Goodbye and good luck, Alan!

Yesterday we said goodbye to one of our regular volunteers, Alan McAteer. It was nothing personal - he's moving back to Ireland.

Alan's been one of our regular volunteers since the very early days - even before we officially became The Community Farm. He's come to the farm nearly every week since then, regularly volunteering on a Tuesday and taking control of the aparagus beds as well as the tomatoes and cucumbers. He's been a true member of the team on a Tuesday (along with a number of other loyal volunteers too!)

So, yesterday we shared a lunch with him and thanked him for his commitment to the farm and wished him well in his new life. Alan also, very generously donated a bench to the farm as well!

To send him off, Angela Parr also wrote a limerick we'd like to share with you:

We all know the man called Alan McAteer
He was the most ablest farm volunteer
But tomatoes shivered and cucumbers quivered
When he wielded his knife and cut short their life
Now he's leaving they sent up a cheer
 

So goodbye dear Alan, we'll miss you
Your tips and ideas will be missed too
But don't worry, we hope
Next year you can cope
When we all book our holidays with you!
It all goes to remind us just how lucky we are to have such wonderful, talented volunteers who also end up making some great friendships.