Wash Common allotments venue for open air harvest celebration

Green fingered allotment holders in Wash Common came together for a celebration of the fruits of their labours.

The Battle Road site was the venue for an open-air harvest festival, led by the vicar of St George The Martyr, Rev Becky Bevan.

She said the service was started during the early stages of the Covid pandemic when people were limited in what they could do.

“The allotments have been a particularly important escape, allowing people to engage with fresh air.

“Marion Fenn [from the Green Spaces Working Group] asked me if I would like to come and do a little service in the open air for anyone who is around, because of all the wonderful projects and connections that the allotment had provided during that difficult time.

“There was no intention of it becoming a regular thing, but we’ve done it every year since.”

Mrs Bevan said it was a very informal gathering, with a large collection for the West Berkshire Foodbank.

“It was for those who would like to mark harvesttime and give thanks for the allotment and its place in our community,” she continued.

“It was well received, and I think people, whatever their faith background, really appreciated an opportunity to pause, the mark the joy and the blessing of the place and give thanks for growing things.

“For part of the services, we stood and listened to the birds, felt the breeze and had a moment to appreciate things.”

Among those attending was Newbury town mayor Andy Moore, who said: “The Lady Mayoress and I were delighted to accept an invitation to celebrate harvest with the allotment holders.

“For Sheila it was a return visit, having been last year to accept gifts on behalf of West Berks Foodbank.

“This year’s gifts had extra meaning as the Foodbank is the Mayor’s Charity this year.”

It was a busy weekend for Mrs Bevan as the church, in Andover Road, held its own harvest celebrations, with a service for children from a pre-school and Falkland Primary School on the Friday, plus a celebration service on the Sunday.

“We had a very large morning service,” Mrs Bevan said. “There were lots of children and people bring up their offerings for the food bank as part of the harvest.

“It was all part of the community coming together in different ways.

“It’s been lovely to celebrate a special time of the year.”