After my son left school in 2006 he became a Conservation volunteer at BTCV Hollybush. After completing NVQ Levels One and Two he continued to help on conservation tasks and in the garden. The tasks were always carried out in all weathers. This was excellent preparation for real work situations.
A strong team spirit prevailed. Working with mentors, students and volunteers from varied backgrounds taught him to be tolerant of others. Here was a chance to meet people from far flung countries. I was amazed at my son’s enthusiasm for his change of direction. Meeting interesting people all with a mutual liking for the cause of conservation.
I was invited to the famous Hollybush Christmas parties. A chance to meet many of these interesting people. I fondly remember the Solstice Day Party in 2010. Snow had fallen prior to the day of the event. There was a lunar eclipse and temperatures plummeted to minus 6 degrees Celsius that night.
A big moon peeped at us over frosted rooftops as we approached the old rhubarb farm. Aromatic scents of wood smoke wafted towards us as we arrived. A blazing bonfire illuminated the darkness on this the shortest day of the year. A group of happy party goers encircled the blazing fire under a sheltering sky of twinkling stars, it was buzzing.
Lots of introductions later and we entered the annex that faces the office block and barn. This was the designated dining room and venue for the musical entertainments. A chance for us to meet old friends and mentors. I being a dedicated mountain vagabond loved talking to the cook. He’d enrolled as camp cook on Himalayan climbing expeditions.
Food was served and someone’s Husky dog made an attempt to steal someone’s portion of spaghetti bolognese.
After wining and dining on cuisine to suit all tastes it was time for the music trio to do their act. A girl with an enchanting voice, a guitarist and trumpet player initially suggested a jazzy theme. To everyone’s amazement golden oldies were sung with a mix of jazz, pop and finally carols where everyone joined in.
I stepped outside. A silver moon now diminished since our arrival cast an eerie light onto old snow lining Hollybush Farm rooftops. Accumulations of snowflakes cleverly forming a blanket of snow from which ice crystals glittered.
A natural spectacle framed from above by the cold northern sky.
I pondered the connection with the snowflakes that had formed the snow pack. Compared them with the Hollybush community. Each snowflake had fallen as an individual, no two alike. Yet together they had created the snow. The characters at Hollybush were all different. Each one like a snowflake. And just being themselves. Together they formed the Hollybush volunteers, friends and mentors.
At Hollybush friendships were formed and have grown. Some have continued across counties and even countries throughout the past forty years. I left the party thinking to myself how much had been achieved by this amazing organisation throughout almost half a century.
Written by Karl Heinig