Allotment gardening

After three days of dry weather I am hopeful that the ground will be dry enough for me to plant my garlic cloves. I turn the earth over in the bed again and break up the big clods. I then use one of the tools my predecessor left me to try and make the soil into as fine a tilth as I can. Then I stretch out a piece of string and, dibber at the ready, I break the garlic bulbs up into cloves. But, disaster. Because I haven't stored them properly, most of the cloves are rotten. I salvage the best ones and plant about six. I need to get my hands on some more bulbs. To use up a bit more time, I dig over the bed at the back of my plot - which was once covered in carpet. I had put down a layer of manure which I now dig in. The spade goes in easily enough. What a change from when the ground here was like sheet concrete.