Rent Increase
Our allotment rent is going up by a third. Now, a third sounds like a proper whack, doesn’t it? I felt my eyebrows go up on their own. I started to compose a strongly worded grumble in my head, the sort I usually save for plasterers. Then I did what any sensible man does when he’s worried about money. I got the back of an envelope and a pencil, and I did the sums. It works out at 77p a week. Per allotment. I did it again, because I thought I’d gone wrong somewhere. I haven’t got a lot of faith in my own maths, as Sam will happily tell you. But no, it’s right. Seventy-seven pence. That’s less than a packet of the cheap crisps, less than a tin of beans, and about half what you’d pay for a single Little Gem lettuce on a bad day at the supermarket. The Kitchen Table Sums I called the family together at teatime and announced it like I’d found treasure. Fern said, “Dad, is this going to be a long one?” I said it would be short, I promise, and she gave me the look she gives me when she k...
