and Lisa into the room, ‘but after you’d left yesterday we thought that, as lovely as the room looked with all your bits and pieces set out, it wasn’t feeling very festive so we decided to put some decs up.’
‘Of course, we don’t mind,’ said Lisa, flinging her arms around Kate’s neck.
‘It’s breathtaking,’ I added, taking in the details as I set down the bag of books I’d brought along, ‘and so in keeping with the themes of Winterfest.’
‘That’s what I thought,’ said Kate, once she was free of her friend’s embrace. ‘I told Luke we shouldn’t just throw everything at it, but keep it styled to the sessions we’ve got coming up.’
She’d certainly achieved that. From a nature-loving, gardening fanatic’s point of view, it couldn’t have been any more perfect. There was holly, ivy and mistletoe in abundance and the real tree smelt divine.
‘Finn helped,’ Kate told us, her eyes alighting on the ball of mistletoe hanging above the door.
‘Why am I not surprised?’ Lisa laughed.
‘He’s got such a great eye,’ Kate carried on.
‘Two, I think you’ll find,’ said Lisa, giving me a nudge.
‘Come on,’ I said, resisting the urge to award her comment the eye-roll it deserved, ‘let’s get ready. Everyone’s going to be here soon.’
In total, there were nine attendees. One person had called to say that they couldn’t make it because of illness and Luke had kindly promised they could switch to another session if any gaps came up. It settled my nerves somewhat to see a couple of familiar faces looking eagerly up at me as Lisa and I took our place standing at the head of the long table.
Jacob, Poppy’s other half, had signed up, keen to learn a few tricks he could later use in the classroom, along with Heather, who had a child-free day and was keen to do something completely for herself and quite rightly so. There was also a mum and daughter, the daughter there at the mother’s behest, two guys in their thirties, two middle-aged women who had been friends forever and a much younger woman, called Sara.
She had heard Luke talking about his SAD diagnosis on the radio not long after she had been diagnosed herself and as a result, quickly signed up for everything. She said that just the thought of doing something proactive had started to lift her low mood, which was very encouraging indeed.
‘So, welcome, everyone,’ said Lisa, her voice surprisingly shaky for someone who ordinarily oozed self-confidence, ‘to this, the very first Winterfest session here at Prosperous Place. Today we’re going to be exploring how to banish the winter blues by using nature to kick-start our creativity through a creative writing session, making a nature diary and learning how to preserve leaves through a variety of methods, with lovely Freya, who manages the gardens here at Prosperous Place.’
Fortunately, I didn’t have to do anything beyond offer a smile at this point, and by the time we had given everyone the chance to share a little about themselves and their reasons for signing up, my legs had stopped shaking and I was feeling much better about leading them into the garden.
‘Do wrap up really warm,’ I advised, as I handed out the jute bags in which they could stash their finds. ‘We might be in the middle of the city, but there are spots in the garden which really hang on to the frost.’
I knew there was going to be an extra surprise waiting to warm everyone up when we came back inside and the chill in the air made me feel grateful for it. Kate had cleaned and set the open fire, ready for lighting when we headed out. Graham was going to get it roaring while we toured the garden and then come back throughout the day to keep it stoked.
‘Ready?’ asked Lisa.
‘Ready,’ I smiled back.
It was bitterly cold, but it didn’t take many minutes before everyone had forgotten the arctic temperature and was eagerly engrossed in looking for leaves and cones, seeking out the scents in the freshly planted winter garden and ardently admiring Finn’s formidable sculptures.
‘Beguiling grey eyes and handy with his hands,’ Lisa sighed. ‘What a combo.’
‘And don’t forget the sense of touch,’ I told the group, ignoring her and rubbing my gloved hands around the nearest tree. ‘It helps to engage all the senses when you head out for a winter walk. Although perhaps not taste,’ I hastily added, not wanting them to go too far.