Sunday 24th March 2019
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Report written by Ellen
Mikey and I ran to Mr J on a sunny Sunday to help him tidy up his garden, ready for spring. It was a lovely day and we met at the Pen-y-Lan community centre, before trotting on to where Mr J lives. On arrival, we discovered that the task had changed, from weeding and tidying the front garden, to digging over part of his back garden, ready for him to plant some beans and other vegetables. Well that didn't put us off, and we soon got down and dirty. But first, Mr J brought us out his forks, gloves and bags to collect the weeds we dug out. The plot we dug was approximately 2mx4m (by best guestimate!), and there weren't too many weeds to get out. Mainly grass, the odd poppy plant and some lovely primroses which we managed to dig out and replant in a corner of the plot - which we named "Primrose Corner". As we dug, Mr J told us about his wife who is in a care home nearby, and his extended family of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren - it must be busy at Christmas! Indeed, Mr J said these days he has to buy quite a lot of chocolate Easter Eggs for them all! We were also treated to some coffee, to keep us going, as well as water and biscuits. Mr J - who cannot bend too much these days - did manage to carry out bags of weeds to the front garden where the waste bin was kept. It was a real team effort. By the end, we all felt like it great good deed, as now Mr J will be able to plant some beans in the patch we dug over. He says it's a bit late for them, but it doesn't matter, it's the effort that counts and I'm sure the beans won't mind growing a bit into the summer :) After all that, Mikey and I ran back DOWN the Newport Road hill (thank goodness for that!), and both vowed to spend more time in our own gardens that afternoon. I think Mikey managed to stick to his promise! Overall a really enjoyable mission, which HAS spurred me to dig my own allotment. Anyone want to help? :)
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