From Knit to Natter: Finding Community at RCG

“Covid was horrendous. My husband had died about six months prior to that. After the lockdowns, when we were allowed out, this park was my salvation. I started coming around the park and then I saw the Knitting and Crochet poster outside the Community Garden.”

“I’d walked past the Garden, but I thought you could just go in and buy a cabbage or something. I didn’t really know what it was all about! I just sort of wandered in that day and I was quite amazed at everything that goes on here.”

“You know, this is a Knitting and Crochet group, but we don’t sit around talking about knitting. People are talking about like… ‘Can you show me how to use this app on my phone?’ ‘Can you give me any advice about this?’ You can talk, and there’s always somebody willing to listen. No judgement. I just think it’s a lifesaver, this place. I really do.”

“I live [with]in walking distance, which is good because I don’t drive, so that’s another bonus. I don’t know any other area like this, with all this going on. It’s brilliant. I’ve made so many friends. We do things together outside of the park. I even went on holiday with one of them!”

“You could come into this Garden on your own and buy a cup of tea, and you know so many faces now. You don’t feel like ‘oh, I don’t know anybody.’ It is a community, no doubt about it. I’ve got to know most of the people here. The staff and volunteers are just a brilliant bunch of people.”

“Lou, the Head Gardener, she’s lovely, isn’t she? Once at Community Lunch she was doing a guided tour of the Garden. I’ve been in this Garden dozens and dozens of times, but I really enjoyed it! She was pointing out things of interest […] I’m just so proud of it up here. In the summer, I came for the disco. We sat outside, it was a really lovely summer evening, and you could hear the music and see all the kids in the park. And I thought, aren’t we lucky to have this right on our doorstep?”