Filed under: From seed to seed
“Only a century ago 98% of the UK’s population lived in rural areas, closely connected to and knowledgeable about nature, land and local food production. Now 98% live in urban areas, increasingly separated from their rural heritage and the traditional, household food growing and cooking skills of previous generations.”
http://www.aridlands.co.uk/ar-learning.htm
There are 3 people I really have to thank for the dawning of 100 cauliflowers
Rich Sylvester, a storyteller based in Greenwich (creator of the “Journey Through Time” Greenwich story walks)
Mary Mills, Labour Party Councillor for the Greenwich Ward, and local historian. It was Mary that put me in contact with historian Barbara Ludlow
Barbara Ludlow, who pointed me in the direction of the Coombe Farm diaries
On my first visit to Greenwich I popped in to see Rich Sylvester. Rich had also helped Lottie Child with the development of Accidental Holiday
We drank cups of tea in his house – and outside in his back yard was an array of bird feeding receptacles and lots of empty coconut shells. He told me the story of the coconuts – as he had told Lottie when they were walking and talking down by the waterfront…
http://malinky.org/wikka.php?wakka=WalkWithRichSylvester
Rich and I talked a lot about the Peninsula of the past. How, less then 40 years ago, much of the land was used for allotment gardening, and prior to that, in the 19th centaury, a swathe of the land was a market garden farm.
He recounted a brief tale he’d heard about the farm that went something like this…
Back in the 19th centaury there was a market farm on the Peninsula.
It produced fruit and vegetables for the people of London – freighted up river to be sold at Covent Garden Market
The farm was best known for its rhubarb
But there is a story recorded of an early morning vegetable heist
One spring morning, the garden labourers set about harvesting and stacking 1000 cauliflowers ready for taking to market.
Their task complete, the gardeners went off for a well-earned breakfast
Upon their return they were alarmed to discover that the fruits of their labour had disappeared
Stolen by a gang of cauliflower rustlers.
That tale conjured up a comic image
Had the munch bunch been casing the joint – vegetable surveillance to identify ripe opportunities?
Were they lying in wait?
And why on earth would anyone want to rustle cauliflowers?
Cauliflowers… not really a desirable or sexy veg of today… I can’t even remember the last time I ate one, or even a floret.
Rich gave me an indication of where the farm was, and where the allotments were. He didn’t know the exact locations, but Mary Mills was able to give a clearer indication for the allotments.
I met with Mary, and we took a stroll over the Peninsula footbridge – a blue metal construction that links folks from one side of the A102 to the other; the longstanding Greenwich community to regenerated Peninsula. Judging by the abundance of abandoned shopping trolleys, it appears that this bridge is commonly used for grocery trips…
As we walked Mary told me that the retail site where the multiplex cinema, B&Q and Sainsbury’s are, (amongst other retail and food outlets) was once allotments, and that the car park (that holds 500 cars) was not so long ago, the local recreation ground, a vast grassed area with a football pitch and cricket ground.
Today, the recreation of the past is replaced with the recreational past time of shopping, DIY, and American style popcorn popping picture watching.
We stood on the bridge looking down at the vast car park…
How ironic that an eco supermarket stands on land that produced zero carbon footprint food: sown, cultivated, harvested, and eaten by the local community.
And that this land was perhaps the only area of land on the Peninsula that was not contaminated by the gas works.
As Mary pointed out…
“The irony hasn’t gone unnoticed by some!”
The [retail] project formed part of the development strategy for the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula. The masterplan for the area had identified a retail site…
…Sainsburys’ innovative stance for the Greenwich Peninsula store accorded with the vision for this part of London, to pioneer a forward-looking approach with relevance to the 21st century. The store’s design drew on a three-year research programme, involving an examination of energy use in typical supermarkets and tests of low energy technologies that could be used as alternatives. Sainsbury’s aim was for the store to be up to 50% more efficient than a standard supermarket, and to experiment with innovative design features that could become future standards if these proved relevant
http://www.cabe.org.uk/default.aspx?contentitemid=251&aspectid=6
So it’s the build that makes this Sainsbury’s an eco supermarket – not necessarily the content.
For more information on the build from Sainsbury’s perspective visit
www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=322& subsection=news_releases&Year=1999&NewsID=99
I was hoping that Mary might be able to give me a greater insight to the allotments, but this wasn’t here area of expertise. She thought that when the gas works were built in 1887, areas of land were dedicated to allotment gardening for the gas works employees. The Victorian wealthy often displayed philanthropic acts aimed to enhance the quality of life for the less well off.
She suggested that I contact the local heritage centre, and for more information about the farm, Mary suggested I contact Barbara Ludlow.
