Last month she said it was like the city council ‘don’t care’ given their car ban plans. She had said: “More than 80 per cent of [around 110] plot holders rely on a car to get to the allotments – a lot are elderly and some have mobility problems. Apart from the cats, people will have plants growing. For people with greenhouses – especially if it’s dry weather in the day – the plants must be watered. You can still chat with people at a very safe distance – probably five metres away when you’re chatting, because they’re on their plots. Usually we don’t get that many people asking for a plot, but we added a 10th person to the waiting list last week,” she says.

It’s the sense of community. It’s really good, you can learn so much, and because we’ve got so many nationalities you learn about what they grow in their own country, and how they grow it and the different ways they grow it. So there’s lots to learn from different people.” The new plot holders are absolutely fantastic. There’s one chap who’s taken over a really badly overgrown plot, and in three weeks he’s dug it from one end to the other. Can you imagine? I’ve been born and bred in this area and didn’t even know it was there. They just happened to have a tiny plot available that became a half a plot, so I think it was meant to be. Hopefully, it should add some context for any of Roberts new followers who might want to find out a bit more about his friends. So it kind of depends on what kind of time you have – if you’ve only got a little bit of time, you can have a small plot and plant a few things, but everyone can do it.

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You sleep better, you’re going to be eating better, you’re getting exercise. It’s like a little enclave of nature that gives you a lot of time to create and nurture.”

A cat from Birmingham who has built up a huge following on social media and has spearheaded a campaign to maintain access to the allotments where he lives has died. Robert the allotment cat, lived at Walsall Road Allotments in Perry Barr, and there were fears he would be abandoned when Birmingham City Council imposed a car ban during the Commonwealth Games this summer. And this sense of community is something which is also valued by 36-year-old Mark Foster, who’s had his own plot for just over a year now. I was just driving past one day and there was a huge poster on the fence saying ‘Save Our Allotments’, and I thought "there’s allotments there?" And people say ‘oh I’ve got a garden at home I can grow stuff there’, it’s not the same – not the same at all. Here's my final song, to guide you to the light and hopefully bring some comfort to your family and friends. Until we meet again.Bye sweet Robert."

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You can get different sizes of plots, you can get quarter plots, half plots – I’ve got a plot and a half. So what would the allotment users say to someone thinking of indulging their green fingers by taking on a plot of their own?

Not a lot of people get the opportunity to get that bit of fresh air and exercise. And even though we’re socially distancing you’re still keeping in touch with the people at the allotment, you get used to the faces of the people that should be there, what their routine is, and it’s quite good to stay in touch with people.” With the cats – we have got to rely on people from the allotment to go and feed them and keep an eye on their medical conditions. We need people regularly there every day to notice things. I agree the Games are important but we are as well.”Because it’s great exercise, and because of the operation on my leg I couldn’t do a lot of the stuff I used to do. I just love it, I absolutely love it. You do feel like you’ve done something productive, you know it’s healthy. Al did the editing and all the technical stuff – but Robert put his heart into it too. He has so many skills and attributes but blow me down – he now wants me to teach him to read!”