcosm of what society should look like when it works well. A visit to their website is evidence of the pride they feel in this place. Plot-holders hail from Australia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Northern Cyprus, Iraq, Mauritius, Kenya, Brazil, West Indies, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Malaysia Ireland and England. They have received Lottery Funding for a greenhouse, been featured on the One Show, gardening programmes and hosted a cookery demonstration by Great British Bake Off winner, Nadiya. Neither are they an insular community, but one that literally opens its doors to others. Kate Millington, a special needs teacher, runs The Open Doors Project charity from her plot. Many young people, some with special educational needs or from deprived parts of the city, experience a warm welcome there. When it was announced that the Commonwealth Games were coming to Birmingham in 2022, the Walsall Road plot holders were given assurances that the events to be held at the Alexander Stadium, next door, would have no impact on the site. The situation is now ‘under review’, with the area possibly needed for additional parking. Worse still, in a recent statement, Birmingham City Council is considering a ‘master plan’ which could see the site sold off to generate income for the council. It is a sad indictment that modern politicians fail to serve the people who put them in post in the first place. I think I would rather gaze on the rows of well tended vegetables in Walsall Road Allotments than walk down a street named after one of them. We are all diminished by their lack of compassion, understanding and far-sightedness. ‘Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot.’
Joni Mitchell If you feel able to support this cause, please visit https://www.change.org/p/save-walsall-road-allotments You can follow Robert the Allotment Cat on Twitter at @AllotmentCat
Image courtesy of Betty Farruggia
