Great Spring Gardening Event – British Red Cross

Wednesday, 26th April 2017
The Great Spring Gardening Event for the British Red Cross. This was held in the delightful surroundings of Newport House, near Almeley, and was faultlessly organised under the chairmanship of Debra Tritton, the British Red Cross President for Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire, who was also our host for lunch.
The BRC and the Co-op have established a partnership to tackle loneliness in the UK and Debra Tritton gave me a copy of the report ‘Trapped in a bubble’, an investigation into triggers for loneliness in the UK. Herefordshire has been allocated a small amount of the £7m that this partnership has raised. Mark Astarita, the National Fund raising manager introduced me to Fiona Mac, a local Red Cross volunteer and Community Connector, working in The Golden Valley and Garway,
I really appreciated the opportunity to talk to British Red Cross representatives and to follow this up during an excellent lunch prepared and served by Red Cross volunteers (among whom I spotted a good many friends!).
After lunch, it was a great pleasure to tour the marquees and stalls, with an amazing variety of foods, plants, crafts and everything else! We left with our bags heavier and our wallets lighter, which is as it should be for such a good cause. And the sun shone!