Allotments

Before we moved to London, I associated the word "allotment" with the notion of being allocated or allowed something, as in: "I'm sorry, but your allotted time is up." Rather an official-sounding word in Canada, we hardly ever heard it. Here it's a different story, with allotments frequently making it into everyday conversation and the news. Although the concept of an "allotment" as a communal plot of gardening land divided into many individually tended plots exists in Vancouver, it's not with the same frequency as in London, where every neighbourhood has allotments, like this one near our house:

In our borough, the Hackney Allotment Society manages nine allotments, divided into 125 plots, and 247 people are currently on the waiting list for a plot, with an average waiting time of three to four years! Having said that, rates are reasonable, with a £4 annual membership fee securing your name on the waiting list, and plots currently going for £16 per year for a full plot (£8 for a half-plot). Having never had access to a garden in Vancouver, I've yet to try my hand at growing more than herbs on a windowsill, but I always enjoy walking past London allotments and taking in their ramshackle ambiance.