Please don’t wait until someone dies

10:14am Thursday 28th August 2008

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FOLLOWING the death of my husband, I sponsered a tree at Queenswood, Dinmore, in his memory.

All his life, from a small child befriended by the park keeper in Swansea, through being in charge of the school greenhouse during his teaching career in Tipton, and during his retirement in Herefordshire, he had propagated trees from cuttings and seeds. Most of the trees were given away as he had no space for them.

I could have planted a new tree but I chose to sponsor a semi-mature Liriodendron in the autumn garden. I chose the healthiest one of the four, the one with the straightest trunk, and one day it is going to tower over everything else in the autumn garden.

The sponsorship of the tree marks the pleasure we all had wandering among the trees with family and friends, year after year. If only we had sponsored the tree years ago, my husband could have taken a special interest in it.

These days we often hear people say “I don’t know what to get them. They’ve got everything they need at their age” or “Just come to our celebration. We don’t want any presents” or “Please don’t get me anything, I’m de-cluttering”.

Don’t wait until someone dies. Make a contribution to Queenswood now, and give joy beyond the immediate celebration.

JEAN WYNNE-JONES, Rushall, Ledbury.