An occasional series of biographical stories of ‘Muddy Booters’…
A message from Maerisa
”My name is Maerisa and I am from Malaysia. During my short stay in England, I came by Muddy Boots several times beginning in July. As gardening is my hobby, I enjoyed and learned loads during the time I spent at Muddy Boots.
In addition, I made many friends and felt a deep sense of belonging. Birthday celebrations and fellowship were joyous occasions. Even though I was just here for such a short time, I was given a farewell.
Muddy Boots is a place where one can serve at your own pace. No experience or expertise required. One just have to come and will surely be blessed. I was so blessed with the harvest of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables which we shared among us with a little contribution.
I truly appreciate all the hard work and time to the planning, organising and execution of Muddy Boots.
Thank you to the lovely team for an absolutely memorable and wonderful experience’.
Editor Note: Maerisa has now returned to Malaysia. We all wish her well with her gardening now she is back home. Thank you for the kind words and we look forward to your next visit with us…
Natalia – our first interviewee
Natalia and her daughter Diana are from Moldova, and have been in this country for some four months. Her husband, Julian, has been here for just over a year and works for Tesco’s at Lichfield.
He was only getting to see his lovely wife and two year old daughter every three months, so it was decided that they should come and live here and see how they got on. Natalia speaks several languages, her English is already very good and is improving every day, this also applies to little Diana.
Natalia, who is now twenty seven, had a very good basic education in Moldova, and after leaving college studied Accountancy, she hope to pursue a career in this field at a later date.
Natalia learned of the existence of Muddy Boots from Brenda, her daughter’s Social Worker and from Diana’s pre-school nursery, it was suggested that Diana could come and play and that it would be a really good experience for both mother and child.
This indeed proved to be the case, and after the first visit, some six weeks or so ago, both Natalia and Diana look forward to their visit each week.
Natalia says that the group has an immense amount of positive energy, she loves to watch the children doing various things, like drawing on pots plus other activities.
‘Being outside with other people in the fresh air, not staying indoors looking at screens, is far healthier for both mind and body.
In addition we are all learning about growing things, and a great deal more from the many people of all ages, that help to create such a lovely, relaxing garden…’
(Published September 2017)
A big thank you to Natalia and her family for permission to share their story.
Author, interview and concept by David Sheridan. (He’s a ‘Muddy Booter’ too!).
