Louisa Spearing

Louisa Spearing of Green Pastures sent many reports to Hallmark some are recorded below :-

Hallmark June 2020. Loosley Row in Lockdown by Louisa Spearing

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another” Charles Dickens.

I think that this has been shown in. so many ways, with a plethora of big and small kindnesses, in this new world order where we find ourselves. The NHS, community and home are defining 2020, we have been forced to halt our frenetic lives and take stock; resulting, in the main, in a cleaner and a more gentle world.

I was approached by Diana Reder in early March, she thought that since the government was about to ask all over 70s to self isolate, because of the Covid19 pandemic, we needed to come up with a suitable Loosley Row style response. There ensued a flurry of whatsapps and a hastily scheduled meeting in my kitchen, for the next morning. The response was heart-warming and overwhelming: by the end of that Monday we had a flier designed, street reps and volunteers designated and a master plan of how to help those vulnerable, self isolating, sick and elderly within our community.

We have a few key aims, we want to provide human contact - albeit at an acceptable distance - for those who are on their own, help with picking up shopping, prescriptions and other urgent supplies, or simply posting a letter. Our village has done this and so much more.  We have worked in conjunction with Lacey Green and Eileen Rowlands to pool resources, share ideas and build community links.

Helpful initiatives have popped up all over the place, whether it is how to recognise key birthdays in lockdown, offering ready made meals to those who need such support, to sharing eggs or excess fruit, and vegetables left out for you to help yourself as you pass on your daily exercise. Some of us have even turned into testers for a local scented candle business.

One of the most successful of all of these initiatives has been Kate Collet-Fenson’s ‘For the Love of Scrubs’ sewing and knitting group providing headbands, scrubs, woolly baby hats and so much more to our local, and not so local, care homes and hospitals. I know Kate is writing her own account of this adventure but I wanted to acknowledge here what an amazing and generous contribution she and her family have made to our society in these strange times.

Thanks to the hard work of Graham Roberts and Kay Pallister we have also been included in the Risborough Baskets scheme. Our residents can place orders from the shops in Princes Risborough on a Tuesday and Friday, to be delivered by Rafe and myself to your houses in Loosley Row. Kay and Graham are in charge of the Lacey Green deliveries. Rafe and | have been kept very busy, as the idea has been impressively embraced by our village!

Hallmark November 2021 Report by Louisa Spearing

In aid of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Green Pastures played host to the inaugural 'Artescape' exhibition. This was a very successful event with more than £300 being donated, a percentage of the overall takings on the day.

There was a wide range of styles and paint mediums on display and plenty of cards and prints available.

Twelve artists exhibited, with Mimi Spearing being the youngest of our artists at only 12 years old. It was a great forum for budding artists to become involved. Luis Moore, 18, showed his fabulous dancers, Rafe Spearing, 15, showed his pen and watercolour work and Lewis Bushell, 20, showed his animal portraits. | hope they have been inspired by the interest and positive reception that their excellent work received.

As this was such a success, Artescape are hoping to put on a series of exhibitions at Green Pastures over the next year and will continue to donate some of the proceeds from these events to various local charities.

We will start this off with a Christmas Art and ceramic exhibition on Saturday 4^th December, so please come along.

Hallmark November 2021. Open Gardens report by Louisa Spearing

Several Loosley Row gardens and a Lacey Green garden opened their gates for a spectacular day of fundraising on behalf of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance on Saturday August 21st.

Organised superbly well by Sarah Halliday at Loosley Dene with her indefatigable energy,  the event was a huge success and the atmosphere and gardens were fabulous. Even the predicted thunderstorms could. not dampen the Loosley Row spirit and so they kept away! Thank you Sarah, you are a green fingered star!

A 'Scent and Seed' pop up shop, the creation of Jen Garrity, took up residence for the day at Green Pastures, selling lovely pots filled with deliciously scented candles. Once the. candles have burnt down the pots have a new life as planters.

There were lots of other garden themed products on sale too and Jen made a generous donation of £50 to the TVAA. The eagle eyed amongst you may notice a sleepy Margot and an even more camouflaged, Takeshi under the candle table! Even the animals wanted in on the fun events that day.

We are looking forward to some more fun village days next year with plans already afoot for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on the 2nd June 2022.

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