Allotments are as British as roast beef and two veg.  Allotments?  Basically, they’re small plots of land, rented to people to grow vegetables and they go back to medieval days when the peasants were granted small strips of land by the local landowner. The good deed was in return for a rent, of course, which was typically a percentage of the produce, used to feed the nobleman’s own staff.

In the second world war, when the country needed every penny for the war machine, people took up the challenge to dig for Britain – cultivating every square inch of land they could find to grow potatoes, carrots and cabbage.

As the country faces the 2009 recession crisis, the gauntlet has been thrown down again and once more the population is being urged to dig for Britain.

The National Trust, which looks after most of the country’s stately home heritage, is spearheading the campaign, by opening up kitchen gardens for people to turn into allotments.  Much of this will not be charged for.

In Wheaton Aston, a rural community where “free” land is surprisingly in short supply, the Parish Council is likely to be urged to open a small parcel of land it owns.

The site was formerly a childrens’ play site, but was closed due to an increase in vandalism. Locks went up some time ago and the land, bordered on three sides by homes, has remained that way ever since. But with demand for allotments reaching an all time high, the pressure is on.

Village life goes on….

Apart from the pressures of recession, village life continues apace. The Parish Church is now well on its way to raising £300,000(around $426,000) for redeveloping the building for community use; while the charity which runs the recreation ground and club is bucking the gloom and doom trend and planning a new roof, heating system and interior improvements.

In February the club launched a series of homespun entertainment nights – or “open mic” - and was overwhelmed by the response from musical villagers. Wheaton Aston’s got talent!

But we knew that anyway. For example, a village band, Epic 45, while not exactly known in the UK, are really big in Germany and Japan. Not exactly my taste of music, or even entertainment, but you can check them out for yourselves by doing a Google search on Epic 45.

Which leads me nicely into art in its broadest sense. Wheaton Aston Arts, which acts as an umbrella organisation for anything arty, has twice turned the Village Hall into a cinema this year - for The Duchess and Mamma Mia, and has now won a lottery grant for a pull down wide screen, along with cash for workshops on anything from painting to photography.

What recession?

John Fisher can be contacted on johngordonfisher@mac.com.

When the going gets tough, the tough - and innovative - get going.

In Wheaton Aston we have a population of around 2,600 - but despite the doom and gloom of the recession, a growing number of new
businesses are springing up. That figure has now topped the 150 mark, with people realising that working from home is really rewarding and much better than the stress of commuting.

Take Liam Small, for example. He's always been a dab hand at car maintenance...but he discovered a really lovely niche market. Car lease companies are getting tough about the condition of returned cars, so Liam's cleaning up by dealing with all the minor bumps and scratches that cars collect over three years,using a mobile unit that's fully computerised for matching paint.

Ok, so there's a well known franchise operation doing something
similar, but Liam's charging half their price and using just the same system!

Then there's a guy rapidly expanding by doing up vintage motorcylces, a colleague who designs and builds exhibition stands, two car repair men working from their garages, numerous potters, painters and photographers, and a whole collection of accountants and financial advisers. Oh, and the flower lady who supplies local shops and garages.

The point is, this is Britain at its best when things are bad. We don't just sit around and moan; we pull together and rise to the challenge,which is what is happening in Wheaton Aston.

The cinema comes to town

Being a small village, most people who want to see a movie in the traditional way, travel to the nearby towns of Telford, Stafford or Wolverhampton. But January, February and March, see the arrival of widescreen, surround-sound cinema in our village hall, with the latest releases. This is easier, cheaper and much more fun than going to a multi-screen. We also serve tea, coffee and biscuits....something you'll never get in town.

and finally......spring is on the way

For a few weeks we've been experiencing some really cold weather. At its worst the temperature plunged to around 12f, rising to 50f two weeks into January.  All over the village plants are pushing their way skyward and we fully expect some early flowering this year.

Spring will herald detailed planning for the Wheaton Aston Festival in May - four days of music, fun, crafts and art. Musicians arrive from all over Europe and beyond.

Then we have the carnival to look forward to in July...and meanwhile the village population goes up as boaters from UK's busiest canal hitch up and explore.

If you'd like to know more about our village, e.mail me on johngordonfisher@mac.com or go to http://www.wheatonaston.org.uk.

John Fisher
Wheaton Aston, UK