The recent article A Tribute to St Anns Allotments brought back some fond childhood memories for Eric Parker.
“My father had an allotment, right at the top of the hill. I remember the circus coming to Nottingham, at the Forest Recreation Ground. My dad was a lorry driver for the railway. He was asked to deliver a lorry load of straw for the animals. When he had finished, he saw the huge pile of manure that the elephants, bears, and lions had created. The circus said he could take it. He loaded the lot onto his lorry and dropped it off at the bottom of the hill. After finishing his work he came home and asked me to help him. We returned with his barrow and two spades. I couldn’t believe the size of the steaming pile. I was ten years old but can clearly remember the the size of elephant poo. We toiled to barrow it up, spread it and dig it in. The size of the next crop of vegetables had to be seen to be believed.”
Eric Parker
