TRHA put on a spectacular Autumn Show this year. Well done to all TATA members who entered!

There were some fantastic award winning entries in a number of categories including heaviest pumpkin (affectionately known as ‘Big Bertha’ – Malcolm – hope your back recovers …), first in class parsnips (a lot of patience required to dig these up!), melt in the mouth boiled fruit cake, scrumptious chutney and divine plum jam. A TATA family member even won 1st prize for ‘arrangement of weeds in a jam jar’.

Summary In April 2016 an allotment plot was planted with osiers (willow) to recreate a bed to allow first-hand experience to be gained of a once thriving village industry. The three species triandra, viminalis and hybrid red will provide willow suitable for such applications as basketwork and willow sculptures.

Membership of TATA is open to anyone that wants to support the association, regardless of whether you have an allotment. Find out more here

There can’t be many Twyfordians practising the same skills that their great-grandparents used, but you’ll find dozens of them down at the Hurst Road Allotments. Tucked in a corner between the train station and the Twyford Brook, church records show that the land was first rented for allotment use in 1887. The landowners were from the Palmers of Sonning, and in 1913, after one particular Wade-Palmer escalated the rents, Twyford Parish Council stepped in to purchase the land and keep it as allotments for the good of the community.

I had a little nut tree
Nothing would it bear
But a silver nutmeg
And a golden pear.

The King of Spain’s daughter
Came to visit me
All for the sake
Of my little nut tree.

This nursery rhyme is said to commemorate the visit of Katherine of Aragon to King Henry VII’s court in 1506.

I thought I could tell you a little bit about why I got my allotment…

I was in a stressful job and we were trying to start a family. After my first IVF treatment I needed to do an activity completely separate from work, I needed to be outdoors and forget about what we were going through so I got my allotment plot.

I’m on my third allotment, here at Hurst Road; and it’s turned out to be the friendliest.

I’ve been on plot 18 for over 6 years. As is usual, I took over a plot which had lacked enthusiastic attention for some time. That’s not to say that it is now perfect. Far from it, but, I am making a difference. I’ve ripped up the buddleia, nettles and

We moved to Twyford in May 2008 from Woodley where we had lived for 33 years. We had had allotments in Woodley for 25 years and really enjoyed allotmenteering. One of the reasons for choosing our present house in Twyford was that the Hurst Road allotment site was a few minutes walk away. Unfortunately for us there was a waiting list for plots, but we put our names down within weeks of moving in.

Hello, my name is Louise Povey. I am a guide in Loddon District and I have been working towards my bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE).

My Duke of Edinburgh is broken down into 4 sections, Expedition, Physical, Volunteering and Skills.