Editorial
Croeso / Welcome to another digital issue of Grapevine
Lockdown has been an unusual time for many of us, whether shielding, working from home, being furloughed or home-schooled. For key workers, the necessity to continue providing an essential service, has brought changes to daily routines that may have required oodles of courage and tested boundaries far beyond expectations. For me, lockdown has been a time for juggling and balancing things - work, home-schooling, supporting vulnerable family and friends, whilst reassessing what is important. It’s been a time to focus on what ‘local’ really means, and to appreciate and support even more the many wonderful producers we have right on our doorstep. When a friend was taken ill and rushed into hospital with Covid-related breathing problems, I decided to send them a daily photo quiz to cheer them up, by taking close-up shots of things around the garden. This has turned into a bit of an obsession, and I now spend vast amounts of time looking for the tiniest creatures in the undergrowth, the weirdest textures or the strangest angles and have enjoyed capturing the details that are often overlooked. I’ve been more inventive in how I’ve been making do and mending, reusing, recycling and repurposing things. I’m on a mission to use up old copies of Grapevine, used tea-bags (non-plastic ones), egg shells, coffee grounds and banana skins to help with a newly discovered joy of growing things (something I’ve dabbled in many times before but have been particularly bad at, and have never experienced the calming effects or the contrasting excitement when seedlings appear, quite like I have recently). Maybe it’s a sign of the times … and a wake-up call for what’s ahead - but learning to be resilient in a time of crisis is something we have all now experienced. Can we take this forward? Here in Lampeter we are lucky to have a community already making plans… just look around at all the brilliant things that are happening locally (or read about them inside). We can all be a part of this - so let’s start by supporting our local businesses as they begin trading again. Here’s to a more sustainable, resilient future.
Darllenwch yn hapus / Happy reading, Angie Martin