Ben Andrews, Business Development Manager
As we head into autumn and the nights start to close in, I’ve been thinking back on the past few months. It’s fair to say that it wasn’t the summer any of us had planned and was (clearly) a strange time for the world as a whole. However, the summer of 2020 wasn’t a total write-off and will always hold some positive memories for me.
Being lucky enough to be able to work from home, I was able to spend much more time with my wife and two children. As for many other parents, the memories that we made during those months will last a lifetime.
Making hay while the sun shines
One of the more special (and less chaotic) memories for me was the time we spent clearing up our veritable mud pit of a garden. Now, green fingered I am not. However, with little else to do, two willing helpers and a warning from the wife that the grass wouldn’t cut itself, we grabbed our garden forks and took to the soil. Do you know what? It was amazing the difference we made.
From what was a muddy disaster, we created our own little oasis. We grew 9-foot sunflowers, wild flowers, marigolds, pansies, strawberries, tomatoes. We laid new grass, cut down trees and trimmed back bushes. On our hands and knees we pulled out weeds, and my daughter saved the lives of so many worms that David Attenborough would be proud. Once the gardening was complete, we took out the paintbrushes and started on the shed. Our garden had never looked better. Alan Titchmarsh would have been jealous.
Sitting back to enjoy the fruits of our labour, the kids dragged out the paddling pool and my wife found the wine and for a split second the world seemed normal.
But also when it doesn’t…
Months passed and the rain came; the grass became boggy and the plants overgrown and before long our oasis was back to its former self. I wasn’t worried, we would just head back out next summer and start again, or so I thought…
One cold and wet morning in the middle of August, my wife announced – to my surprise – that it was time to deal with the garden! As it turns out, looking after the garden is not just a job for the summer. We had bushes and trees to trim, weeds to pull (again), leaves to sweep and wood to cut.
Funnily enough my two helpers were nowhere to be seen this time, but before long the garden was ready for winter. I’m looking forward to getting out the fire pit and roasting marshmallows, leaving out pumpkins and lighting some sparklers and all this got me to thinking…
Helping clients support vulnerable families is a year-round job
Here at FFBS we had an incredibly busy summer. Due to the lockdown, more organisations than ever needed white goods and vouchers to help families through the pandemic. But, like in our garden, the work isn’t done. As I write this, we are in the middle of Lockdown Part 2, and all too aware that our job is not a seasonal one; we are needed all year round to help organisations support those that need it most.
Whether it’s furniture, appliances, vouchers or tech – get in touch to find out how we can make your procurement process stress-free all year round. I’ll get back to you, once, of course, I have finished picking up all of the leaves in my garden.
Read more blogs from from Ben here.
