Chris Parsons’ Blog

Hello, Last Wednesday, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne visited LandWorks – and yes, we were expecting her! It was a wonderful day. Barry, who has been on placement here for a few months, told me it…

Hello, I’ve just been reading a newspaper article – Ministers are pushing through powers to photograph and publicly name and shame people in the justice system who have been ordered to complete unpaid community work in…

Hello, We’d been chatting about a dog that had come into her life. Her life had been a bit up and down since leaving LandWorks, and this small (clearly adorable) sentient being was life changing. “Chris,…

Hello, A few weeks ago, I asked Gary Fulton (here at LandWorks in 2017/18) to write a blog. Gary has written a brilliant and a hard-hitting piece, perhaps slightly longer than our usual blog, but all…

Hello, The first lunch was on the very first day, 12 years ago. There were five of us: three men on day release from prison, one on a community sentence, and me. We sat around a…

Hello, It’s the summer holidays. South Devon is beautiful, sunny and bustling. People are just popping in to visit LandWorks, non-stop! Often, they completely miss the shop and start wondering around the site looking lost (we…

Hello, There’s a warning of gales… I thought I was awakening to the shipping forecast (I normally do). I wasn’t, I was lost, dreaming. Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire. But it was seagulls shrieking outside that…

Hello, “Chris lad, what you don’t understand is, it’s a long, long way from here to there”, Jay 2014. I (helpfully) got a Bruce Springsteen song stuck in my head… Long Walk Home Jay was exposing my naive…

Hello, Last weekend the LandWorks team, trainees, graduates, trustees, supporters and volunteers were all out supporting a lovely event held in aid of LandWorks. It was a weekend open garden, raising funds for the charity, held…

Hello, The sun is out, the garden team are muttering about a drought, and I am going around urging people to wear a hat (incl me). “Get ahead, getta hat” is my latest encouragement! “Get ahead,…

Hello, You find me busy doing something that we do a lot. The record is 5 in one day, showing people around LandWorks. The ‘follow the brolly’ LandWorks tour is the same for everyone, whether it…

Hello, We have learned a lot over 12 years. Everyone who arrives here has much in common, but also, we have discovered the importance of listening to and understanding an individual’s story. Nobody is the same….