GARDEN MAKEOVER
DIY SOS Deeping Style by Michelle Bateman Back In April 2019 The Deepings Round Table were made aware of a local family desperate to make their garden a safe and usable place for their disabled son. Connor is nearly 16 now, and has complex disabilities, which means he is wheelchair-bound, and has to be Peg Fed. The family care for him themselves, and have to be careful that he does not shake about and cause further injury to his brain. Sadly the garden was not accessible to Connor; the family would have to lift the chair precariously over the doorsteps to get him outside. The grass and concrete were not smooth enough to allow Connor safe time in the garden. Round Table Chairman Simon Bateman went to have a look, and agreed that it was definitely something that they could help with. Further conversations with the late John Lavery of The Rotary Club led to the first combined charity project for the two groups. This was a great foundation to start the Feed Deepings Group when the Pandemic hit. The work, sadly due to the Pandemic, did not begin until the summer of 2020, but when a grant was obtained from the National Lottery to assist the project, it was all ready to go.
The garden was set for a complete renovation, and Steve Thompson set about digging out the area, and taking the waste away to recycle, where possible. CESL provide the new sub base, to create a good solid foundation. At weekends, members of The Rotary Club, The Deepings Lions, and The Round Table turned out to help, with wheelbarrows at the ready, moving the topsoil into the garden, ready for the turf to be laid. Bacon butties and tea helped them all along. Beautiful slabs from Indi Stone were laid, creating a smooth pathway for Connor to get to every part of the garden. This led down to a pergola and raised flower beds, the wood supplied and discounted from Andrews at Spalding. Ketton Cement kindly donated bags of cement for the laying of the slabs, and Mick George Ltd supplied two cement mixers of ready-mixed concrete, for the parking area. Again, this needed to be smooth and large enough to put the family’s motability car on, for ease to get Connor and his chair safely into the vehicles.
New turf brought some colour into the garden, and in the spring Round Table will return and plant some plants and flowers chosen for their appeal to the senses in the raised beds. And some ramps will be built from the back door out, so Connor can get outside, without the need to be carried. New gates complete the garden, and add security for the family when they are in the garden. The combined team work, from all the local Charities involved with the garden, has been humbling to see: the time given to shift muck, or phone to source good deals, or a donation to help secure essentials, has been overwhelming, and is something that The Round Table would like to see continue. We all hope that when the weather improves, and the flowers are planted, that Connor and his family can really make the most of the improved place they have to spend some quality time together. And the charities of The Deepings can be proud to say that they helped to make that dream a reality, for this local family. 33
