Storm Corrie is nothing to do with the long running soap that is filmed in our City of Salford. It is however the fourth storm of 2022. Following on the heels of Arwen and Barra which caused so much damage on the plots, Storm Malik nipped in on 29 January. It rushed across from the north-east, whilst the cold came up from the south-east.
Winds of up to 81 mph recorded although we got probably only half of that on average. Storm Corrie however was coming at us two days later with north-westerly winds over the last two days of January. Scotland seems to have got the worst of it, but we had a tail whip.
Storms that are named due to winds cause more damage on the allotment site than those that relate to rains. Yes various areas will flood, but that will recede. The winds however take out the plot holders greenhouses and sheds which cost more money and time to replace. The four being so close together was also a factor in loosening other items which landed on or moved around the site. Not everything found on site after the storms were allotment holders belongings!
Stormy times ahead
Five years ago, it was being reported that climate change would be increasing the amount of damage that would occur in the UK from wind storms. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) commissioned a report that looked into the affect on the UK of having more and stronger wind storms. This was concentrating on the damage to infrastructure and buildings. We have a brick built community hut , sheds and greenhouse on site. So far the roof materials have stayed in place throughout the storms.
Corrie Drama
Whilst it would be fun to think that the storm was named after the nick name of Coronation Street it was not. The Dutch forecaster KNMI named this storm. It refers to the first female meteorologist at KNMI in 1964, Corrie Van Dijk. Thankfully due to the direction of the winds on this occasion there was very little and minor damage for us on the allotment site. It was a worrying few days for some though as they had replaced glass after the last two storms in their greenhouses.
Allotments in Soaps
Granada now ITV’s Coronation Street in Salford
Corrie’s much-loved widower Roy Cropper (David Neilson) and Sharif Nazir (Marc Anwar) agree to share the ownership of an allotment plot in one story-line. Unfortunately, they don’t see eye-to-eye on what should be growing or how to grow it. The muddy plot gives a different outdoor location for high-tension scenes (upon which soaps thrive). During acting on the plots they actors were given hot water bottles to keep their hands warm! They obviously were not digging hard enough.
Moral of the story if you share a plot with someone make sure you know each other well and discuss it all before you get on to the soil. A number of people happily share plots at the Weaste Allotment site. To balance the wrangling they did allow Roy to meet a potential new love interest there. The allotment became a happy place for him to be. Coronation Street has it’s own Co-Op supermarket too … it would be great if the characters would choose us as their reward card cause?
BBC’s Eastenders in Walford
Arthur Fowler (played by Bill Treacher) had an allotment in the BBC soap, East Enders. The area they created on the lots at Elstree which represented Walford included an allotment. For Arthur the allotment was a place where he could be himself. He planned the planting and grew what he wanted. He enjoyed the gardening and being outdoors. After many jobs working for others, he created his own gardening business.
Arthur kept up the allotment and was elected secretary of the Walford allotment committee. He started to raise money to create a new eco-friendly, urban garden (in 1995), named the Flowering Wilderness Fund. By the end of the year Arthur has managed to raise twenty thousand pounds, but was wrongly accused of stealing the money. In prison for the second time he is involved in a fight just before his release, He goes to the allotment, but while there he suffers a brain haemorrhage, caused by a blow to his head in prison, and dies the next day in hospital. Not sure our on-site First Aid Kit would have been much help for that one.