Eco-fest

It hailed heavily as we drove to the venue for this year's Eco-fest, so heavily and suddenly that I was slipping all over the road, to the consternation of my daughter.
We arrived safely and unloaded our gear while the hail continued to fall. Hollie's boxes of bananas were heavy, as were my apple tree rootstocks. Once inside the hall, it was only slightly warmer :-)
Still, we were busy, setting up our tables and meeting the other stall holders and food providers (thank goodness for the food providers! The vegans' cupcakes were superb, as always. I chose lemon, and Hollie, chocolate topped with mint.)
I tended to about 40 newby grafters at my table and had a great time checking their craftsman/womanship and talking about orcharding and other grow-your-own-at-home activities. No one cut themselves, a first for my workshops! The two youngest grafters were delightful and took the task of joining scion to rootstock very seriously indeed. Their efforts are bound to pay off, I believe. I had a delightful chat with a young mum with her baby strapped to her front, as seems to be the habit today. In fact, I had very enjoyable discussions with a great number of interesting and friendly Southlanders. The weather may have been substandard, but the company was excellent.
Tomorrow, Robyn and I are demonstrating the same process to South City residents at Fernworth school and helping them to quietly and without fuss, 'fruit-tree' their community.