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Chapter 22
Afew days passed and Holly washed up her breakfast things, as she looked out of the caravan window and saw a thick front of grey cloud moving in. The sun, still shining, gave the clouds an almost purple hue. Holly bit her lip, it was the day of the meeting with three of the farmers that Mitch had convinced to join the market. A downpour would not show the land in its best light considering it was far from pretty following the fire and much of the ground was muddy due to the heavy machinery moving around the site. The sun always brightened it up.
She cleaned every surface of her small living area and set out glasses for water and cups for hot drinks. Glancing up to the caravan’s ceiling, she heard the pitter patter of rain on the metal roof. The noise grew louder sounding like an avalanche of stones falling. Mitch arrived with the men in tow. Holly flung open the door and they removed their boots before entering.
‘Do you think we should go to mine?’ Mitch shouted over the din.
‘Let’s wait. It may pass. I’ll make drinks.’ Holly said, over-mouthing her words. She took their orders and coats and brought in the tub she had left outside for their boots, placing it in her spare room away from the rain.
Without speaking, they listened to the downpour as they drank tea and ate biscuits. After what seemed to Holly like forever, it dissipated.
‘That was some cloud burst. Maybe a week’s worth of rain,’ the youngest farmer said. He had a shock of red hair.
‘About time,’ said another. ‘Been too dry this year.’
Mitch took a sip of tea. ‘Right. I’ll do the introductions.’
Holly made a note of their names on her pad. She was glad as they all seemed enthusiastic about the market.
‘The bigger units are going up this week,’ she said. ‘The electrics are already in place for the fridges and freezers.’ She was pleased this was a joint venture, as Mitch had helped out with the cost of the white goods. ‘I’m going to prepare a leaflet for each of your farms, with background information and photos.’ Holly picked up a pile of A4 sheets of paper and handed them out. ‘I’ve prepared a short questionnaire for each of you. Just for some details, so I know what to include in the blurb.’ She picked up a colourful A5 leaflet. ‘This is one I mocked up for Booth Farm, so you’ll get an idea of what I’m thinking.’
‘Has this gone to print?’ Mitch asked as he took a leaflet.
‘Oh no, I wouldn’t do that without your approval. I just prepared this as an example.’
Mitch smiled as he read the leaflet. ‘It’s great. Do you mind if I take it? I’d like to add some info about Sid and what he did for the farm.’
‘That would be lovely.’ She nodded at the men. ‘And if you could all email me a small photo of yourselves people love to see a pictures of food producers.’
‘Next you’ll be asking us to do a calendar,’ Ed, the red-haired farmer said.
The men fell about laughing. Other than Mitch and Ed, they were middle-aged and greying.
Holly liked the way the atmosphere had relaxed and turned to Mitch. ‘Maybe if you have a picture of Sid?’
‘I can probably fish one out. I’ll find one of him, in his younger days.’
‘When’s the funeral?’ Ed asked.
‘Next week – up at the Church.’ Mitch nodded towards Eversley Village.
‘Where my family are?’ Holly asked.
‘Yes.’ Mitch coughed.
Holly became aware of an awkward silence and the caravan began to feel warm now that the sun had come out. ‘Well, the rain’s stopped. I’ll show you the site.’
The men followed her out. Even though there were puddles on the ground, the sun had brightened the place up.
Holly spoke about her plans for her arts hub project. ‘With an increased footfall at the nursery and arts hub, the farmers’ market will of course benefit from this. In fact, we’ve already started to attract customers back, even with the nursery in this state.’
As if on cue, two families entered the nursery grounds.
Holly nodded at them and they all stepped back to let the customers pass.
‘The rates we’ve offered to you for the rental of units on this site are extremely competitive and would remain at the same rate for three years.’
‘We appreciate it’s a bit of a punt, guys,’ Mitch said.
