Wexford's citizens came together on the last Friday of May in a show of solidarity with fellow Europeans across the EU. The occasion was the annual EU Neighbours Day and the rendezvous point was Redmond Park.
In ones and twos they arrived and immediately fell into animated conversation over tea, coffee and delectable confections from D'Lush Café. The boules players kept a disdainful distance between themselves and these interlopers - they usually have the place to themselves. Guest speaker was former government Minster Trevor Sargent who admits to being at his happiest when up to his elbows in dirt! The author of Trevor's Kitchen Garden (also the name of his blog) spoke passionately, yet cogently, about the challenges we face growing to feed ourselves, and the World, on a resource-finite planet. His thought-provoking lecture went on to take in the concept of Transition Towns - how towns can gear up to deal with the challenges which lie ahead (peak oil, climate change, etc).
The idea behind this annual event is that we can all benefit from increased community cohesion. Or, to put it more bluntly, it makes sense to get on with your neighbours. It may mean another pair of eyes to watch out for dodgy goings-on around your house, someone to take in your bulky post when you are out, resource-sharing (milk for the cornflakes), even bartering (I'll clean your windows if you bake me a cake!). On a more serious level, there are some elderly people living alone who, if they did not have you to check in on them, might go days without meeting another human.
We were delighted with how the day went. Thanks to our guest speaker Trevor Sargent and to Wexford Borough Council for supporting the event.
