Become a Member
The Jewish Chronicle

No Boris, I won’t be growing Olympic-class veg

November 7, 2008 10:36

By

Simon Round,

Simon Round

2 min read

I wonder whether you would agree with me that London mayor Boris Johnson has a tendency to be a complete lunatic at times?

The latest benign manifestation of his wackiness is the proposal that we turn our roof gardens into allotments, convert railway yards to wheat fields and plant crops in the cracks between the pavement - all in order that we have food grown in London to feed the 2012 Olympians. It makes you wonder whether Boris is aware that fruit and veg is widely available at the supermarket these days?

Two further thoughts also come to mind. The first is that surely the 2012 Olympians would prefer to have their Brussels grown on a nice farm in the country rather than on a reclaimed brown-field site contaminated with fumes and who knows what else.

The other thought is that the mayor's grow-your-own policy is just the latest example of how the Good Life approach of self-sufficiency seems to be gaining popularity in recession-hit, globally-warmed Britain.