The great thing about the Internet is that it has enabled me to engage with a share my passion for the natural world with thousands of like-minded individuals. I have ‘met’ many people via Twitter, in particular, and several of those friends came to the show and we met for the first time ‘face to face’!
Paula, also known as @Madcowpaula and I have been talking via Twitter for over a year and we met briefly when I flew back to Aberdeen airport after a trip to Shetland last year. Paula and I have become firm friends….. so much so that she actually flew down from Aberdeen and helped out on my stand! How wonderful is that! Gareth, also known as @Tigergaret on Twitter also came and helped out on the stand at the weekend. All these Internet pals have become good friends…
One of these was Dave…. known as ‘BlasterDave’ on Twitter. Dave started following me over a year ago and we regularly talk on Twitter and follow each other’s cameras set ups. Dave has numerous cameras around his garden and has helped me out on numerous occasions. Dave and I had never met until he travelled down to the NEC to see my stand, having followed all the build-up to the show on my website.
It was so lovely to finally meet Dave and he came armed with gifts…. some lovely bug cake tins (I will be trying those out very soon!) and a super box of emergencies rations for the show… sweeties and cereal bars etc, that I dipped into regularly. Although we had never met, it did not feel like that. We have shared so many stories and wildlife experiences, that I felt like I was meeting an old friend. It was brill!
On my return after a busy day at the show on Friday, I came home to an email from Dave…. and a wonderful poem that summed up my time at GWL. Thank you so much Dave. You are very clever…..
WILDLIFE KATE AT THE BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD LIVE SHOW
Twas the night before the show
For four days it had been all go
The stand was finished nothing was amiss
Time to go home for a rest oh bliss
Dawn broke the day had arrived
After all the hard work we had survived
Doors opened the people poured in
Onto the stand they gazed with a grin
Wherever they looked there were cameras galore
In nest boxes on feeders and some on the floor
A knitted Blue Tit on the feeder gave a smile
A Bushnell caught him with worms in a pile
Feeders were hung in places with care
In the hope to give ideas to you out there
An old sink with plants and tadpoles I spied
The kids watching them all were wide eyed
On the Hub that Phil made was a roof of green
It was quite the finest idea that I’d ever seen
Boxes of earth filled with wildflowers and grass
A fantastic idea finally has come to pass
Kids on a table dissecting owl pellets and flowers
Finding skulls and pollen keeps them happy for hours
The more gory the find the wider the grin
Careful there don’t wipe it on your chin
Inside the hub it was quite a delight
It wasn’t dreary and dark it was very bright
An office or hide in the garden it would make
Phil will design one for you with wood that won’t flake
From Aberdeen Paula came to help her friend Kate
Now that is what I would call a really good mate
From Scotland she brought sweeties for all
Tablets they call them made of sugar in case you stall
Now let us see have we covered all on the stand
If I’ve missed I’m sorry but the whole experience
WAS BL**DY GRAND
Over the week, I met many other people who I had previously only spoken to via the Internet. With shared interests, we all got on straight away. Lots of new friendships…. long may it last!