Incredible European evening...

Nik, Estelle, Debbie and myself met the PLUREL delegates off their tour bus, just as the rain had stopped and the last rays of evening sunshine were squeezing through. The delegates were from all over Europe and further afield…all interested in seeing what we were doing in Todmorden..

The delegates spilled from the coach and eagerly split up into two groups…one very large group headed off with Nik, John and Debbie to visit the growing hub up at Ferney Lee nursing home, while Estelle and myself set off on a slower, more restful walk around the town centre sites…

First stop was the new health centre and the delgates had lots of questions and information to share, one delegate, from Montpellier, in southern France told us lavender grew wild where she lived, and they ought to have brought plants with them!… Estelle told them about the doctors’ penchant for strawberries, and we showed off the strawberries planted as a thank you to the for helping to set up the health centre project.

The raised bed seating that Nik built, impressed them very much, and they were delighted with the kitchen physic garden..

Not to mention the fruit trees that were planted last year…now adorned with the promise of juicy red cherries in July!

Meanwhile, Nik took the larger group up to the growing hub at Ferney Lee to show off the greenhouse, nursery beds, and all the plants busy growing for planting around the town beds…Here he is explaining about the grafted apple trees.

We all met up in the town centre and made our way to the Unitarian Church, where IET had prepared displays of our projects, and our guests dined on locally sourced produce while they listenend to the speeches…

Nik finished up with a brief talk about the acheivements of IET, and the evening was rounded off with a group photo before we said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch with each other’s projects. A good time all round!