We certainly didn’t expect to be in lockdown again in 2021. It was only in July 2020 that we were able to get back in to work on the London Rd Station plots after the first lockdown from March 2020 and by that time, the growing year was turning to what should have been harvesting, not planting. For the first time, in Autumn 2020, we weren’t able to get the group together for a Harvest Supper. It would have been our tenth.

The very warm weather we had in spring and summer and the fact that we couldn’t get in to water consistently did have a negative effect on our fruit trees, and sadly, we had nothing like the crops of apples and pears we’ve had in previous years. But even fruit trees are fairly resilient – I’m hoping we can manage to get some pruning done before they spring into leaf again in April-May. The very cold weather this January should kill off some of the bugs that are prone to attack them.

We managed some distanced meet-ups around the platform planters at the front of the station up until November, and tried to keep these stocked with flowers. We’ve planted them for the winter with polyanthus and pansies, and hopefully the bulbs from previous years will soon surface.

And now we’re back to keeping in touch through Zoom because it’s the social contact amid the gardening that is probably the most important aspect of the London Rd Station partnership. We’ve discussed seeds for next year, giggled at enforced focus on household tasks, and swapped stories about overlength hair. It’s not quite the same as being outside, and nattering while weeding and dead-heading, but it brings us together.